Olympics Quest For The Tee Shirt

The Snowlets were the 1998 Winter Olympic mascots. And, seeking snow, in November 1997 I went to Hakuba, Japan – the Happo-one Ski Resort there would be the venue for Ski jumping in the February 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

I’d never been to a ski town in Japan, because I don't ski. But this was a chance to see a small ski village transform in preparation for the Olympics. And I was determined not to leave without a souvenir Snowlets owl tee shirt. (Quiz: can you name each of the 4 owl-ettes) ?

Hoppo didn’t do so well internationalizing. Couldn’t find a tee shirt to fit this American “L” sized torso. The largest size available, in the I’ve-yet-to-understand-Japanese-sizing-system, was “LLL”. That might mean “Little Little Little”, because it was not “L“ enough for me. I went to every souvenir store in town, with no luck. I remember thinking that this was not good planning for all those not-Japanese-size-large visitors from around the world who would be seeking souvenir Olympic tee shirts.

Eventually bought the” LLL”, and an Olympic handkerchief-size terry towel. And I also saved the snowlets-emblazoned plastic bag it was packaged in by the store.

The best memory of visiting an olympic venue months before the opening day? Right there in the center of Hoppo was a little blue building. A mexican restaurant. And guess what? The food was pretty good. It had not been modified “for the Japanese taste” as they say.

Haven’t been back to Hoppo-Hakuba since then. My wife wears the tee shirt. That snowlet “souvenir” plastic bag is still folded-up in deep bag storage.

And the names of the 4 funky owls? "Sukki," "Nokki," "Lekki," and "Tsukki."

RELATED: Hakuba SnowJapan; Snowlets merchandise ; Shinano Mainichi newspaper, Nagano Olympics photos; Japan Olympic Committee Nagano;  Highlights video; Uncle Steven's Tex-Mex Restaurant in Hakuba Japan.