Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live in a snow globe?! Probably not. I hadn’t either until we discovered this little slice of heaven called Hakuba…
https://www.hakubavalley.com/en/
Located 168 miles north west of NAF Atsugi, Hakuba Valley is hardly a secret as it was home to the 1998 Winter Olympics of Nagano. But to us, it’s a weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of base life. Worthy of a trip every time of the year, the months between December-March are truly magical. With an over 11 meters (= 36 feet!) of annual snowfall, it’s literally a paradise for snow riders of all kinds, from beginners to experts, skiers to snowboarders. And even for those of us who are more the “après all day” types 🙂 More on that later- we’re right in the middle of ski season, and with two trips under out belt already this year and two more to come, I’ll dedicate a whole post to our holidays in Hakuba very soon!
For us, the joy is in the journey as much as in the destination. There’s a special twinge of excitement in all six of us as we load up our Delica and head for the mountains. We know we’re close when we make it to the series of tunnels, the last of which we’ve dubbed “the magic tunnel.” It’s magical because you drive through it, and poof… snow everywhere! Lining the roads, covering the streets, blanketing the trees… swirling through the air.
And that’s when we felt it- life inside a snow globe.
Sometimes the snow is heavy, almost blinding to drive in, as if someone has just picked up the globe and shaken it as hard as they can. Other times, it’s falling gently, settling ever so softly on the windshield. Yet other times, it’s dancing from the ground up as the winter winds whip the snowflakes in circles. And every once in a while, everything is still. Peaceful. A softness, a gentleness that fills you with the same warmth and contentment as your beloved snow globe on your fireplace mantle. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first trip, or in our case, your ninth, it never gets old. It’s always as if it’s your first time experiencing it! And at the same time, you welcome it like a long lost friend as it invokes a feeling of happiness like everything is right in the world.
And that, my friends, is where the magic lies <3
