My Final Day at Hakkoda

May 3rd, of 2008 marked my final day at Hakkoda. The sun was out, the sky was blue...perfect right? The only problem was that it was about 20 degrees Celsius! OMG the snow was definitely melting and unfortunately for my two friends who came all the way from Tokyo to check out Hakkoda was misinformed with a 2 week old Hakkoda snow report. It said 105cm at the base...when we got there, there was no snow at the base! SHOCK!

But whatever...I jumped out of the car and spoke with the head ski patrolman and asked him about the snow condition and he says to me, "Well, there is snow.....you just have to walk down when you get to the bottom half." I laughed so hard...."Are you freakin' serious?" He laughed and I could no longer see his eyes, "I'm serious. If you wanna snowboard, this is all thats left." You know, was dead right. Hakkoda is the last place to have snow before it all goes bye bye, but this season the snow melted a little faster than previous seasons and we have no one else to blame but us humans. Shame on us huh?

When we got to the top and made our way outside...The snow was still there but all the trees were visible. This was a sight I've never seen before because in winter, the trees are massively covered with snow. Hakkoda looked entirely different. It was filled with tourist wearing t-shirts and sunglasses putting on sunscreen. We set our boards down to take a few pictures and when I turned back around a Chinese tourist lady picked up my board and was posing with it! I kept thinking ........uhmmm, yah thats my board and not yours. Heh, I couldn't help but be super amused. Then the Chinese lady's friend posed with it...and then her friend. I tought about it a bit and I actually started feeling a bit touched to know that these ladies will forever have pictures of Hakkoda with my board in it. Hahaha...mark of the living legend.

We decided to strap on our boards and head down. Ski patrol told me that the Forest course was wider than the direct so thats were we headed. Surprisingly, the snow wasn't too sticky and we had decent speed. Probably about the last 1/4...the snow trail was slowly getting smaller and smaller and soon it became a tiny stream. Holy......here?!?! We unstrapped and took pictures. Unfortunately the only camera I had was my cell phone, but still I think you get the picture.

It wasn't much for snowboarding, but it does make a good story. Life is about the stories and the wacky moments you remember. This one here......my last Hakkoda day.....I'm gonna definitely remember this one for as long as I live. I'm just glad my friends had a good time. We didn't stop laughing even after 2 more runs!

Winter is over...

Yesterday was pleasantly warm. The sun blessed its rays on the Aomori surfers as the spring breeze touched the land of the blue forest for yet another day. "Takeshi, today's so warm huh?"
He looked over to me with a wrinkle above his left eye and said, "Yes, but the ocean is freezing and I'm getting cold!". He was right. The ocean was icey but the temperature was indeed pleasant. As I sat in the ocean waiting for a wave to come, it dawned on me that the winter was near its end in Aomori.

The mountains still have snow, but the snow is no where near the same. The trees are no longer dressed in its' beautiful white coat. The air is once again invisible upon every exhale. I've packed away my fleece driving gloves that saved my hands from freezing as I drove my car from place to place. It's not easy living in winter wonderland. There are many things you must do to overcome the blizzard cold temperatures. But by enduring and overcoming the extreme cold, you are rewarded with the silent pleasantries of winter. No other season makes you prepare for it like winter.

"Whooo Tom, Tom its coming!!" I looked ahead and saw a wave that entered just off the tetrapods and paddled my way towards it. The wave was quite small and didn't have a lot of power so every stoke matters. I dug deep to move myself in position to catch the waist high wave and once I felt my board locked in, I pressed down firmly with my hands and popped up and took the mini drop. I worked the wave the best I could and eventually fell off my board doing a backside top turn.

"Damn, that sucked. I need to 'ganbaru' more," I thought to myself. "I'm not gonna get any better if I don't 'ganbaru'". This thought quickly shifted my mind back to my winter thoughts. My body was on autopilot while my mind was drifting. Since it was my last winter, I made a goal to go out and capture the best winter photos I could so that when I leave, I wouldn't have regrets like..."I shoulda, I wish I woulda....." I wanted to try and capture Aomori's winter beauty in all its glory. I was challenging myself to produce images that I could be proud of for the rest of my life and be able to show people where I lived for what would be 5 years. This journey wasn't easy. I carried my camera gear everywhere I went and constantly had 'ideas' running around in my head. I discovered that the most potential, 'fantastic photos', really depends on timing. Timing is so important to photography. Being there at the right time really is what makes photos stand out. It's that extra effort you put in that end up rewarding you like no normal photo can.

If you are unaware, I'm quite hard on myself and I always believe that I could do better. I wonder if there will be a day where I'm content with my own performance. I don't think I will ever be. I hope you enjoy my 07-08 winter photos because these are the best I can produce at this stage in my life. I hope to get a lot better.

February 9th, 2008: Hiking Hakkoda

Living in Aomori and having Hakkoda in our backyard is a wonderful blessing. Before coming to Japan, I knew absolutely nothing about northern Japan's snow condition and when I arrived I knew I landed in heaven. POWDER HEAVEN!

This year's highlight has to be the hike up Takada Odake. The weather was pristine, the snow was fantastic, and the time...just perfect. All of us, Nao, Eiko, Mitsuru, Brian, and I were so stoked when we arrived at the destination and got our packs ready in the morning. There's not many days of blue skies in winter and when there is there is no better way to spend a day at the mountain. We arrived about 8:30am and sorted our gear and made our first steps about 9:00am.

This was my first time hiking and I kept thinking, "Man am I really doing this? This is sooooo cool." In my backpack I had my nothing but my camera, my snowboard jacket, and 2 onigiris. I was wearing a fleece jacket, but during the hike I got so hot I decided to take it off and wrap it around my board. I hiked the entire duration in my long sleeve undershirt and t-shirt.

After a long hot and sweaty 3 hour hike, we finally reached our destination. Magical!! It was a moment I will never forget for as long as I live. Until that day, I've never seen the top of a snow covered mountain without riding a chairlift or gondola.....something man made invented to cheat nature and make life easier on us humans. This day, I fully understood what it meant to "earn your turns." The ride down felt like it lasted maybe mere 30 seconds. I was haulin' ballz!!! It was the fastest I've ever gone on a snowboard. Faster than any of the boarder x event I've been in. The adrenaline rushes to your head and all you can think about is going fast and making HUUUUUGE turns!