Clothes for the Snow Festival

We spent two weeks in Hokkaido to see the Snow Festival, and I get notoriously cold. For this reason I came a little over-prepared. But better to lug around too much stuff than to be cold and uncomfortable. I learned a few things from this trip, so next time I can travel a bit lighter.

Temperatures were never above 0° C and then went as low as -12° C. Winds were light to non-existent, so there was little wind chill.  There was frequent snow fall, but it was very dry, so wetness that can drain away body temperature was never an issue. If it had rained, I would have bought an umbrella or worn the rain pants that I brought. My comfort depended a lot on how active I was. If I was walking around I was comfortable. Sometimes if I was standing in snow like when watching a performance or eating a snack, I got a little cold.

Layering was important when going from outdoors to indoors and back. Carrying a backpack into which I could put my parka made a big difference.

You may be shocked at how many times I re-wore clothes, but it was cold and I didn't sweat much. Here's what I brought.

Three Pairs of Insulated Pants

Maybe these break the rules of layering. The base and outer layer are permanently connected. If I'm careful not to spill shoyu on my pants, I can wear them over and over again. The problem is that they are difficult to wash - hence I never did. Some must be hand washed, and some of them require line drying. Of course they are so thick, that they take days to dry. Maybe they are not so good for travelling. All three pairs, especially the Eddie Bauer and Uniqlo, were quite cozy and an extra base layer (long underwear) was rarely necessary. Even though the snow was very dry, I like the fact that the Uniqlo pants were water and stain repellent, and that they had a cinch around the legs to keep the warm air in. They also had some nice extra zippered pockets.

Next time I think I'll wear thinner pants and a good base layer - and wash the base layer regularly. For daily wear, just one under layer. For cold days - like hiking in the snow, two under layers.

Layering on the bottom half of the body is a little difficult, because it's not like taking off a jacket, you have to unlace you boots, take off your pants, take off a base layer, put your pants back on, and lace your boots back up. Thank goodness public restrooms in Japan are clean and often heated with a heated toilet seat to sit on. Someone needs to invent some kind of 'pants jacket'.


Two Turtlenecks and Two Flannel Shirts

I mostly wore the flannel shirts over my base layer, and changed the base layer every other day day. The flannel shirts were from LL Bean and were just right. They had a handy pocket, too. The turtlenecks were a little too thin to be much good.







Five Sets of Base Layer

I only ever wore the bottoms two or three times. At Arashiyama Zoo, waiting for the penguin walk was the main place. If I wasn't moving, I needed the extra layer. The tops I wore everyday. I even re-wore them a couple times. Mostly these need to be line dried, and most of our hotels had a drying line in the bathroom. The REI and Uniqlo mid-weight base layers worked just fine. I also tried another brand fitted like a wetsuit and I totally overheated in those. I think they would be more suitable for a polar vortex.

Boots and Socks

I had a terrible time finding insulated boots that fit. I tried two different brands, and they were all too narrow around the foot and too wide around the ankle. I ended up returning both pairs. Then I came across Eddie Bauer Mountain Ops boots at my local mall. They fit true-to-size, and were very comfortable. I only used moleskin one day as a precautionary measure. I wore light and mid-weight merino socks with these and was fine most of the time. The REI mid-weight socks were especially comfortable. My toes only got cold if I didn't knock the snow off the tops of the shoes. Traction was sometimes an issue where snow had re-melted into ice - especially around the borders of heated sidewalks. Fresh snow was no problem, but I nearly took a spill on ice a couple of times. My wife's shoes had soles with little bits of hard plastic embedded but that may have helped a little. I tried the strap on traction pads and those worked great, but you have to take them off every time you go inside as they would be damaging to wood floors and slippery on tile floors. I didn't think they were worth the hassle. The secret I think is to take small steps and walk on fresh snow.

Neck Warmers and Gloves

The neck warmers help form a seal around your neck and parka so your body heat doesn't leak out. I found this Jack Wolfskin "headgear" worked really well. Its supposed to be flexible, so you can pull it up around your ears, so you can keep your cheeks warm, but it was too tight and mashed my glasses earpieces against my ears, so I was content keeping it around my neck.  I found the scarf that my wife made was equally effective (and more stylish!), but it was a little bulkier.

The combination of gloves and mittens worked well. I got a pair of the Da Kine brand from REI. The idea is you take off the mittens when you need to use your fingers, like when you want to use a camera. These gloves worked pretty well with touch-screens, and the tiny controls on my camera. The mittens have leashes that you can cinch up around your wrists, so you can just let them drop when you need to use your fingers. The leashes are a little hard to put on yourself, though. 

Hats and Masks

I brought both standard wool cap and also one of those trapper hats for about 12 dollars from Amazon. Both worked worked really well. The trapper hat came with a mask, but it kept leaving fibers in my mouth. It also fogged up my glasses. I tried some disposable masks including one designed for people with glasses - recommended by a megane-wearing clerk at Tokyu Hands. These masks worked fine indoors, but outdoors, my glasses still got fogged up. I'm still looking for a solution. By the way, the Japanese idiom for what happened to my glasses is not 'fog' but 'cloud'.

I saw some people wearing masks that looked like they're make of neoprene, and I'll probably try one of those next time.


Outer Layers

The first outer layer I wore was a light fleece.

The second outer layer,  which I never wore, but sometimes carried around in my pack was my heavy North Face goose down jacket. It was really just too big, and I never really needed it. I was glad I had it, just in case, but next time though, I would bring my REI light down jacket. It folds up very small and doesn't weigh much at all.

The third layer was my LL Bean Penobscot parka. Before the trip, I re-waterproofed it with Nikwax Direct Spray-On. I also fixed all the cinches that had broken. This was important, because this jacket's a large, and I'm usually a medium. I needed to be able to be able to close all the air leaks. The sleeve holes were a little too big, and the velcro tabs couldn't close up the arm holes, except when I was wearing my mittens, so that worked out well.



Sun Glasses

There were a few days when it was actually sunny, so I was glad I had ordered some large sunglasses from Zenni before we left. These were really big, so they covered my entire field of view. I got them with the max 80% tint and non-polarized so I could view screens and monitors without any distortion.

Skin protection

Since the altitude was low, and the sun usually low in the sky, I never really needed sun screen. I did need some moisturizer for my hands as I had some cracking and chapping at my knuckles.

Summary

Layering works, but carry a knapsack for when you get warm. Keep a base layer to wick moisture away from your skin. Other layers can be looser, but keep a seal around your arms, legs, and neck. You can re-wear the outer layers many times. Keep your head warm, but find a mask solution that works. Also, find the pants equivalent of a jacket (maybe those rain pants).

Overall everything worked well, and I had a very comfortable trip. I look forward to the next snow adventure in Northern Japan.