The never ending tour: Adventures through Japanese Cuisine ...

6:30 am: waking up, tearing back the curtains, eager to see the piles of fresh pow - but it is just NOT happening!
So we decided to stress later and sleep in. I actually can not remember when I had a day not having to do a single thing!
"Hours" later, we ended up doing what we do best in Niseko: walking up the road to J-Sekka in full ski gear to have another mindblowing breakfast (home made granola and ice cream sandwiches - yep, ice cream for breakfast is a MUST for true sportsmen in this country) and then our day starts to shapen up...
As it turned out, we experienced another adventure through culinary Japan!

First we decided to do some extreme skiing: 3 runs on groomers is by far enough, riding a hilarious gondola from the 18th century watching other freerider shreddin' the groomed gnarl and exploring the one side of the mountain we actually have not skied yet.
Niseko United Ski Area is all about safety: as soon as you have about 3 km/h of wind, they close down half of the operation here - just to be on the safe side! Believe it or not, we have yet to discover those huge cravasses they warn you about on the mountain (please note, during summer this area basically turns into a jungle and there are absolutely NO glaciers on this island).

So at lunch time (probably about 30 min after we left our breakfast place) we meet up with Macca and he takes us to this cool mountain equipment shop/climbing hall/restaurant! The Japanese are very efficient and you usually get a three in one combo around here...
Almost starved to death, we order the biggest and most delicious blueberry milkshakes followed by salads, rolls and teriyaki rice bowls...

All three of us stumble back to Log Log Cottage to "Mac up", walk back to J-Sekka and re-assume position! More tea was ordered and our office action went off like a rocket...
While Macca and I discussed very important ski related issues, Babsi got on the phone, trying to change our flights so we get to spend some time in Tokyo.
Several hours !! later, Babsi is still talking to a customer representative of some sort, we get a quote of 5.000 US dollars per ticket if we wanted to change our flights!
Babsi, by now in full lawyer mode, is definitely not satisfied with this answer and kept bombarding that poor bloke with tons of questions and further inquiries. By then, steam was coming out of her ears but she finally got the right person on the line and was able to change the tickets for 350 dollars! In the meantime, our beloved Mai, the heart and soul of J-Sekka, was kind enough to keep the Cafe open so we can use the internet and finish our phone calls - customer service at its best. Deep down, she was probably really scared of Babsi and did not dare to throw us out! Hilarious!

And what do you do afterwards: have dinner at Tuk Tuk, the center of the culinary universe, of course!
Tomoko was already in full position and whipped up our amazing slow-food dinner - there is no stress at Tuk Tuk what so ever and we l o v e it! We finished off our adventure at "Fridge Bar" with Vino Rosso, a Brandy Chocolate Mousse and some Chai...

Tomorrow will be our last day on the hill, hopefully skiing powder as its dumping right now! FINALLY! But one never knows for sure and we shall see tomorrow morning when I eagerly draw back the curtains again...
Then, we are off to Tokyo for a couple of days - shopping, onsen, 5* Hotel... as you do as a professional ski bum!

Stay tuned!