Fujiten Skiing

Last Saturday the Takeda union had organized a ski trip to Fujiten, one of two ski areas on the base of Fuji-san.  There were two buses that left from Yokohama station at 7 am, and we arrived at the ski area around 9:30 am.

The weather was quite warm and it had rained some in the morning in Yokohama.  But, on the way to the ski area we passed through a tunnel under a mountain, and on the other side it was bright and sunny!!

These were my skiing buddies for the day!  This is right before we went down a steep hill that was a little bit above my skiing abilities. I was using the photographic moment to stall.  :)

 At one point I took a break and sat down on a bench near the main building.  When I looked up the clouds had cleared away enough to have a fantastic view of Fuji-san!

 Yoshitomi-san posed nicely in front of the Japanese Alps.

The view from the chair lift was pretty good too!  In Japan there is music on the chairlifts!  It certainly makes the ride a little bit more fun.  Also, instead of a lift ticket you get an RFID card that you put in your jacket pocket, or in a band on your arm.  There are gates at the entrance to the lift that read the card and let you through!  It was pretty cool!

 Another view from the base of the mountain.  I just couldn't get enough of this view!  Which was alright because after we were done skiing we went to a nearby onsen where we could see Fuji-san from the outdoor bath!  It was the perfect Japan experience!!