This week is All-star week and because we dont have a game this weekend we were esentially given an extra day off. We wanted to make sure we used this time to have some fun with the family and did just that.
About 1 hour and 15 minutes away there is a ski area called Biwako Valley. It is in the Shiga prefecture (in the U.S. we call them states, here they are called prefectures) and located in the mountains along a pretty big lake - Lake Biwa.
We really wanted to take Myla sledding so she could enjoy the outdoors during the winter and wanted her to have a chance to play in the snow as Kyoto really doesnt get any in the winter. So we hopped on the train and head to Biwako Valley - a mountain skiing location. It was a pretty easy trip. We had to switch trains one time and then take a bus from the train station to the ski area but that was about it
Once there, we hopped on the cable car/lift and rode to top of Mt. Ushimi (ushimiyama - 1,108 m) and walked to "Snow Land" which was a short ways from the cable car/lift.
The reading we did on the internet before we went made it seem like "snow land" was a big play area for kids where they could sled, play in the snow, make snowballs and just have a good time. When we got there we realized that while we could still have a really good time snow "land" was more of a snow 'small area'. They had a sledding hill with a little escalator on the side that would take you to the top and we took advantage of this, but the size of the hill left something to be desired. Myla loved sledding and wanted "more daddy, more." So we sledded for a long time. Maybe it was good that the hill wasn't that big as to not be so scary, but I think Katy's parents have a bigger hill in their backyard. Regardless, we went up and down the hill a multitude of times. Myla used a regular sled and a Zipfy freestyle mini luge sled - both provided by the ski hill.
We also made two tiny snowman, Myla rode the tube "merry-go-round they had", and of course we got some hot chocolate to warm up.
It was a really pretty area and although the sledding hill was a little disappointing it was still a great time.
This 100 foot sledding run was a little different than the last time I went sledding on a mountain - in the Austrian Alps (Sledding....for Real!), but we had a blast none-the-less.
How much does it cost to go sledding here in Japan when there is no snow close by you ask?
$8 train way there (x2) - $16
$3.20 bus from train station to ski area (x2) - $6.40
$18 Cable Car/lift (x2) - $36
$5 to get into the sledding area - "snow land" (x2) - $10
$15 - 2 hot chocolates and some curry and rice - $15
$5 - to have the rental shop watch our stroller - $5
$3.20 bus back to train station (x2) - $6.40
$8 train way back (x2) - $16
All in all - About $111
But as the Mastercard commercial goes - seeing the look on your daughters face when she is sledding down the hill or going up in the cable car (flying as she called it) - Priceless and worth every penny.....or yen is this case.
About 1 hour and 15 minutes away there is a ski area called Biwako Valley. It is in the Shiga prefecture (in the U.S. we call them states, here they are called prefectures) and located in the mountains along a pretty big lake - Lake Biwa.
We really wanted to take Myla sledding so she could enjoy the outdoors during the winter and wanted her to have a chance to play in the snow as Kyoto really doesnt get any in the winter. So we hopped on the train and head to Biwako Valley - a mountain skiing location. It was a pretty easy trip. We had to switch trains one time and then take a bus from the train station to the ski area but that was about it
Once there, we hopped on the cable car/lift and rode to top of Mt. Ushimi (ushimiyama - 1,108 m) and walked to "Snow Land" which was a short ways from the cable car/lift.
The reading we did on the internet before we went made it seem like "snow land" was a big play area for kids where they could sled, play in the snow, make snowballs and just have a good time. When we got there we realized that while we could still have a really good time snow "land" was more of a snow 'small area'. They had a sledding hill with a little escalator on the side that would take you to the top and we took advantage of this, but the size of the hill left something to be desired. Myla loved sledding and wanted "more daddy, more." So we sledded for a long time. Maybe it was good that the hill wasn't that big as to not be so scary, but I think Katy's parents have a bigger hill in their backyard. Regardless, we went up and down the hill a multitude of times. Myla used a regular sled and a Zipfy freestyle mini luge sled - both provided by the ski hill.
We also made two tiny snowman, Myla rode the tube "merry-go-round they had", and of course we got some hot chocolate to warm up.
It was a really pretty area and although the sledding hill was a little disappointing it was still a great time.
This 100 foot sledding run was a little different than the last time I went sledding on a mountain - in the Austrian Alps (Sledding....for Real!), but we had a blast none-the-less.
How much does it cost to go sledding here in Japan when there is no snow close by you ask?
$8 train way there (x2) - $16
$3.20 bus from train station to ski area (x2) - $6.40
$18 Cable Car/lift (x2) - $36
$5 to get into the sledding area - "snow land" (x2) - $10
$15 - 2 hot chocolates and some curry and rice - $15
$5 - to have the rental shop watch our stroller - $5
$3.20 bus back to train station (x2) - $6.40
$8 train way back (x2) - $16
All in all - About $111
But as the Mastercard commercial goes - seeing the look on your daughters face when she is sledding down the hill or going up in the cable car (flying as she called it) - Priceless and worth every penny.....or yen is this case.
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