The final leg of my adventure in Japan was out in Niseko, a popular mountain town. This was the focal point of my whole travel, as Alek had brought together a fairly large group to go snowboarding and skiing in the mountains. This was only my second time snowboarding, but I was really pleased with how quickly I picked it up. I think a lot of my past skateboarding and surfing skills carried over.

Since I was traveling in a group, I didn't remember to take a ton of photos. But the general vibe was lots of snow, snowboarding and exploring the small town. As mentioned, it's a popular tourist destination and so most of the people (including shop workers!) were foreigners. So not quite an authentic Japanese experience, but a ton of fun nonetheless.

Here's a shot of some of the houses on the outskirts of town.
And here's a good view from up the mountain, looking down on Niseko.
Shortly after making it to Niseko, I stopped by the rental shop to pick up some gear. Back in Colorado, I've been snowboarding with some cheap second-hand stuff I found at a thrift shop. It's become a running gag with some friends about how ugly my sweater is when on the mountains. So when I was handed the ugly sweater on the left here in Japan, I felt compelled to ask if I could get something a bit more stylish to hit the slopes with this time.
Hanging at the AirBNB we rented for the group. It was a really nice place, and very cozy. Here I'm enjoying a cup of coffee with my friend Zac.
Getting ready to hit the slopes! The weather wasn't the best for the first few days, but I braved it anyways. Unfortunately, this meant that I exhausted myself by the time the weather was good in the last couple of days. I also managed to slip on some ice while snowboarding and hurt my rib pretty bad, putting me mostly out of commission. Oh well, I still got three good days in!
One evening, we ventured out to the bar and found this cool loft area in one. It was big enough to accomodate our group, and we had a fun evening hanging here.
I had to catch a train back to the airport from Niseko. The station was super tiny, and covered in snow.
Me and Sunny, waiting on the train. This was shot on an old disposable camera, giving it that retro vibe.
Another dispoable camera shot, of me being a goofball and pretending like I was shoveling the snow from the train track.
The food in Niseko was definitely geared towards Westerners, and so I didn't end up taking many photos. Not to mention the fact that most the restaurants were fully booked with reservations for weeks in advance, and we had a large group. As such, most of my food was from the ski restort, convenience stores and food trucks.