ニセコ

It's 2 days since I came to Niseko, on the northern japanese island of Hokkaido. It's a beautiful place with lots of things to do: cutting bushes, jump on little bulldozers and go throw away the cuttings -leafs, branches, flowers, grass...-, covering up deconstructed verandas, washing dishes, help cooking, clean up floors, tables, toilets, baths, building some kind of tippis for the little trees not to get squashed by the snow... Because the snow is coming and everybody is looking forward to it: peak season. I and Mitchan end up the day shattered. He is the only member of the staff here in the low season and a nice bloke that's showing me around and telling me what to do and how to do it.

I'm staying at the 'Milky House', the oldest pension in Niseko and a very well known one or so it seems: last friday at Saroi's housewarming party in Tokyo a couple of people knew the place.

By the way, that's Annupuriyama, what I see every morning when I wake up and look out of my window. It's a BIG difference comparing to the windowless match box I had in Tokyo.

It is cold, though they say it's getting colder. This morning Yoteiyama woke up all covered in white. -15ºC is not uncommon. But for the time being we're having some positive degrees with a cutting sharp little breeze when in the shade and at dusk. But it is sunny too. Actually I got a bit sunburnt while working outdoors today: it's only 2 days that I got here and I already have got the countenance of a farmer.