Karuizawa in March

    We took a quick weekend trip to Karuizawa. It's been our go-to for skiing with the kids (or the kid, for now), because at two and a half hours away via car and an hour away via Shinkansen, it is relatively close. The slopes there are also great for beginners. Winter is shorter in this part of the world, and with the effects of global warming, there are precious few months left for skiing. With warm weather having already reached Tokyo, we packed our bags for one last ski adventure. 

    We departed in the late afternoon and aimed for a dinnertime arrival. For a small resort town, Karuizawa has an astonishing number of good restaurants and bakeries. Our favorite soba restaurant Kawakami-an also has branches in Tokyo, but their Karuizawa restaurant offers more variety and nearly double the portion size. I mean this in a good way, as this is more a blessing than a curse in Japan, particularly with my two hungry girls. The catch right now is that it is low season for visitors. Many restaurants are now closed until the summer, when people flock to the mountains to escape the city heat. The restaurants that remain open now fill up quickly with reservations. We opted for takeaway from Kastanie Rotiserrie, which makes amazing roast chicken. 

   Since we were there just for the weekend, we headed for the slopes on Saturday morning. The slopes were unexpectedly crowded. Super crowded. I thought it would peak around noon, but it just grew throughout the afternoon. The downside of a ski resort like Karuizawa is that it there are a lot of beginners. While there are a decent number of ski runs, some are quite narrow. It felt at times more like dodging people than skiing. 

    Despite this, E had a great time. We had enrolled her in a group lesson this winter. E is a cautious by nature, and I thought being around other kids would be more encouraging. The fun thing about kids is their ability to surprise you. E had no fear of the slopes. On the contrary, she preferred skiing with us to group lessons because the latter meant less action and more waiting around. Of course, skiing together was also more fun because we were doing it together. And she learned much more quickly on her feet. As my old school motto goes, discimus agere agendo - we learn to do by doing. 

    Kids, since they are small, don't lose control of their speed as easily as adults. This is one reason why E had little trepidation. I would love to introduce her to cross-country skiing, but that is harder to come by in Japan. Near my parents home in Minnesota is an amazing cross country course that winds through a national park. It makes you fall in love with winter. Maybe we will be able to return there next year. It seems cross country skiing requires a bit more coordination and strength than alpine, so waiting a year or two will be good anyways. 

For now, it's goodbye to winter and hello to spring.