As I left Hakodate for Niseko, the whole city was draped in the first snowfall of the year. And it was one furious snowfall.
It somehow seemed appropriate that Hokkaido greeted me with a snowstorm: wind blowing and snow falling horizontally. I did everything to keep those curious snowflakes from getting inside my bag and jacket but it seemed each flake was on a separate mission.
Like Indonesian ants who can get through sealed cookie packages, these snowflakes would find even the smallest crevice in your jacket.