the prophetic crush : February 7 2025

the day ended here in this cold place, freezing temperatures below 0 degrees celsius. yes, another snowboard trip! it is the only activity which gets me excited on winters recently. who wouldn't? this is really an addiction, i think. but an addiction that is tolerable. but let me begin with how it went earlier that night.

after work, i went to the gym for a light treadmill session. quite a supplementary really, there was not much walking that night for i will be mostly inside a bus. i had a great time on the treadmill and ended with some needed sweat. it was when i went out where i saw an ambulance and a crushed car. vehicular accidents are quite rare in japan, and as a nosy person i took a picture for future retelling. never did i expect this to be a sign.

later that night, my housemates and i went down to shinjuku bus station for the overnight bus trip to a ski resort in nagano. that trip will be featured in a later entry, i hope you check that out when in comes as well. we met up with friends at the bus stop, 10 others were waiting there. yes, this was the biggest crowd for a snowboard session in my life. the bus station was also full of snow junkies on there way to ski resorts in the nagano area as well. normally, we would get on a bus at least 15 minutes ahead of the departure, this time was quite different. our bus seemed nowhere to be found. we frantically searched the bus stop as the departure time was nearing. we were waiting at the wrong bay area. no harm done, we got on just on time.

this was how an overnight bus in japan looked like. not much difference that a normal one. i have tried a "sleeper bus" before and each chair had an overhead cover for privacy. this one had none of those, but they turn off all the lights so people can sleep at least.

but they turn it back on at every rest stop. long bus rides usually have two or three rest stops for people to use the toilet, buy and eat snacks, have a little stretch from the long sitting position. in the first rest stop i ate this snack, a fish stick. i loved it. also bought the much needed milk as a bedtime routine.

at the next stop, the streets were now white. snow has fallen. it was very cold. i expected winter to be cold but i never expected it to snow. that night, i was wearing a non waterproof coat. snow when outside remains icy, but once inside the bus it melted to water. my coat got wet! and the wind was also blowing hard, i was underdressed. i should have worn my usual blue puff coat, at least that could protect me from the freezing wind and the wetness that came after.

the snow looked pretty though, no one can deny that. we were one of the few who walked on the virgin snow. and this is good news to our snowboard, right? fresh snow would blanket the slopes when we slide down the mountains when morning comes. fresh snow makes falling down not as bad.

at the last stop, the snow fall has stopped and this thick whiteness was all that was left. my wet jacket survived from getting more wet. looking back, was that vehicular accident earlier a sign? probably not.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!

Daily Activity, Treadmill, Walking