February 2026 marked my first trip to Asia, and there was no better place to begin than Japan. Instead of following the crowds to Niseko, I traveled to the mountains near Nagano to ski Shiga Kogen, one of Japan’s largest ski resorts and home to the legendary “Japow” powder snow that blows in from Siberia. While most travelers focus on the famous spots, I wanted to experience Japan in a more local way. Staying in a traditional ryokan, exploring small restaurants, and spending time learning about the culture made the trip far more meaningful than simply checking off tourist locations. Travel is about more than seeing places. It is about immersing yourself in the culture, meeting people, and experiencing the everyday life of the country you are visiting. Japan reminded me how powerful that can be. The respect, order, and safety you feel there changes how visitors behave as well. It raises an interesting thought. Maybe the real lesson from travel is that the world works better when we simply choose to treat each other with respect. Anyways I'm just a hiker, I hope you guys enjoyed this video, I know I loved filming it and editing it and capturing all of the pure moments without edits. I do need to work on my ski footage capturing however. The itinerary, the blog, and more can be found on www.fomerahikes.com