I can barely see some of the hotels and resorts that service a ski resort somewhere among these mountains. I can barely see if there is a ski resort somewhere here. Im glad to be in a nice warm bus with someone else driving
Along the way, our guide points out that in this town, they have restored a portion of the old Edo Highway. The facades of the buildings have brought back to their past glory. The snowy white accents add that nice touch to the look of the street.
Though the snow is falling and the weather is cold, water is flowing down the streets. One might think it was from the snow melt but its not.
Geothermic water is piped through channels in the streets and sidewalks. The waters help to melt the fallen snow and keep the pathes free and clear. We are suffering through a drought and having this ample supply would be a godsend for California.
We finally arrive at the snow play area. Its not quite what I thought it would be. It was just a small hill in the middle of a small town. Free usage of sleds were provided inside.
A market on the grounds sold local products. I was told one of the main commodities is rice. with an abundance of rice, there is an abundance of rice products. With rice flour, sembei(rice crackers) can be made in a number of ways.
Another way many people like to enjoy rice is in sake. They have that here as well. Samples and tastings were not offered but all offerings seemed to be priced just under 2000yen.
Just outside, icicles formed along the railings near the entrance. It was on the bottom rail so I had to get down pretty low for the shot. You probably couldnt tell
I bought this variety pack of sembei. They were irregulars of several types so many of them were broken. I tried to take a picture of it but had a hard time trying to get the in close item and background at the same light level without over or under exposure.
As mentioned, the little play hill to which to slide from. There were some small children in our group and a baby. They had some fun before we departed for an all you can eat lunch of snow crab and amaebi.
