Niseko Grand Hirafu Travel Diary

A white-out adventure.

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While I'm well-and-truly back from Japan, despite our cancelled and two-day delayed flights (yikes!), I am yet to share what we got up to here on Lion in the Wild, although you might have a sneaking idea if you've been following my journey on the @lioninthewild Instagram (HINT: search the #litwgoestojapan hashtag!). I've got a zillion photos to share with you, but for now, while my Apple Magic Mouse has tragically died and I'm unable to edit photos on my iMac, I bring you my little iPhone diary straight from the picturesque Niseko Grand Hirafu in Japan's snow blanketed Hokkaido.

We (being Brad, my older brother Shane and myself) boarded the plane at 6:00AM at Perth International Airport and, after a short stopover in Kuala Lumpur, we arrived in Tokyo just after 11:00PM that night. The last thing we wanted to do after a 16-hour transit was sleep on hard benches at Haneda Airport, but that was exactly what we did (#travellife). Waking before the sun rose, we jumped on a short flight bound for a Sapporo (note the difference in landscapes from Western Australia to Hokkaido - heheh), where we hopped on a bus for 3-hours and finally, finally(!), arrived at our destination: Niseko Grand Hirafu.

Being back in this ski resort town felt almost like home, and even more so when we had our first meal. I'd been craving the apple crepes at The Niseko Supply Co. for a year, and my goodness, they were as scrumptious as I remembered! I'll admit, some buildings I hardly recognised, since last year they were almost completely covered with snow, unlike this very average snow season.

On our first night, we had a huge dinner at Wild Bills where we met up with a bunch of my favourite people from home (who all, weirdly enough, snowboard). We caught up over hot pots, sashimi, chicken karaage, mochi and tempura, and even spotted a beautiful fox playing in the snow outside.

We had an early night walking back to our apartment in the snow, as we prepped for a big morning ahead.

It's always so incredibly exciting when a project just comes together. We shot some winter magic at The Glasshouse, one of The Luxe Nomad's most prestigious ski chalets, featuring a few of my favourite beauty brands and fashion labels. Stay tuned.

After a jam-packed morning, we were determined to hit the slopes, and hit the slopes we did. Brad and I spent some time teaching Shane how to snowboard (it had been 8 years since he last went, so he was somewhat rusty!) on the family run (zzZZzzZZzz), until we both couldn't help ourselves but head on up the mountain.

I was crazy excited to ride my new Ride Compact snowboard and Union bindings (for those of you who are fellow shredders), and fell right back into the groove of 'boarding without actually falling. That's a lie, I did stack it once that day doing a tree run. It was so damn icy that when I was trying to come out of the trees, I hit a huge compacted ice boulder. No harm done.

We also ran into everyone on the mountain, so us girls had a quick snap before grabbing an end-of-day hot chocolate to-go.

More coffee (duh) and my typical day-to-day snow outfit, including my trusty hightop Nike's I bought in Montreal a few winters ago. The one good thing about it being an average snow season is that it wasn't overly cold at all. I'm usually rugged up like the Michelin man on the montain, but this time I happily wandered around in my ripped Dricoper denim skinnies sans thermals.

I'm wearing: ASOS beanie | Foursquare snowboarding jacket | Dricoper jeans | Nike hightop sneakers

We were invited by The Luxe Nomad to experience the luxury of the spankin' new Terrazze Yotei Panorama Penthouse, with one of the most breathtaking volcanic views possibly in the world (see image above). And don't worry, we took plenty of photographs to leave you (and us!) in absolute awe, of which will be up here next week!

Managing to all be in the same place at the same time when you [kind of] have to be responsible, hard working adults was reason enough to celebrate with a delicious ladies brunch at (you guessed it) The Niseko Supply Co. Ahem, best scrambled eggs ever.

I'm wearing: Burton hoodie | Pink beanie

In between snowboarding, I finished reading #GIRLBOSS, explored the town a little more and drank more coffee (I knew that once we flew in to Tokyo decent coffee would be hard to find).

Last year if we had've woken to a blue bird morning, I would have rejoiced, but this year, with such a lack of snow, it was a dreaded sight. Indeed, we hadn't travelled all the way to Japan for spring riding. It was the deep, fluffy, dry powder that we craved, yet rarely enjoyed. On the days it did snow though, we made the most of it with lots of tree runs (as it turns out, they're my absolute favourite!). I also did a few [small] jumps successfully and, of course, unsuccessfully (with one resulting in me landing on my face - next time I'll find out what's on the other side). All-in-all, it was pretty damn hilarious and a whole lot of fun.

It was great to ride with a whole group of people who are at different levels. Riding with the boys really pushed me to improve and keep up with them, but as you must know, shredding with Brad is my absolute favourite. Watching him in his favourite playground is pretty incredible. I can't help but think, damn, we should move to the snow for this guy. Aww, #indithecat in the snow! Can anybody say CUTE?

Over a week in the snow wasn't nearly enough, but it was time to leave one snowy morning. Three suitcases (including my new American Tourister!), two snowboard bags, a handbag and three sleepy humans stumbled onto the bus headed for Sapporo. And while we have different plans for next snow season (excitement overload!), I know this is just see you later Niseko. We'll be back again and again, season after season for the rest of our lives.

I'm wearing: MinkPink coat and jumper (available in April) | Zara leather pants and bag | ASOS beanie | Wittner boots