It was the Monday we were due to fly out. So Dean and I did what any sane person would do... Hop on a early morning Shinkansen and go snowboarding for a few hours.
Typically, on the day we're due to fly out, the routine is:
1. Wake up.
2. Pack bags.
3. Go for breakfast
4. Go back to hotel
5. Check out, but leave bags at hotel
6. Mope around Yaesu for a few hours, shopping and eating, whilst wishing it wasn't our last day.
7. Get on train/bus back to airport.
I wasn't having it this time. I'd lost a few days snowboarding, due to Dean being sick and trying to teach the unmotivated, so on coming home from the Alice Cafe the night before, I stopped into the ticket office at JR Shinagawa and bought 2package tickets for Dean and I to go to Gala Yuzawa. This meant packing up the night before, and waking up early, sticking our bags in storage, and heading out at 6am to get the right train and Shinkansen. We arrived just as Gala Yuzawa was opening, but we were starving. None of the main eateries were open yet, so we grabbed some munchies from the conbini, and set up our boards.
It turned out to be awesome way to spend the day. The snow was falling lightly, and despite some of the lifts being shut/slowed because of wind, Dean and I were having a ball. Playing around in trees, skirting powder banks and such. I just wish we had more time, because I knew to get back in time for the airport bus, we needed to be at the train station at 1pm. Was it worth it, spending a couple of hundred dollars for a few hours sliding on snow? Hells yes. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. It sure beat sitting around waiting for the inevitable.
We packed up our boards at 12.30 and got ready for the trip back. As soon as the bullet train came into the station (on-time of course), we found our seats and relaxed. We had a couple of beers and chilled, knowing that this would be our last trip for some time. I suppose the fun help balance out the morose-ness of the day.
We made it back to Shinagawa in a decent enough time, and I immediately had to switch back in to task master mode, as everyone was dragging the chain, and to get to the airport with enough time to check in required us to be on the 3.30 bus. Once all the troops were coralled we booked our tickets and waited.
Secretly, I was hoping for a message from Jetstar saying our flight had been cancelled like last year, but it never came, so things went according to plan. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, so after checking in, we made our way upstairs for a feed. We then went through customs, leaving ourselves enough time to check out the duty free shops. Dean and I were starting to feel the effects of the day (early start, lots of spent energy), so by the time we had got some magazines and water and stuff, we had a quick beer before settling on to the plane for a night of bad sleep and DVT.
Not much to tell after that. We arrived in Coolangatta on time, and after saying goodbye to Paul and Zoe, I went and got the rental car to take us home. Everyone else besides me never sleep very well on planes, so after driving for about 15 mins everyone was out like a light while we drove back to Brisbane.
We ended up getting stuck in traffic for a while, so by the time we were past it, everyone was feeling hungry. We stopped in Sunnybank to get some cheap food, before heading home where I crashed out for a few hours to catch up.
So where does this leave me? 5 months later, wanting to go again. I know I shouldn't, that I should save so I can make it to Europe somewhere in this lifetime, but like a siren luring me to financial ruin, the snow is calling me.
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