My Very Own Ski Mountain... Tobboganin' Teine

6th April, 2009 - After a couple of days, we returned once more to Teine... this time T-chan was able to join us for more fun in the snow. And like last time, we had the mountain completely to ourselves. Of course the fact that the snow was more ice than anything may have had something to do with that. Still, that doesn't stop you having fun... even the cooler (darker) weather didn't dampen our enthusiasm.

And even ojiichan get into the act. Whilst L-kun was ok going down on the sled by himself, he enjoyed it more when there was someone to judiciously apply brakes. Of course the extra weight on the sled had the counteracting effect of driving the sled down the slop even faster. As they say - swings and roundabouts. 

And not wanting L-kun to think that we were ganging up on him, both T-chan and myself gave it a go. Again, and again, and again....

And whilst the snow was poor quality (but then again, it was April), it was a great experience. Oh... there was one downside however. The problem with Spring Snow is that it has to start melting somewhere. And sometimes it starts melting in unexpected places.  

We didn't take a photo of it, but down the bottom (about 3 m from where I passed, the snow had indeed started to melt to the point that there was a 1.5 m sinkhole in the snow which would have been very messy to fall down. Ah... if I had known that I may not have had quite as much fun on the way down. It is however one of the downsides of having the mountain to yourself. No one to witness the flurry of arms and legs as they disappear with a swooosh and a shhhhhhhiiiiiii.....to be honest - danger is my middle name. Adelaide Danger Ben. Couldn't you tell.

Still, knowing the risks, I did the most appropriate thing. L-kun's turn! 

Although going down was never quite the same as going up.... but that's because he successfully negotiated all of the crevasse and assorted other death-defying dangers. L-kun's middle name was unfortunately Couch-potato.

I know parents are sometimes cruel, heartless beasts (I mean, was this some kind of bizarre punishment?). At L-kun's age - and with his lack of experience on snow - he just couldn't quite work out whether he should be enjoying himself. Daddy had no such difficulty.

We're so looking forward to enjoying another trip up to Teine this upcoming March... and I'm sure that L-kun will definitely work out which is the fun bit (and here's a hint L-kun... it's not the going up part).

Walking in Maeda Shinrin-koen

12th October, 2006 - Needing a bit of time together, T-chan and I headed off to Maeda Shinrin-koen, where we'd done our X-country skiing way back in 2003. In Autumn the place looks completely different... instead of a wide expanse of snow, we see an environment of green, with a just a few splashes of red as the weather cools and Autumn starts to take hold. The clouds roll through, but there's no real threat of cold/wet weather coming. It's the perfect place to have a chat about things like parenting as there's plenty of space to let your thoughts go free.


It's a great park to walk, and in spring and summer it's also a great locale to see a veriety of blooms. Now there's not much to see flower-wise. Winter approaches.

In this part of Sapporo, Teine-yama dominates the skyline. It's not the most mountainous of mountains - yet it's still stands at over 1,000m in height. There's something imposing about the mountain top. Perhaps it's the winter memory from the last trip - or perhaps it's simply the dangerous looking array of antanae spikes that run down its spine. It always seems to be keeping a watchful and protective eye over all that happens beneath it.

The walk on this day may not have been enough to get our heads around our soon-to-be-parent-status, but it helped. It was also a nice place to just get out and walk in the open. To get there is about 30 mins drive from the centre of Sapporo. Entry is free.

View Larger Map

Back at home... we had a typical cook-at-the-table meal ready for us - this night was Oden, which is a very traditional Japanese winter food. In fact, you often see it in convenience stores nowadays during the colder months. This is not my favourite however.

With T-chan pregnant, it was a common for her to be the last to leave the table. When you can't taste what you're eating though, there's not much enjoyment in it.


Everyone was full...Even T-chan's cat. What a life.

To Teine and Back Again

14th Jan, 2005 - We're off to see the wizard... the snow wizard who lives atop Teine-yama. Sapporo people are pretty spoilt when it comes to skiing options. Most Australians would be familiar with Niseko resort, however there's a very good mountain just 20-30 mins from T-chan's house (and that's to the ski-lifts... depending on the weather)... Teine-yama... home of the slalom and bob-sleigh during the 1972 Winter Olympics.



View Larger Map


There are two courses - Olympia (the lower of the two) and Highland.  In summer time, there's also a theme park, and you can try your hand at grass skiing. Personally the though of falling over on the snow is more appealing. Access and parking to the ski runs is free, and ski chair passes start around 3,500yen (4 hours) 3,900 yen (6hours), 4,800 yen (full day). A night ticket costs 1800 yen (4-9pm). The runs cater for all skill levels, but the die-hards will most likely head off to Niseko anyhow.


One of the attractions of Teine ski runs is the view (and the proximity to Sapporo). You get brilliant views across the city plains, out across the bay and to the mountains to the north-east. The view changes subtly throughout the day and into the evening.

We stayed there all day, until the sun had started to well and truly set.

There's plenty of lights around the mountain slopes to keep going well into the night.

Night draws closer - and the last light begins slowly to fade below the distant mountain range across the bay.

You may be wondering - where did I learn to ski? Well... there's a very exclusive teacher in Sapporo (though I've heard that she spends much of her time abroad these days) that can provide personalised lessons... down her street. I was borrowing T-chan's ski's to get a hang of proper ski's (as compared to X-country skis) the day before. Hazukashii! (that's sooo embarrassing).

Actually, whilst we have snow in Australia - there's none around Adelaide. So I'm a complete newbie when it comes to real skiing. My experience was that it's most probably best to spend a few days there - but Teine doesn't tend to cater well for lessons for foreigners. It was exhausting skiing all day (and I admit a little frustrating initially). Actually the skiing is fine, what wore me out was the walking back up the slope to try again.

I can't wait to go back and try and again - and learn how to ski properly.