I am lucky to have friends who are addicted to snowboarding. Addicted enough to drive the 2~3 hour car journey in order to go snowboarding in Niigata for a weekend. I too suffer from this terrible snow sport addiction, so when Yuko offered me a weekend of sun, snow and Japanese verb conjugation, I couldn't say yes quickly enough.

My story begins on Saturday morning, at the horrible time of 3.30am. This is when my alarm kindly reminded me it was time to go. Not that it needed to, I was so excited I was lying in bed just waiting for the time to roll around. At 3.31am I was already dressed and ready to go, but as the train didn't leave until 4.40, I had plenty of time. Incase you're wondering why I set my alarm four an hour early, I am very good at having "just five more minutes" in bed which quickly turn into 25 extra minutes.

A grand total of four passengers boarded the train at Oji station, and I was the only person to get off at Urawa station, where I waited for my friend to arrive. Sadly they were a little delayed, and I was left sitting on my bags outside the station in the freezing cold. I was pretty tired and cold but that was quickly forgotten when a car about the size of a truck pulled up and the beaming faces of my friends peered out of the windows.

When I asked why Yuko, who lives in pretty central Tokyo, had bought a car that could comfortably fit three elephants, her reply was "I like to go snowboarding every weekend in January and February." She went oddly quiet when I asked what she was going to do with it for the other 11 months. Still, no use in wondering. I climbed in and fell asleep.

After driving for a few hours and a quick breakfast (curry rice!) at a service station, we arrived at our destination. We quickly bundled on our snowboard gear and I rented a snowboard (I bought myself new snowboard boots, but I can't buy a board because getting it back to England would be quite a challenge), then it was time to hit the slopes!

For those who haven't seen snowboarders in action, the hardest thing to do is get off a chairlift. You must unstrap your back foot from the board in order to push yourself along the snow, and that means balancing and driving the board with only one foot strapped in at the other end. It takes a few tries to get used to it, and if you haven't been snowboarding for some time it's not uncommon to fall off the lift the first time. I immediately did so. Not the best start to the weekend.

Still, the weather was great, (warm but not hot) and the snow was somewhat new. We spent about 7 hours on the slopes. I am still a learner snowboarder, so I only went down the hard runs once, then I focused on my technique all afternoon. Sometimes I wish I had stayed on skis so I could tear up the slopes like the good old days. I used to love weaving in between learner skiers and snowboarders, scaring the crap out of them and generally being a nuisance. Now that I'm a slow learner again, I hate skiiers like myself. Oh well.

We spent that evening drinking, eating at a traditional Japanese restaurant and watching the sumo on TV. This was the first time I'd seen it properly, and I must say it's somewhat confusing. Each fight lasts about fifteen seconds, and then there's a whole lot of grunting and throwing salt and advertising. I can't say I am a sumo fan.

Sadly on Sunday the weather was too hot, and there had been no new snow, so as a result the piste conditions were somewhat poor. Snowboarding through slush is like trying to run with flippers on. Very difficult and rarely does it look good. It's also a lot more painful to fall on, which explains why I spent Monday hobbling around.

I have compiled a list of professional snowboarding tips and techniques that I myself have created;

1. If it looks like you're going to fall off it, you're going to fall off it.

2. Falling off the lift is only funny when it happens to other people.

3. There's a reason most people don't go far off the piste. These reasons are commonly called "trees".

4. Everyone infront of you in a lift queue will fall off the lift, making it take ages. However as soon as you are not on the lift, the queue will move remarkably quickly.

5. Everyone can go faster than you. Even children who cannot turn a corner can reach speeds of up to 300mph when racing you to the front of the lift queue.

6. All children who are carrying their skis will drop them at least once every three steps. If you are in close proximity they will drop them on you.

7. If you don't wear enough clothing, it will be a freezing cold day. If you wear too much the sun will beat down with no mercy.

8. The Golden Rule: When you are trying to show off to girls by flying past them on a snowboard, you will mess up and end up flying past them on your face.

I actually crashed into a Japanese girl who was snowboarding but it was her fault for sitting under a ramp. Silly girl. I hope I knocked some sense into her. (To make up for the several years I knocked off her life.)

Sorry this update is a bit brief and boring, but I'm working on like a million other ones and thought I'd do this one quickly at work. Don't tell my boss!

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1. Flying Through the Snow
2. Snowbound in Chamonix
3. Exploring Toya
4. Chamonix, France – Soon To Be Doomed
5. Goodbye Nagano