I made it to Madarao.
The snow festival was on.
A giant apple…
The station for Madarao (Iiyama)
Nice and tidy. The share of foreign visitors was much higher than I expected. From here we took a car to the ski resort.
The ski slopes
The view is supposed to be great, but the snow hid all of it that day.
The view outside
Inside the hotel at the entrance to the Madarao ski area
There is a hot spring inside, and a soak after a day on the slopes is really something.
Takana oyaki
It is a manju-like thing sold only around here, tastes like a vegetable-filled steamed bun, and is better than I expected.
The road
The snow really came down like crazy. The temperature was not high, though, so the roads never turned to ice.
Scenery
Point the camera anywhere and you get a picture worth framing.
The cafeteria at the ski resort
The menu looks pretty good.
Jumbo shrimp tempura soba
Nagano is famous for soba, and even the soba at a ski resort cafeteria was decent.
Katsu curry
This one tasted good too.
A shot of the supermarket as well…
The order of the photos is all over the place…
Scenery
The ski slopes
Finally you can see it. A natural-snow ski resort really does have its charm. That is why people travel this far for it.
Milk
A bottle of it after the hot spring is unbeatable.
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