Luckily, there was no rain and the week started with a forecast of 1 cm of fresh snow overnight. The joy of waking up to 50 cm of fresh snow was immense. The day could easily be described as heliskiing for the price of a day ticket, although it would be more accurate to say heliskiing-for-the-price-of-two-day-tickets.
Other than that, we were able to spend a week in paradise and make new tracks in the deep snow every day. In terms of weather, the coming week is set to be rather unusual for January: First too warm, then rain or snowstorms from the south - and not from the west as usual - followed by lots of snow from the north-west. In any case, we are very excited.
More pictures worth seeing in the gallery
Japan - country and people: An interview with an earthquake specialist from Tokyo should have appeared here. The text and picture were already finished when the press office of the responsible authority issued a "NoGo". It contained too many facts and figures that were considered too negative for Japan and was therefore not intended for the public under any circumstances. We will try to get a watered-down version approved.
