SKI with KID> 2001 | 2002

2002 Ski Tour in Lake Shirakaba Resort

March 10th - 12th, 2002

This year as well...

On Sunday, March 10th, 2002, it is fine. We are ready to go now, with a sled that we had left last year. Four family guys with Grandma who came yeaterday went in our RVR . However, as a matter of fast, we left something this year as well...

Breakfast

At first, we will eat something at where he ( -> ) is. Every time we come here, we just arrive at the finishing time for the breakfast menu. I supposed we could have other cups of coffee, but no signs were around us and I was ashamed to ask, so I did not.

Strawberry Picking

What we will do at first is strawberry picking. One of the most famous fruits in Yamanashi is a grape, but actually on the web site "E-Kofu.com" of Kofu (the seat of the prefectural office of Yamanashi) Sightseeing Association, we can find not only letters of grapes, but also strawberries and cherries, and it says the season for strawberries is early January through mid May. When I called JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperative Association) Kofu several days before leaving, they kindly faxed us a map for strawberry picking.

Going down Chuo Expressway at Kofu-Minami Interchange and heading for the downtown, we could find signs with "Strawberry Picking" there and here. Taking a side road as I liked and driving for a while, greenhouses for strawberries dotted there. Choosing a greenhouse of them, paying 1,200 yen (*) per one for the admission, we were given a cup with condensed milk for each and were taken to one corner through the many planters. From then, we could eat as we wanted for 30 minutes, and got full! Who do you think ate the most? It's T-Dino!!

After eating so much strawberries, we walked around. I wonder if there is enough snow in the skiing area.

*Children older than three are charged. The admission is different on each season. We had such a conversation there just before we paid.
MAMA/PAPA: "You're two years old, aren't you?"
T-Dino: "I'm three already."
MAMA/PAPA: "..."

Then, today's lunch is...

Going to Kofu, we should eat hoto (a kind of noodle). As well as the last year , we went to "Kosaku" that is a hoto restaurant. The branch we went today was just in front of Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, which is famous with "The Sower" by Millet. T-Dino who are supposed to have just eaten strawberries till she was full is eating here more...

Taking a right way this year

We went on Chuo Expressway from Kofu-Showa Interchange, and down at Suwa-Minami Interchange. We are heading for Lake Shirakaba by Route 152, going around to avoid Chino Tollway. Be careful at Sherigasawa coming 10 km from Chino. If you carelessly went straight, you would have to go around to Lake Shirakaba via Tateshina. To take the shortest way to Lake Shirakaba, Daimon Street (Route 152), we have to turn right like drawing a loop. As a matter of fact, when our family were driving for Echo Valley Skiing Resort two years ago, we took the wrong way here.

Hotel

We remembered it was Sunday today by passing each other with many cars on the way back to their home, but found that more cars were still at the parking of Ikenotaira Hotel than we had expected. The staffs of the hotel politely welcomed us at the entrance, and then, it gave us a good first impression. On the roads to here, there was no snow so I could drive very easily.
After unloading the baggages from the car, we were showed to the parking just by the lake because another parking in front of the hotel was already full. When I was filling out the form for checkin at the front desk, I remembered we should have discount coupons, and said to MAMA,
"You brought the discount coupons, right?"
"No, I didn't. I thought you did."
"..."
This was just what we left home this year.

* The members of Ikenotaira Hotel can be given it on your applying for admission, your birthday, and so on. Also, you will be able to make a reservation through the Internet, and to receive e-mail magazines with useful infomation.

Kids Park

It was fine on the next day, too! Just after eating breakfast at the buffet-style restaurant, we changed to the skiing suits and went out to the slope. We are heading for Kids Park, just for children's playing with the snow, around No.4 on the left map. But we have to go up a little from the hotel to there. It is quite hard to carry a sled, a bucket, a hand shovel to play with the snow, and also my own skis.

Just in this year!

The admission fee is 500 yen each. It was a weekday so only a few families were playing there. T-Dino played without a leash. We made a snowman together. What surprised, she said she wanted to climb the small snow mountain and to ride a sled by herself, which we had never expected until last year. She seems to have grown up a little. But, about skiing..., she did not claim to ski finally though we took skis just for her. Maybe the next year. It is a long long way to the Olympic games...

Is it a mug?

The dinner after playing very much was great. Every meal here is basically a buffet-style. From Japanese foods, Western, Chinese, and Indian, we can eat anything as we like. There are substantial desserts, with ice creams. An a little aged waitress came to us to get our order for drinks. I ordered her a local beer, and then she answered they had a glass of beer and a mug. As I ordered a mug, a big pitcher was put on the table with a bang. This is the "mug" she meant. I managed to drink up by myself, a liter...

Museum of Shadow Picture

Our last day is also fear. After all, it has been fine for all the three days. It is rare, although we have the dinosaur calling a storm. Today, we went to "Museum of Shadow Picture, Cutting Picture, Glass, and Music Box" (*) by Lake Shirakaba. There is an air of fantasy around, with a cutting picture of a subject of a fairy tale and a 360-degree panoramic shadow picture. I found that the face of the painter on the photo on the wall was like my father's. I was surprised why he was here. For your information, people who stay at Ikenotaira Hotel can get discount for the admission fee.

* Go to the web site of Ikenotaira Hotel for more information.

After coming back home

There was no snow on going down the mountain. After going to Lake Suwa, we went back home by Chuo Expressway. After all, I used the studless tires on the snow only once which I bought this year. A few days after, I heard from MAMA that T-Dino were talking "Snow!" or something in her sleep, maybe because she enjoyed the snow so much. We are wondering if we may make a plan that we will be at a skiing resort during whole our staying. But Grandma would get bored if we did so. It is difficult to make a plan to satisfy everybody.

2001 | 2002