美しい北海道

Spent a wonderful 7 days with my family this Chinese New year on our trip to Japan.. I had always loved the country, been to Central Japan twice, but this time, the experience was sweeter cos it was spent mostly in the countryside in Northern Japan,Hokkaido.

But this meant it was much colder, and I saw much more snow than ever..but the tranquility and beautiful people made the coldness bearable and no matter now much snow there was, we were all in good spirits..

Everything about the trip was great,, except the long flights and waiting time at the airports.. luckily there were loads of shops at the airport..

Had to take a 7.5 hr flight to Narita Airport, and then a 1 hour bus ride to the Domestic Airport, where there was another 1.5 hour flight to Hokkaido..

We slept overight on the plane cos Narita airport operates up to 9pm only.. and I managed to capture some lovely shots of the rising sun and clouds along the way.

I always love the feeling of being on the plane.. cos I really work hard.. and I cherish such breaks when they come..

Those in the backgrd are Salted fish.. Hung by the Ainu pple at the Shiraoi Ainu Village..The Ainu pple are the aborigines of Hokkaido..supposedly with features of the Europeans.. I guess its cos it is located near Russia..

It started snowing in the late afternoon.. it was dark at 4pm cos of the season.. it was my 1st time experiencing snow falling down on me.. it was like an ice shaving machine above my head..

This was taken at Hell Valley, Jigokidani, a sulphourous Valley.. there was steaming streams and boiling ponds amidst the snow..

I love how the snow glow in my pictures. Was glad I managed to capture it on my camera.

Dinner was a feast..We were dressed in Yukata and seated on tatami.. dinner was fit for a king.. there was more than wad is pictured on that tray.. they kept bringing in more food, soup...

My brother is seen eyeing my food here.. cos I kept passing food over to him..