Sledding - Biwako Valley

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.

Sledding.......For Real

What do you do if you are by the Alps, but shouldn't ski as it could be really bad for your job (ex - hurt your knee or break your wrist)....GO SLEDDING!
Last week on Monday a teammate and I drove 2hrs45mins to a sledding hill - Wildkogel am Bramberg. It might sound kind of crazy but this place was cool. When we got there we rented sleds, and the sleds aren't your average plastic sled you can get at Walmart, or a saucer or inner-tube; these were the real deal. They were made out of wood and had metal lining on the two rungs that made contact with the snow. Then there was a woven net that you sat on and you had a rope to hang onto that could help you steer. - we asked how much it would cost to buy one of these sleds new - 140 euros (thats like $190)
To get to the top of the hill (mountain) we took a gondola up. Once we got a ways up we thought this was going to be awesome because the run looked so long and it turned out we were only halfway up the hill. At the top of the mountain we could see so far and see many of the different alps and we could barely see the houses at the bottom - which was awesome because we knew we were going to get to ride a sled the whole way down.
The sled run was 9 miles long (14kms) and the internet says it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on your skill level and how fast you can go. We did it twice. The first time it took us closer to an hour, especially as we stopped halfway down for a little break to warm up (they had a hut/bar/small restaurant halfway down that you could stop and grab something to eat/drink and warm up). Because we both didn't bring super warm boots and winter clothes - we had basketball shoes and thin winter coats- we took advantage of this. (And before the second run we stopped at the restaurant at the top of the hill and grabbed a hot chocolate and warmed up our toes).
The first run may have been a little slow and with a couple crashes into snow banks, but after we warmed our toes up and it was time for the second run it was game on and we hauled arse. The second time down we passed other sledders and even a lady on skis-we for sure made it down in 20 or so minutes. And the cool part about the 2nd time down is that we did half of it at night with the lights on. The run we did is actually the longest floodlight toboggan run in the world and we wanted to make sure we experienced that night aspect of it too.
I can't tell you how fast you get going but there were times where we were cruising. It was so cool....I definitely recommend if you get the chance to do something like this to do it!; and I am hoping that I will also get the chance to do it again.