Skiing is undoubtedly Japan’s favorite winter sport. Coming from a tropical country, I hadnever experienced this challenging sport before. So on one Saturday, I decided to go on the“Snowboard & Ski & Snow Play” package tour of Meitetsu with my friend to have the first take at this winter sport.

The bus departs quite early, at 7:20 from Meitetsu Bus Center at Nagoya Station. Therefore, if you are set to go on this adventure, remember to wake up early to reach Nagoya Station on time. The bus will depart from the fourth floor of the Bus Center, and there will be an English-speaking tour guide on board, so you do not need to worry about not understanding the information. The whole journey takes approximately 3 hours, a perfect time to take a short nap on the way. However, I suggest that you only take the nap for the first 2 hours, and for the last hour on board, you could witness the spectacular view from the window as the bus enters the snowy mountain of Gifu. The snow covers everything in white and the snow that piles up the pavement resembles the scene of a Disney movie.

The “Snowboard & Ski & Snow Play” package tour will take you to Hirugano Kogen Ski Resort in Gifu. It is a fairly small ski hill located in the northern area of Gujo city in the central region of Gifu prefecture. The resort consists of three main ski tracks, suitable for a wide variety of level, from novice to professional skier. If you happen to not have any ski equipment, do not worry. At the resort, you could rent ski clothes as well as the types of equipment, both ski and snowboard. After putting on everything, it is time for me to ski for
the first time.

For a person from a tropical country like me, skiing is no easy task. It took me 30 minutes to learn how to put on my ski and to keep my balance. However, the challenge could not prevent me from enjoying the beauty of the snow. If you are not a skiing fan, you could try the sledging in the kid area. There is also the snow play area where you could build your own snowman. If you enjoy skiing, then the lift is a good option for you. There are two lifts at the resort. The first one will take you to the middle of the mountain, while the other takes you to the top. However, you need to be extremely careful when getting on the lift, as for a novice like me, I almost pushed my friend away when we were trying to sit on the lift bench.

The ski trip lasted for 6 hours. After a long day of skiing, I took a pleasant bus ride back to Nagoya. If you want to experience how skiing in Japan look like, the “Snowboard & Ski & Snow Play” package tour of Meitestsu would be a perfect choice for you and your loved ones.