We arrived to Tomamu late on Sunday night – we had a few moments of abject fear when we heard an announcement that a few trains from the Chitose airport were getting canceled due to snow. But it didn’t affect us directly, so when we arrived we took a little time to explore this resort before tucking into bed.

Of all the ski resorts we’ve visited over the past few years, this has to be one of my favorites. The resort must be able to accommodate many thousands of guests, but yet the way they sited and designed it, the footprint sits lightly on the land. From many view points throughout the complex, you feel as if you’re sitting in the middle of a mountain forest grove. There’s a walkway that connects the various hotels and restaurants that floats above the ground. From there you can see small mountain streams, still running despite the frigid temperatures, and pristine snow, marred only by various animal tracks. It manages to pull off a feeling of serenity while simultaneously feeding and housing thousands of people graciously. It’s an astounding feat.

The resort also hosts an ice village – including an ice slide, restaurant, bar, museum and chapel – all made of ice. The entry from the resort starts down a beautifully lit walkway through trees and across a stream. Then we arrived at the top of the village, overlooking the ice rink and the various ice buildings. We chose to enter the village by way of the magically glowing ice slide. In the village, we ordered minestrone soup and frozen fondue, and then roasted the most amazing marshmallows over a flame. We were all laughing and having so much fun.

On the way to the Ice Village we happened to stumble across The Chapel on the Water, a defining architectural gem by one of my favorite architects, Tadao Ando. I spent a fair amount of time studying it and admiring it as a grad student many, many years ago. The location was always described as in an isolated spot in Hokkaido. In honestly never occurred to me that we might accidentally stumble upon it, so I was shocked to see it here. I haven’t been able to go on a guided tour yet, but the glimpse we caught by moonlight last night was stunning. (for more information and a better description of the chapel, I recommend this website: ArchEyes: The Church on the Water by Tadao Ando: Nature and the Sacred)

Tim and the kids are out skiing today. Tonight we’re hoping to enjoy the swimming complex and onsen. Tomorrow we’ll have one more breakfast, and head back to Sapporo for a few days to enjoy the ice festival.