After a pretty boozy night out getting to know the rest of the tour group we are woken at 7am by a tanoy announcement in Japanese for what I think is the breakfast call.Still pretty jet lagged, but the thought of hitting the mountain gets me up. I fuel up and get set up.

Discover the most amazing honey and butter combo disposable dispenser. I’ll let the photos do the talking: I had been pre warned about the dated infrastructure here compared to Europe/US and low and behold there was a 2 man calf chopper waiting for us. Most of the regulars shoot off by I spend the morning with Ben while he finds his feet. We hit some pretty cool piste runs and a bit of park and it definitely as great as everyone said it would be. Wide pistes with nice dusting of snow.

We hit a late lunch by the top of the gondola and have the most amazing steak and rice and ramen for lunch. All the steak in Japan seems to have incredible marbling which makes it just melt in your mouth (and probably solidify in your arteries).

Another cool contraption is the auto beers dispenser that pours the perfect head:

We catch most of the others at lunch. Ben sticks to the piste for the afternoon whilst I follow 3 others including Ricky the organiser on some back country runs. I stack it a few times getting used to the thigh deep powered and dodgy small branches of trees, but have an incredible time. Getting out of such deep snow when falling is a challenge, but I soon get the hang of rolling and getting up. Starting to feel the jet lag a bit more, knowing full well I have the season ahead of me and not wanting to over do it I decide to call it a day. Lifts close early here (3.30pm) so had a decent innings. We head for the onsen when the others return which was an experience in itself. For less than 3 quid you get to soak in some amazing natural hot springs which have a pretty powerful sulphur smell. There are some free onsens in the town, but the temperature is not regulated and the facilities are pretty basic. A quick rinse before opting for the outdoor onsen and a nice long soak with all hanging free relaxes the muscles after a hard days boarding.On reflection a very interesting cultural difference. On one side you have a very conforming, obedient and fairly private society that rarely appears to break the rules that thinks nothing of baring it all in front of strangers; in comparison back home you have a pretty liberal and more controversial society that covers up all modesty without fail. Even in a changing room.