Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Hiking with the Hakkoda Guide Club

After the busy weekend at Aoimori Arena with Kids Campus, I was prepared for two days of staying around the house... But no, the weather was just perfect for visiting Hakkoda. The previous days new powder covered the icy bottom. Went straight to Hakkoda Sanso where Hakkoda Guide Club is located. They gave me the beacon and asked to be ready for the 9:00 a.m. gondola. I was soon introduced to the guides and we were ready to hike. I was one of the three snowboarders that joined the group.
On top the visibility was very low but almost no wind.
We had a few breaks, put on the snowshoes 2 times and arrived on the spot after a very pleasant hike. The guides were very friendly and made everybody feel comfortable in their presence on the bad weather conditions.
We shreaded the sweet powder on the Tashiromotoyu Course and Kamosika.(Hakkoda Ski Course Map)
On the lunch break meeting Mr. Waka's family and talking about common hobbies was a pleasure. Hope to meet them again this year.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Lexus IS F test drive


Lexus IS F
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan
The rain that is aspected to fall today didn' t stop the Lexus IS F to pay Hakkoda a visit. The kind personnel from Lexus Aomori showed me LS 450L, RX450h, IS 250 and CS convertible. Tea was prepared while waiting for the Test Drive car to arrive. Lexus IS F was waiting for me to push the START button- and I did. Elegant on the outside, sport design in the inside keeping the luxury lines of any Lexus car. Changing from automatic to manual( 8 gears) on the mountain curves enlightened me of what a 5L engine can do. All the commands are close to the driver, the comfortable sport chairs and the inside comfort are making the ride so easy.

Inside Lexus
IS F
IS 250,
RX 450,
CS Convertible

The Bowl- Shimokura&Gentem


Shimokura- Bowl
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan
On March the 14th, Shimokura Ski resort(map) and Gentem gave the snow lovers the chance to ride inside the bowl on Gentem Sticks. The wind was so strong that I had to keep my balance while standing on the edge of the bowl; but the sun smiled at us all day.
It was the first time to ride inside a bowl- smashed my butt everytime. Riding a Gentem- I was surprised how light it is and how easy it is to ride it. Tried two: Float deck and Independent- both amazing, easy to maneuver.
山輩@下倉

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Snow wall of 5 meters- The Golden Line


Hakkoda Walk 2008
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan
Today the Golden Line(video- toonippo) was uncovered from the snow that reached up to 7.5 meters this year (Web東奥- japanese). The Golden Line will be open for the famous "Hakkoda Walk" starting from the 27th and opened to the traffic starting from April. Hope to get there these days. More details about the Golden Line on flickr at the bottom of the photo.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Communications


Winter shapes
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan
Driving around town looking for an internet connection was an unusual thing to do. Thinking that an internet connectin can be found almost anywhere, I didn`t go back home and checked a bread shop where once there was a PC online, checked the hotel reception but without a personal computer I wasn' t able to connect and so on. I was asking for too much.

It's been another busy weekend. Hope you celebrated women's day the way you wanted. In Japan, as I was saying on Valentine's Day women's day will be celebrated on March the 14th. In Romania and 14 other countries Mother's day is celebrated on March the 8th.


Cate pahare ati baut azi? Pana la ora asta nici unul. 40?

Monday, March 2, 2009

Japanese passport


Three riders
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan
Am reusit in sfarsit sa adaugam un "O" care lipsea din numele de familie, si schimbarea a cerut timp si ceva aprobari. Numele de familie romanesc a fost adaugat ( intre paranteze) si urmeaza ca mai tarziu sa fie adaugat si prenumele romanesc, dupa o reeditare a pasaportului si dupa ce vom avea un document care sa ateste prenumele romanesc. Litera "R" din prenume a fost inlocuita relativ usor cu "L" cu toate ca intelesesem ca uneori nu se poate. Asadar si prin urmare, transcrierea numelor din kanji in alfabet poate fi uneori o adevarata aventura; scrierea numelui de familie romanesc in pasaportul japonez se poate face intre paranteze, "R- ul" si "L- ul" nu se impaca prea bine uneori. Ambasada romana din Tokyo este mereu de ajutor.

Asteptand aprobarile mi- am aruncat privirea pe cateva afise destinate cetatenilor japonezi care vor sa calatoreasca in strainatate. Printre tarile mai putin recomandate se numarau Afghanistan- ul, Etiopia, Serbia, Bangladesh- ul si alte cateva. Ma intreb care au fost criteriile dupa care au fost alese. Romania fusese inscrisa pe un afismai vechi, ca tara afectata de gripa aviara din 2005.
Ce- am mai gasit? NHK WORLD de unde poate fii ascultat NHK Radio in 18 limbi(la versiunea in limba romana se lucreaza acum), viziona NHK Live sau diferite programe in fuctie de generic. Sunt chiar si cateva lectii de limba japoneza