Spoke to my Mum on the phone about three hours ago and said I would update tonight, so here it is. I went skiing today, a bit later than planned, but I got there, which is the main thing. When I got there though, the cable car (gondola) was closed due to strong wind. Bummer. It was horrendous on the road today, with blizzard winds rolling across the fields into the road. I got there at twelve noon. I waited a bit, but some other lads who were there suggested getting some shovels and building a ramp at the bottom. It took about thirty minutes to pack a good ramp together, and I had about four or five runs before coming back home. (We had to hike about 60 yards to get a bit of speed up first). The good thing is that my boots weren't all that painful.
Enough about skiing.
I've just been out to an onsen (Japanese public baths) with Akiko and I'm now feeling extremely clean and tired. We went in one of the family onsens, which is a private public bath that families can use together. Young couples can also use them for hanky-panky, but I wouldn't know anything about that.
I've got to go now, but I'll post again soon.