Wednesday was a travel day. Up at 6, showered, finished packing, check-out and then down for breakfast. We were the first ones there; they hadn’t even completed setup. I think I ate a piece of fish and a slice of toast.

Bec had pre-booked our transport to the airport, none of us wanting to brave the rush-hour traffic on the subway with three large suitcases and our carry-on. It was a smart move. We were a little panicked that the bus would get stuck in some insane traffic, and we’d be cutting it fine to arrive at the airport. The shuttle company says the ride from Shinjuku Station to Haneda takes 30 to 65 minutes and we were banking on being at the far end of that.

We caught the little bus to the station and then were there in time for the 7:30 airport shuttle. We had tickets for the 7:45 but I asked if we could go earlier and luckily there was space available. About half an hour later we arrived at the airport, way earlier than expected or really necessary for a domestic flight but we’d rather be early than late.

Checked-in, went through security and then waited for our flight to board. Left at 10, the flight took an hour and a half, I got through half a book and then we arrived at New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

A Ski Japan rep was waiting outside the gate for us. She led us to the bus transfer area where we waited for half an hour (other than running to get some luke-warm, premade tempura and rice to keep us going on the three hour bus journey ahead of us).

Bus arrived, we got on, took our seats and off we went. I think most of us had a nap on the first leg, which stopped after an hour and a half for a toilet stop in the middle of nowhere, which still had plenty of snacks to buy. Then it was back on the bus for another hour and a half to Niseko.

We were driving through countryside that was smothered in snow. It was like being outside of Toronto in winter and seeing the giant snowbanks on either side of the road. I couldn’t help but think of our bus plunging off the road into one of these icy valleys and wonder if the seatbelt we were told to wear would save me.

We arrived in Niseko at about 3:30pm and were met by Sam, an Australian who works for Ski Japan. He took our luggage and we hopped in the van which took us to our accommodation. We’d booked a three bedroom apartment called Yuki Yama which was fairly central to the town. He showed us inside, went through the instructions on various things such as lift passes and onsen locations and then left us to it.

Each of us claimed a room, with Glen and I taking the two adjacent to each other. Our clothes were strewn across the room in no time at all. We relaxed for a little while before heading up the road to get some groceries. It’s all pretty expensive up here and next time it would perhaps be wiser to bring a load of things with us (though carting frozen chicken from Tokyo to Sapporo might not be wise).

The shopping for supplies and the apartment reminded me of family holidays in Albany and Rottnest Island where we’d come armed with boxes of food that Mum had planned out for the week. There’s a relaxed atmosphere and we’re all pretty comfortable with taking it easy. Glen and I joked that we didn’t even need to go skiing.

Food bought, we went home, unpacked, ate some vegemite on toast, then went to collect our hired ski equipment. Glen and I just got skis and poles, while Bec got the whole kit-and-caboodle. Glen and I headed back before Bec had finished so we could get dinner started – chicken and vegetable spaghetti.

Dinner went down well – as did the wine – and then we played a game of Pandemic: Contagion. I won! By that stage it was close to 11pm and we all went off to bed. Glen and I went to bed together but at some point I couldn’t stand his snoring so I ended up in the room he’d claimed for his own. He got quite disorientated in the middle of the night over it.