Arriving in Vancouver and starting the road trip

□ Day 1 (12 Feb) Nagoya → Vancouver → Squamish

7:30. We met at the west exit of Nagoya Station. After taking a commemorative photo with the people who came to see us off, we boarded the "Kira Kira" express bus and left Nagoya. The bus stood out with its red body, and inside the seats were roomy and quite comfortable.

Soon after setting off there was a nerve-racking moment. A traffic jam formed on the Tomei Expressway. The worry crossed our minds that we would arrive late and miss our flight. Fortunately the jam soon cleared. The weather was wonderful, and near Gotemba we had a crisp view of a beautifully snow-capped Mt. Fuji.

Just after noon the bus arrived at Tokyo Station. We walked and walked through the huge station to the JR Sobu Line. Our bags were heavy. We changed to the Keiyo Line at Funabashi and reached Narita Airport. The airport is huge too. We went to the Air Canada desk to check in. Here we got our first baptism of English. The automatic check-in machines had no Japanese display, and it took us quite a while. After check-in we dropped our bags and went to the duty-free area. What caught our eye was the TAX FREE AKIHABARA shop, with everything from electronics to rather geeky items.

At last we boarded Air Canada flight 002 and said goodbye to Japan. Apparently it takes about eight and a half hours to Vancouver. It was already dark outside. A while after take-off the in-flight meal came round: seafood curry with bread, salad and cake. The portion was a little small, but the taste was good. You could choose wine as a drink too. After a nap, breakfast was served. I wasn't very hungry. We had crossed the date line, and it was about 7:30 on the 12th, Vancouver time. It felt like we had gained a day. For breakfast you could choose porridge or scrambled eggs. The porridge, by the way, was Western-style.

The plane descended, broke through the low-hanging clouds, and finally land came into view. We passed over Vancouver Island and landed. When we arrived at Vancouver International Airport the weather was dull and overcast. Before getting off we sat in the business-class seats and played around. Business class really is annoyingly comfortable. Inside the airport came a nervous conversation in English at immigration. They asked all sorts of things, but I don't really remember them.

Out of the airport we headed to the Alamo rent-a-car lot. Our partner for this trip: a big red Jeep Grand Cherokee! It had a ski rack on the roof, a spacious and comfortable interior, and even cruise control. We packed in our mountain of luggage and off we went!

First we headed north on Highway 99 toward downtown Vancouver, Canada's third-largest city. In Canada you drive on the right in a left-hand-drive car. At first the difference from Japan felt very strange. Looking at the shops lining the road, we noticed quite a lot of Japanese restaurants. Many of the petrol stations were companies we often see in Japan too, and there was even a 7-Eleven. Canadian traffic lights change quickly. As soon as one turns red it goes back to green. That also means you stop at lights more often.

First we went to a bank called the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to change some traveller's cheques into cash. We braved negotiating in English. There turned out to be a lot of paperwork, and we struggled under a barrage of questions we didn't really understand. We were told there would be no fee, but they quietly took $10. Next we went to Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), a Canadian outdoor shop, to buy gas canisters. The shop was huge. It had a wide range of everything: tents, sleeping bags, clothes, small items, ski-touring gear and climbing gear. Just walking round the shop was fun.

Having bought seven gas canisters, we set off for lunch. We tried to head to Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver, but on entering downtown Vancouver we were completely thrown about by the roads. Because of one-way streets and elevated roads we just couldn't go in the direction we wanted. We ended up circling BC Place Stadium, the venue for the Olympic opening ceremony, again and again. Then came a fatal mistake. When we finally got out of downtown, we went in completely the opposite direction from the market, and ended up heading along Highway 99 toward Squamish. This road, named the "Sea to Sky Highway", runs along a beautiful coastline toward an inlet. There was no snow at all in Vancouver, but gradually snow began to appear at the roadside. On the left we could see many boats and small islands floating on the sea. It's a pleasant highway, but as the only road to Whistler, an Olympic venue, lane-widening work was going on everywhere. We had lunch at a local café in a village called Lions Bay, a few dozen minutes from Vancouver. We ordered coffee and some unusual sandwiches.

After lunch we continued along the Sea to Sky Highway and reached Squamish, a town exactly halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. It's a fairly large town, with big supermarkets, McDonald's and other shops along Highway 99. The temperature was around 0 °C. First we went to buy ingredients for cooking our own meals. Canadian supermarkets are huge! There were vegetables and canned goods we had never seen in Japan, and we took our time enjoying the shopping. But this shop had no fresh meat or fish counter. A bit disappointing.