While on my journey snowboarding in Niseko, there were two words that stood out to me:
1. Obviously, the snow in Niseko was what we went for and it did not disappoint. About 30 cm (12 inches) fell every day and it was light, fluffy blower pow ... you had to ski at least 100 yards behind your buddies or you wouldnt be able to see anything :-)
I learned that the Japanese word for snow is 'Yuki' and that what we call powder is 'konayuki' or powder snow
2. Hokkaido is the north island of Japan (where Niseko is) and bears seem to be a prominent theme there ... 'Kuma' is Japanese for bear and there was all kinds of souveniers, shirts, etc. with bears on them as well as road signs warning of bears AND EVEN a Bear Park where you can take a tram or a shuttle and peep some big ole bears close up (http://www.kamori.co.jp/bearpark/part/english.pdf)
So there you have it, 'kumayuki' literally means 'snow is like a bear' and that is the name of this blog :-)
