Snowboarding in Asia - Niseko Peak View

Singaporean’s Guide to Snowboarding in Asia

Snowboarding View from Niseko Peak

UPDATE 2018: We’ve added in Club Med Tomamu, Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, and Karuizawa into our list of ski resorts, and updated the cost comparison table.

Some nights we sleep, and we can hear the smooth, muffled sounds of the board carving into the snow, and feel the satisfying thrill of whooshing down a mountain. Yes, we love snowboarding. Unfortunately, it’s an expensive hobby for a Singaporean, seeing how we have no snow here. Still, in the winter months, many Singaporeans flock to far flung lands to catch some snow. We’re one of them.

When talking about skiing and snowboarding, many people inadvertently think of the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps, or Colorado in the States, or Whistler in Canada. But these places are far. Thankfully, there are nearer places to ski and snowboard. These countries are easily accessible and are already favourite travel destinations with many Singaporeans – Japan and Korea.

We’ve been snowboarding in many places around the world, but we found that the experience in Japan and Korea are not that far from Europe. In fact, in some ways, we found it superior. Here, we’ll share with you some of the resorts we’ve been to, our personal experiences and opinions of them, and hopefully help you decide which would be a good option. We’ll list nine resorts:

  1. Yong Pyong, Korea
  2. Alpensia, Korea
  3. High1, Korea
  4. Niseko, Japan
  5. Furano, Japan
  6. Kiroro, Japan
  7. Club Med Tomamu, Japan
  8. Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, Japan
  9. Karuizawa, Japan

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Hoshino Tomamu

Club Med Tomamu: A Snowboarding Review

We went to check out Club Med Tomamu in March this year (2018), soon after they opened their doors. New rooms? All-inclusive holiday? Drinks and beers all through the day? All-day buffet with no extra cost? What’s not to like?

Turns out, as is with most things, there’s a lot more than meets the eye.

Note: this post is part of our snowboarding series. Planning a snowboarding holiday? Make sure to check our Guide to Snowboarding in Japan and Korea.

Club Med Tomamu Review

Puffy snow is always nice!

Club Med Tomamu

Club Med Tomamu is very new – it just opened in December 2017, and we there in March.

The information available online about the area is scarce, so we’re here to prepare you. Everyone talks about Club Med Tomamu, but not so much about how the ski runs and lifts work, and their neighbour Hoshino Resorts. This is the lowdown: Read more

Acroyoga Sara Shuyi

SURFSET’s first experience with Acroyoga

Acroyoga is a sort of yoga abomination – we say that because we’re so used to having the peaceful, dependable earth beneath our bodies for regular yoga. Acroyoga? You throw that out the window, and opt to have a flimsy human below you instead. What? Why?

Wait – that’s pretty much the whole concept of SURFSET, isn’t it – except you switch out flimsy human to unstable surfboard? That probably explains it: firstly, it’s a challenge. Also, there’s the whole notion of trust with another person. Thirdly, there is an undeniable appeal to having some acro yoga shots in your Instagram. Just check these out –

Nothing says "I love you" quite like trusting a person with your life. #Acro #TYMafia #AcroYoga #SaraDoesAcro

A post shared by Sara Wee ?? (@saraweeyogic) on

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Upcoming event – Paddles on WaVe 11 Sep 2016

Event over!

This event is over! To see what went on during the event, check our event post!

We’re hitting the beach! Again! This time we’ll be out at East Coast Park for an upcoming event, Paddles on WaVe. Are you ready for a relaxing day chilling by the beach? You could be having fun with stand up paddling, ZORB balls, and SURFSET Fitness! Okay, maybe replace the “chilling” with “sweating”. That’s how we like it too!

Paddles on WaVe

Paddles on WaVe is a one-day-only, fun-filled event organized by PA Water-Venture, where you get to try out six different lifestyle beach sports at a price of only $5.

“$5?! That’s like half the price of a plate of pasta!”

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SURFSET on TODAY newspaper Singapore Workout

SURFSET on today’s Today newspaper!

Have you read the papers today?

If you did, you may have come across a huge photo of our instructor Shuyi chilling out on our SURFSET board – SURFSET Fitness is featured in the Style & Beauty section of today’s Today newspaper!

SURFSET Today

 

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GrabTaxi Promotion for Katong i12 $3 off

GrabTaxi Katong i12 Promotion $3 Promo Code

GrabTaxi is now running a promotion for people using their services to and from Katong i12! Get $3 off your 2 rides to 112 Katong with the promo code 112KATONG! Check out the scan of the advertisement we saw:

GrabTaxi Promotion for Katong i12 $3 off promo code 112KATONG

Yeah, you heard it here first! They had a previous Katong 112 promotion but only valid until 30th November 2015, so this one is going to work till Feb 29 2016. Only valid for the first 3000 redemptions, so hurry!

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Tongues on fire – Spiced Kale Chips

We made these Spiced Kale Chips at home because we love to eat clean, and we were surprised by how easy it was and how good it tastes. These chips are high in fibre content with great nutritional value and high in vitamins. Here’s our easy-to-follow recipe – it’s surprisingly simple and doesn’t take too much time or ingredients. With the right amount of chili powder, you can add that spicy kick that reminds us of those spicy Korean seaweed that we sometimes like to indulge in. The best part of making our own snacks is controlling the amount of salt (we didn’t even add any), and knowing there isn’t any MSG or preservatives in the chips.

Steps to making kale chips, with washing and using oven and serving

Left to right: Washing the kale; Kale in the oven; Kale in the oven later; Kale in the oven – almost done; Serve and enjoy!

Ingredients for Kale Chips

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Anlene's Active Places - Surfset in Yoga Class

SURFSET Fitness on Anlene Active Places

SURFSET Fitness is happy to be featured as an Anlene Active Place on Anlene Singapore’s Facebook page!

Anlene’s Active Places are all about alternative gyms to get fit in unconventional ways – we think SURFSET Fitness is a great fit for this feature. What is most important, though, is about getting more people interested in fitness and exercise, whether it’s doing traditional workouts, joining conventional classes like yoga or pilates, or even simpler things like going for jogs, long walks, and working out at home.

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Madereal snack box in Surfset Fitness oh-goodies

Snack right with Made Real

In the quest of fitness, exercising and expending energy is only half the story – the other half’s in what we consume. Just like the little naps after hitting the snooze is the best sleep, snacking has gained a reverence among us as an oh-so-tasty forbidden fruit. Fear not! Here comes Made Real, a healthy snacking alternative. Their snack boxes are full of goodies that are sourced for good nutrition.

Contents of Madereal Oh Goodies - Spatula & Whisk, Oatrageous, MyMaha essential greens

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Sister HIIT Kelly Latimer on SURFSET

Kelly Latimer of Sister HIIT at SURFSET

Guess who was in the studio? Kelly Latimer, one half of the sisters on Sister HIIT, had a SURFSET Fitness session with our instructor Shuyi for the Sister HIIT production!

Sister HIIT

Fox Sports Sister Hiit Kelly Latimer and Barbara Latimer

Sister HIIT is an original production on FOX Sports, introducing time-saving HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Hosted by Kelly Latimer and Barbara Latimer, and by FOX Sports Central host Hansen Lee, Sister HIIT goes through different HIIT programmes for you to follow in your own homes. They also explore health, diet and fitness tips with experts in every episode.

In the programme, Kelly is the one who takes on the more advanced HIIT intervals, and it’s Kelly who came on down to SURFSET Fitness. Read more