Finding Warmth in the Snowy Mountains of Nagano

It was freezing stepping off of the bullet train. I couldn’t feel my fingers, but I knew they were shaking with nervousness as the wait to meet my host family begun. I was excited for two reasons; one, meeting a family I was going to be living with and knew nothing about, and two getting to see and touch snow for the first time.

As we go drove up to Escal Plaza my nerves had settled and I was eager to walk through those doors and meet my host family. I remember sitting there with the other HPU students in my group, just looking around waiting until our host family came and found us.

As I sat, an elder man who spoke very few English approached us. This was Mr. Shimokawa which we would call Papa. As we loaded his van and drove down the mountain to his lodge the beautiful alps of Nagano filled my eyes with joy.

Although it was dark, the snow was beautiful and white. It was falling so gracefully from the sky as it carpeted the roads ahead of us. As we stepped out of his van and I looked to the sky, fresh snow welcomed us.

Being a local kid, this was my first time seeing real snow (other than the snow you find in the freezer section of the grocery store). It was amazing and cold. Can you believe the first time I saw snow was also the first time I was out of the country and first time I was in Japan? Well, I still can't.

As we entered the giant lodge Mrs. Shimokawa; Mama, came to greet us. A small, kind women welcomed us with her warm smile. 

There was so much that happened in just the two nights I spent with the Shimokawa family. We had ate traditional home cooked meals, helped with the dishes, took a bath in a shared bathtub, made sushi and soba from scratch, tried on a kimono that was created by Mama and her mother back when she was 20, we had went sledding with Papa and pelted each other with snowballs, had built snow mans that we later destroyed while sledding, and so much more. 

 Bullet train that took us to Nagano. 

 The bath.

 Home cooked meals from Mama.

 Mama and me.

 First snow man... Baymax?

 Making soba with Papa.

 Pau Hana.

 Sledding with Escal Plaza in the back.

 Sushi... well it would be once put it all together.

 Me in the kimono... I'm so fly.

Group picture with the Shimokawa Family.

My experience cannot be shared in just words. I am grateful to have met the Shimokawa family and I will continue to reach out to them and keep contact with them. Although it was freezing and cold in Nagano, the Shimokawas were warm and welcoming. When I get another opportunity to go to Japan, returning to Nagano is definitely on my list.