Last weekend was spent in Yuzawa, a town in Niigata known for its snow and onsens. It was a fun trip, but travelling with a baby is even harder than I thought it would be. And this is even taking into account the fact that Shuma was extremely well behaved- it's all the extra stuff you have to carry, all the careful planning, the lack of freedom and the effort involved in keeping a baby amused that made it hard. (And I know you experienced parents are all snorting and thinking 'yeah, wait until he's a toddler', but please let me wallow in self-pity for a while.)
We started by meeting my sister-in-law, her husband and daughter Marya, 5, and son Yuuki, 2 1/2 months, and taking the shinkansen (bullet train) together. This was the easiest part of the trip, since Shuma and I are already experienced shinkansen riders, having taken the bullet train to Osaka for new years. This time the ride was shorter and Hideaki was with us, so I got to relax and have an ekiben (train station lunchbox). In this case it was a special chirashizushi (sushi rice topped with decorative morsels) box for Hinamatsuri (Girls' Day), and it was so nice to eat something that didn't need to quickly be scarfed down with one hand. Snacks were chips, nitamago (boiled egg simmered in soy sauce) and (a sip of) beer.
Shuma behaved beautifully, and the ride went by quickly. The only downside was that we were in the bottom of a double-decker car so didn't get much of a view. But when we arrived at Echigo Yuzawa station it was hard to believe we'd been in the centre of Tokyo just an hour and fifteen minuted earlier. We were surrounded by mountains and everything was covered in about a metre of snow. If you could block out the town's ugly buildings, it was beautiful.
I'm not a skier, and Shuma probably isn't so good either, so we helped Hideaki get geared up (and when we saw how much his rental equipment and lift pass cost, we were glad we weren't joining him).
We spent the afternoon relaxing with hot chocolate, playing with the babies, watching kids pound mochi (sticky rice), and then of course eating the results.
During the trip Shuma had more naps than he'd had since he was a newborn. He always naps better when Hideaki is around (which drives me nuts- why can't he nap when it's just me and I have stuff to do?) but this was impressive. Here is Shuma during dinner- we were each able to take turns holding him while we took many, many trips to the hotel buffet.
We slept on futons and tatami, which was very nice and made me wish we had a tatami room at home- it's very baby friendly.
The next morning Hideaki skied some more and we went out to watch.
Can you guess which one's him?
The bottom of the hill was full of kids learning to ski, and there was a kid's play area that you had to pay to get in but it didn't look much fun for babies. So we watched Marya ski (her first time!) and played in the snow.
Of course Shuma fell asleep while we played. He was a bit underwhelmed by the snow- he loved looking at it but didn't have much of a reaction to grabbing it and eating it. And I guess his snowsuit was just too comfy for him to resist a nap.
And then it was time to go. And even though it all went smoothly and Shuma was mostly an angel, we were exhausted. Does travelling with a baby get easier with practice?
A few more pictures here.
So much snow in March :) Its so nice to see him sleeping like an angel. What hotel did you stay at Yuzawa? Was it value for money for families? I am planning a trip to Japan with my 3 and 5 for some snow and it sure looks like a family friendly place.
Posted by: Pei | 2011.03.04 at 01:42 PM
looks like fun!
Posted by: kat | 2011.03.04 at 02:58 PM
Oh my gosh! Shuma is a genetic prodigy.. he's just sooo precious >.<
Where in Yuzawa did you guys stay?
Posted by: Amelia | 2011.03.04 at 04:25 PM
Yes, it does get easier! You get better at predicting what will happen and bringing the necessary supplies. Of course their needs are always changing but yeah, you get used to it. I don't think it ever stops being tiring tho but don't let that hold you back! :) Cheers from a mom of a 5 year-old with a ton of stamps in her passport!
Posted by: Claire Tanaka | 2011.03.04 at 06:14 PM
This looks like Hotel Grandia...I can recognize the low grade slope....I think I may have pics of their onsen, too....
Posted by: thesoulofjapan | 2011.03.08 at 10:40 PM
Oh my god, the picture of Shuma-chan in the black hat is just too much! I LOVE it!
Posted by: pockosmum | 2011.03.10 at 12:32 AM
Cute baby pictures. Seems like you had a great time playing in snow!
Posted by: Lena | 2011.03.10 at 01:31 PM
it does get much easier and by the time they approach 2, if you have travelled often enough, you will see that the load in your diaper bag can decrease significantly
Posted by: idlehouse | 2011.03.11 at 05:41 PM
Thanks for the comments!
Amelia and Pei, we stayed at Angel Grandia, as SoulofJapan guessed. It was very family friendly but not the most organized place. Good value for the money though (there is a much more expensive family type place in the same area that we would have stayed at if we could afford it).
And thanks for the assurances, Claire and Idlehouse!
Posted by: Amy | 2011.04.23 at 10:19 AM