When it stops hurting, you’re in trouble.

There are two approaches to throwing a party to get through the darkest and coldest part of winter: embrace the freeze with ice sculptures, ice castles, etc., or beat back the cold with brute force by burning as many things as possible.

Hokkaido has all the cold-climate necessaries like mountains with reliable fresh powder, hot springs, and ice floes from through the Sea of Okhotsk. The only thing that’s missing from this perfect picture? The Northern Lights.

A recent story from CNN Travel, has me thinking that Iceland — party location du jour for global hipsterdom — may have finally jumped the fermented shark as a destination.