hokkaido (2020) in pictures: sai-ko japow with a side of gyu katsu

after my first snowboaridng trip to hokkaido, i knew i had to get back there so the four of us (efka, gleb & simon) organized a two-week trip together to pop their japow cherry. with a toyota hi-ace minivan and a whole pile of boards in tow, we stayed by lake toyako, otaru and sapporo and snowboarded at rusutu, kiroro and otaru tenguyama. menchi katsu, yakitori, brick oven pizzas, soup curry, crack karaage, gyu katsu, ramen, endless desserts and an all-male ice cream date were some memorable eats. (an unexpected) cold udon with a raw egg and ghetto curry were the memorable unmemorable meals. rough start to our first day on the mountain, followed by 8 days of legit powder, capped off with a 45cm day at kiroro. 2019-2020 was a lower than average snow year for the north island and it was relatively dry before we got there so we’re counting our blessings as our dates happened to line up pretty well with the snow. this trip was sponsored by the yes optimistic team; broke one, bought two and broke one of those new boards shortly thereafter. great times, great food with a great crew. like all things japan, can’t wait to do it all over again…