We started out the week in Niseko with Lola being pretty skeptical of snow (but calling snowflakes "bubbles") but gradually she warmed up as the week progressed. Michael and I patiently exposed her every day to snow by means of playing, sledding, tubing and just generally walking around outside. Eventually she was willing, albeit still reluctantly, to stand on and touch (but through gloves) the weird substance.
We made an excellent discovery at the little slopes by the Green Leaf Hotel in Niseko Village - they have a sledding hill and they provide you big and small sleds as well as snowball makers free of charge. Excellent. Lola, ever the adventurer, loved sledding and was not scared at all. But as you can see from these pictures, sledding and being out in the snow and sun made her supremely sleepy.
We went a few times during the week and each time Lola started off with some level of hesitancy or skepticism, and then generally decided she liked the thrill.
I still maintain that we made very good progress.
We took Lola on the gondola twice - the first time with all of us on a little gondola from Niseko Village, and the second time from the large gondola by the Hilton on the last day of our trip (when Michael got the time wrong and thought we had plenty of time to leave for the airport when actually we were cutting it very close). She was generally fine and not at all scared.
Once we got onto the mountain, Lola was fascinated by the chair lifts and kept saying "vroom vroom." She also spent a lot of time staring at the older (but still very little) kids who were on skis.
We waited for a glass bottomed gondola for our ride down the mountain. Again, fearless.
On Saturday, our last full day in Niseko, we took Lola tubing at the tubing park in Hanazono. It essentially is a couple of huge, powdery, long runs down hill. This is the view from the top.
The magic carpet conveyor takes you back up to the top, and you can do it over and over again. The tubes were thick and heavy and sturdy and felt very solid and safe. We rented a tube for an hour.
It had just dumped snow so the mountain looked fantastic.
The munchkin was as calm as you please - not at all scared even as the lift picked up speed. She went down with Michael, me, Jovie... basically she got the most rides out of all of us! Here, taking a banana break at the top (as one does).
I love it when Lola just kicks back and relaxes with her daddy.
All in all, we had a great time and we really think Lola did as well!
We made an excellent discovery at the little slopes by the Green Leaf Hotel in Niseko Village - they have a sledding hill and they provide you big and small sleds as well as snowball makers free of charge. Excellent. Lola, ever the adventurer, loved sledding and was not scared at all. But as you can see from these pictures, sledding and being out in the snow and sun made her supremely sleepy.
In fact, we had an unprecedented event - Lola asleep in the car!!
Michael and Lola also just generally enjoyed horsing around in the mounds of powder - Michael maybe a bit more than Lola. We tried to lay her down and teach her how to make snow angels, but as soon as she was flat on her back she panicked and screamed to be picked up.
Once we got onto the mountain, Lola was fascinated by the chair lifts and kept saying "vroom vroom." She also spent a lot of time staring at the older (but still very little) kids who were on skis.
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