Our first couple of shred days in Niseko has taken place at Annapuri and Moiwa ski areas, right up street from the rental house. The snow was already good, but we've been lucky (so far) to receive some additional centimeters of fresh during the evening. This translates into early gondola rides for some speed laps through the knee-deep pow, followed by accessing the backcountry through a number of designated gates. One beautiful aspect of the gondola ride is the vending options as you walk up to the lift station...hot coffee in a can for the lift ride? Why not?

Over the past couple of years, Japanese ski areas have completely embraced the fact that snowboarders and skiers want to ride trees and backcountry areas. Less than a decade ago, it was still frowned upon to leave the groomed runs in search of fresh snow through the trees and off piste. This old school way of thinking has changed so visitors and locals alike can enjoy more of the mountain, but they ask that you don't duck ropes and use the gates. Fine by us.

After a few hours of hiking, riding and shooting, we find ourselves at one of the numerous on-hill restaurants. I mention this because the food selection and ordering process is somewhat unique. You look over this big picture board of noodle based meals, cross reference the assigned number to each plate, put you money in the machine, then deliver the ticket to the cook. Five minutes later you got yourself a tasty bowl of udon noodle with tempura...make sure you bus your table though, common courtesy. 

After these tasty afternoon treats, we've been hot lapping a few more choice areas, getting back to the house, chilling out for a minute, then heading back up for some night riding. Another great thing about Niseko is the ample amount of lighted ski trails and chairlifts running well into the evening. We like that. Blotto

Factoid: The Niseko area is comprised of seven ski resorts accessible by one lift ticket, totaling 2191 kms of skiable terrain, not including backcountry.

We got into the house and started checking out the place...and in typical Japanese fashion, there was a couple of radical features I had to talk about. First is the cutlery drawer...yea, you have your spoons, knives and forks...but over here you also get the chopsticks standard issue, so fresh.

You ever roll up to the front door of any given rental location and you can't see the lock well enough to make a smooth entry? Well, with the keys to this pad you also get a sweet LED light attached to the keyring...extra fresh.

Third, and definitely not last is the super duper toilet. Japan takes their bathroom duties really serious, so they've built themselves some mighty technical thrones. This might sound made up, but I'm telling you, it's next level over here! When you walk into the bathroom, the lid raises up for you, the seat itself is heated and if you have the extra deluxe model, music of your choice pops on. After completion of any said maneuvers, you have your choice of small, regular or auto flush, multiple bidet options for a man and a woman, plus the fan inside the toilet. Bathroom breaks made easy and comfortable in Japan! All things feeling fresh!

Beyond my favorite items here in the Annapuri chalet, there's plenty of room for the crew, some nice views out the windows and a sweet kitchen. I'll hit y'all back soon with a mountain report...thanks for checking in. Blotto

All photos © Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2010

After Jack and I checked our baggage onto the next flight, we made our way through security, grabbed some fine Japanese chow mein and traded travel stories from the past couple of weeks. Jack had been touring through Europe with Mikkel attending a couple of contests and photo shoots. Jack, the fine filmer and editor that he is, had plenty of comedic edits to show me along with his stories. Good times.

As we're waiting in the boarding area, two more peeps from our crew showed up...Tom and Corey. They were fresh off international flights as well...Corey came in from Seattle, while Tom flew from Asia (he was working on an editorial piece about snowboarding in Turkey, which is considered part of the Asian territory). We exchanged a few more stories before they called us for boarding.

A quick 90-minute flight landed us in Sapporo where we were greeted by Keegan, Neil and Yui. Those three were already adjusted to the Japanese time zone, while the four of us were completed sacked out from so much travel and international date line crossing. But the funny thing is, once you reach your destination, that fourth wind kicks in and you're wide awake and stoked! 

After claiming all our bags, we loaded them in the van and made the two-hour drive into Niseko...but not before a cople of stops to pick up our first of many fine Japanese treats. I'll check back in from the house and post some pics of our scene. Cheers, Blotto

All photos © Blotto Photto 2010

My next mission is on the North Island of Japan (commonly referred to as Hokkaido) for an editorial shoot with Snowboarder Magazine. Editor, writer and overall epic dude Tom Monterosso has assembled the crew of Mikkel Bang, Jack Mitrani and Keegan Valaika to come and check out this zone made famous by it’s yearly snowfall amounts (lots of it!).

Our homebase is called Niseko, one of Japan’s most recognized snowboarding destinations due to the readily available lift serviced mountains, night riding, hiking and good vibes. We’ll have one week to check out as many spots as possible and document whatever we happen to ride within those zones.

I finished up the shoot in Big Bear on Friday afternoon, made it to LA that evening in preparation for my Saturday morning flight from LAX to Tokyo-Narita Airport. This pacific crossing would involve passing over the international date line, moving 17 hours into the future while flying in the airplane for 11 hours and 21 minutes. I try to book a window seat because the views over Alaska, Siberia and Northern Japan are usually fabulous. AK and Japan weren’t visible this flight, but checking out a bluebird day in the desolate lands of Siberia was cool! I wonder if we’ll book a photo shoot there?

After landing at Tokyo-Narita Airport, I found Jack in the customs line; we cleared our arrival paperwork, grabbed the bags, rechecked them with ANA Airlines and got ready for the next flight to Sapporo. I’ll post some more pics from our travel to the North Island tomorrow. Blotto

All photos © Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2010