The Salt road runs from Itoigawa on the Japan sea all the way inland to Shiojiri near Matsumoto. Until roads were developed salt was ferried by oxen and human from the sea to the interior and sold at markets. The biggest market was in Shiojiri near Matsumoto. Shiojiri literally means “salty arse”!

The most intact stretch runs through from Otari to Hakuba and we joined thousands of others on the 3rd for the walk of 10kms.

The old road winds through beautiful countryside and clusters of thatched farmhouses. Along the way local people sing folk songs, play taiko (Japanese drumming) and hand out free refreshments of tea and local sukemono (pickles). The old village of Chikuni at the half way point houses the salt road museum where you can see the history of the salt road and “Pay a toll” to the tollbooth staff for passage by getting your map stamped. Everyone dresses in traditional costumes and you get a real feel for what it was like 100’s of years ago on the salt road.

The old salt road winds through paddies and traditional villages

Salt road load bearers

Cherry blossom in full bloom

Official's exacting a "toll" on salt road users

en-route Fundoushi clad shrine bearers at chikuni shrine

Whole family getting traditional

Thatched japanese farmhouse en-route

10 of us headed down to Ikeda where they have a professional quality go-kart track.  9000yen per person gets you a practice session, Qualifying with computerised lap times, a semi-final race, final race and podium medal ceremony with champagne!

This is about as much fun as you can have with 10 mates and half a day to kill!

The Morino Crew

And they're off!

third place battle

And the winner is....

Charles from Vendimia won in a dashing display of driving prowess.

We’ll definitely be back!

The local area Earth day is down in the “big smoke” of Omachi about 30 clicks down the road from Hakuba. Omachi’s Earth day has been going from strength to strength and this year was another great event with live bands and local NPO group stands, sustainable development projects and organic food stands. The event feels a lot more authentic than the much larger commercial Tokyo Earth day helped somewhat by the large hippy and back to nature communities in Miasa and Yasaka.

African drumming

The BBQ theatre arena aka Morino car park

Everyone tucks in

After a quick Morino heli scout of the back range for future lines the riders started strutting their stuff on the jumps. 13 year old Kadono Yuki was really impressive. Possibly a new Japanese Shaun white in the making. He’s already up there at the top professional level in Japan and he’s still got the best years ahead of him – One to watch. 36 year old Veteran rider Yoshino Michihiko was going huge on the hip, using the whole length of the hip and almost going into orbit.

Park shaper Toshi on the bottom kicker

Towards the end multiple riders were hitting the jumps in tandem and the last run was a free for all with all riders going in unison.

Thanks to Happo Kaihatsu, Igari-san & the High cascade team and all the riders who came together to make it a great event!

The combination of a complete lack of wind, faster snow conditions on the run-ups and the Heli shooting meant all the riders were really pushing it on the Jumps. Takumi Ikegami was busting some perfect methods on the hip whilst red bull rider Shinji Okada was doing some epic spin twists on the 25m kicker

Takumi Ikegami with a perfect method on the hip

Heli and pro-riders

Going big on the hip

Hopping the Heli

First Children production team introduce themselves

Voekl team rider Keiji Okamoto wins at Jenga!

Surprisingly, after all the late night shenanigans, everyone managed to make it out the door the next morning. 15cms of fresh overnight (not bad for mid April!) and the sun was starting to poke out. Today would be a great day to hit the High cascade super park!

10cm in the car park 15cm on the mountain

The 25m kicker at the bottom

Discovered a new function on my camera!

The riders took a while to get warmed up but by the afternoon there were some spectacular aerobatic displays. Tomorrow is set to be another stunning spring day for the scheduled heli filming session.

With giant hits built by one of the word`s top park designers, film crews shooting from helicopters, and pro-riders galore, it should be quite the spectacle!

The park`s closed to the public (this is a good thing - check out the size of this hip!)

How high can Tadashi Fuse fly? 20 meters up i`m guessing.

You can come watch & shoot pictures of your own. The photo shoots takes place on Saturday, Sunday & Monday from 10:00 – 12:00 & again from 13:30- 16:00.

some kanji practice for u!

b there or b perpendicular!

Sachi rides for k2, Oakley, Nomis & a whole whack of other brands and is one of Japan`s top female snowboarders. The other girls included veteran riders like Mina Shimizu & up and comers like the 14 year old Murai Mimoza & 11 year old Burton rider Miyabi Onizuka.

Sachi Tanaka & film crew gather in the Morino Lounge

Murai Mimoza, Shimizu Mina, Kato Sayaka, & Tanaka Sachi in the lounge

The movie promises to be quite cool as it not only features great snowboarding in locations like Hakuba, Whistler & Hokkaido, but the shredding all  takes place within the confines of a mitten found in the forest behind the lodge. Huh?

Yep, the movie has a plot, inspired by an old folk tale in which a lone glove is found by some animals who then enter the glove and proceed to partake in an array of adventures……..in the case of  this movie, the girls are the animals and the adventures all involve rippin on a snowboard.

Sachi Tanaka strikes a pose in the Morino backcountry

And the coolest thing about this is that the role of the woman who dropped her glove is played by none other than Morino Manager Jen. Jen`s officially a movie star……..and so is Yukie`s dog Kora!

Aki teaches Jen her lines for the big shoot!

Jen & Kora work it in the forest behind Morino! Note the dropped glove in front of the camera

Aorinko. The girls gather Inside the glove.

Not the normal Japanese mountain cafeteria affair here. Instead theres a great choice of Italian and French fusion course lunches, fine wine and panoramic views of the mountains. Highly recommended!! Almost like being back in Europe drinking plonk and eating crepes and baguettes on le terrace!

Virgin Cafe at the top of the Alpen Quad

Yukie admiring the view from our table

Glass with a view

Two years back when Happo announced that the  “High Cascade Snowboard Camp” crew was coming to happo to build and manage a new ski & snowboard park we were obviously very pleased. These guys are some of the best in the business and we knew they`d do it right!

The layout, the shape of the jumps (no nasty kicks or knuckle ball landings), the way they maintenance it (the park closes from noon till 1:00pm each day so the shapers can work their magic), and the location (with the Northern Alps towering to skier`s left this must be one of the prettiest parks in the world), all make for maximal fun and minimal aching of the joints.

Not to mention the close proximity to Morino Lodge means you can be board-sliding your first rail or popping your first method 15 minutes after finishing your cappuccino in the Morino Lounge.

The Park is open for the 2010 season until April 11th (its in use for filming exclusively for Japan`s top pro riders until the 18th – that`ll be fun to watch!).  Fortunately there`s a lot more sun in the forecast this coming week, so some tough decisions lie ahead – go for a hike in the backcountry or session the park?