Seki Onsen

Time for another excursion to the nearby village of Seki Onsen. The Onsen suffix means that it's a hot spring, just like with Akakura Onsen in Myoko. We didn't go bathing though, although we perhaps should have as it's probably a great experience in such a place. Since our hotel in Myoko has it's own Onsen, it did not feel like a priority. Also, as it happens, we're here to ski apparently.

Just because I wrote about yesterday that everything just works, this time the taxi arrangement actually did not work quite perfectly, so a few persons arrived a little later. No worries though, it all worked out and all arrived well in Seki Onsen.

It seems worker safety is not quite the thing it is back home in Sweden. This guy is working a roof at least 8 meters above ground, full of snow, and with no equipment except a shovel and a ladder.

It was actually scary to watch him go up there.

Seki has one of the famous single-person lifts that is just a simple flat seat, with no further security. I guess safety overall is just not the concern. Actually it felt quite safe once you got used to it, but I've been told that if a lift *really* stops, the laws of physics dictate that there's actually quite a bit of forward momentum to kill. Not sure if everyone really would stay seated in such a situation.

At least the backpack is not in the way!

Seki is a small ski area, with lots of powder hounds. Actually about 100% I'd say, so it gets cut up quite quickly when there's been a fresh snowfall. After a couple of runs in the ungroomed piste, and then in the woods we did a short tour to an adjacent abandoned piste.

It's hard to believe at times, that there's actually not enough snow here.

This is still not enough. See the bamboo...

After a nice day, while waiting for the taxis to arrive some of us went to the local bar, which is housed in a container, sitting atop another container. Inside it was decidedly off the main stream of Japanese bars I've seen, with some customers imbibing quite heavily but probably not keeping up with the barkeep which I think was taking one drink for each guest drink. That can't be healthy in the long run.

Barkeep probably just breathes on the rats to keep the promise.