I WAS THIGH-DEEP in snow and my skis felt like they had been set in cement. I couldn’t move and was wondering whether anyone would ever find me or was I to play out the rest of my days alone, freezing in the woods. After quite a long spell spent wriggling free, I giggled and thought, “If trying to get out of powder is the biggest worry of the day, I’m doing pretty well”.
Japanese winter produces a place where huge chunks of snowflakes fall relentlessly for months on end; where you wake up every morning and all you can see for miles is a white blanket of dazzling, perfect snow; a place where you ski first thing in the morning and a few hours later your tracks are covered with a new thick white sheet; where all you can do is eat, drink and sleep powder snow because, when it’s everywhere, it’s simply all you can think about.
Niseko, on Japan’s north island of Hokkaido, has become famous in recent years for its abundance of light, silky powder snow, yet this year there’s a massive dearth of snow junkies here to consume it. Since last year’s earthquake, Japan’s National Tourist Organisation has recorded an overall drop of about 32 per cent in international tourism. Bad news for Japan, but from a tourist’s perspective it’s the perfect time to plan a winter/spring ski holiday and explore the finest snow Japan has to offer. Niseko is currently experiencing the best snowfall in 50 years (13 metres so far this season), and with fewer people on the slopes and some bargain deals on ski holidays, there really couldn’t be a better time to visit.
Niseko is 800 kilometres north of Tokyo and is about a three-hour drive from Sapporo airport, through beautiful Narnia-like countryside dotted with Japanese wood cabins, the odd convenience shop, and miles and miles of fields glowing with fresh snowfall.
And while Hokkaido comprises one fifth of the country’s entire land mass, only 5 per cent of the population live here, mainly because of the sharp Siberian weather that descends on the island from November to April.
Niseko is the biggest ski area on Hokkaido, with more than 60 ski runs.
It is divided up into four main ski resorts – Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Village (formerly Higashiyama), Hirafu and Hanazono, each connected by an all-mountain ski pass or via the local bus shuttle.
Night skiing is available until 9pm and off-piste riding in the back country, accessed through special gates or by hiking to the peak of Mount Niseko Annupuri, is definitely something to write home about. And while there is a distinct lack of steep, long ski runs compared to north America and areas in Europe, the reliable and consistent snowfall that produces some of the best “champagne powder” skiing in the world gives Japan an advantage.
This winter, walking through Hirafu village, Niseko’s most popular ski town, there is an unusual sense of quiet not often associated with ski resorts. “People, particularly Europeans, have been very cautious this year about coming to Japan. They’ve either stayed at home due to recession reasons, or chosen to travel around Europe or to north America instead of Japan,” says Glenn Goulding, director of Deep Powder Tours, one of the main booking agents for hotels and ski packages in Niseko.
He estimates that while winter tourism in this self-styled powder capital is down between 30 and 60 per cent on last year, many locals expected a worse backlash from the earthquake on the mainland.
Local businesses are suffering, he says, but many anticipated the fall and have taken a proactive stance towards attracting tourists this year. Rusutsu, about a 45-minutes drive from Niseko, with some of the best untouched powder snow in the area, is an example, offering one of the best deals around – free lift passes for tourists who stay at the Rusutsu hotel for more than three nights starting from mid-February through to the end of the season in early April. So one person staying at the hotel for seven nights could save more than €300.
Ski Japan, an Australian company based in Hokkaido for the past 16 years, is offering up to 60 per cent off accommodation in private four- to five-bed apartments in Niseko (most costing between €40 and €50 per person per night) for February and March.
As one of the main booking agents in Niseko, Ski Japan is also promoting deals in local lodges and hotels that give between one and four extra nights accommodation for free – pay for seven nights and stay for 10; pay for 10 nights and stay for 14. With this deal, they are throwing in a free two-hour mountain orientation session with experienced ski tour guides to allow guests to become acquainted with the ski resort and the best powder hot spots.
Ski Japan also owns one of the biggest snow sports schools in Niseko, Niseko Base Snowsports (NBS), and families who book accommodation through Ski Japan will also get free rental gear (snowboards, skis and boots for children) and lift passes for kids from NBS during the month of March.
Sampling Japanese natural hot pools surrounded by stunning alpine beauty should be an essential part of any visitor’s itinerary. So after exhausting the endless powder runs, terrain parks, groomed pistes and night skiing on empty slopes, sit back and rest your aching limbs in the local onsen, traditional open-air hot volcanic springs, full of natural medicinal minerals where inhibitions about bathing naked are left with your last piece of clothing in the changing room. Onsen are public baths and the Japanese regard foreigners who make a fuss about being nude with an air of puzzlement and bemusement. There are plenty of affordable onsen in Niseko, and two of the best outdoor onsen are found at the Niseko Hilton Hotel in Niseko Village (with some spectacular views of Mount Yotei) and at Hotel Niseko Ikoi Village at Annupuri, both cost €10 a visit.
Food is an integral part of any Japanese holiday and you don’t have to love sushi for the experience to be a real culinary treat. Japanese izakaya are bars serving food – and some of the best are yakitori bars, in abundance in Niseko, that serve a selection of skewered grilled meats.
For a more authentic Japanese dining experience, head to the quieter town of Kutchan nearby for traditional Japanese hotpot. This is the authentic Japanese dining experience where you are presented with hot towels and traditional indoor slippers before being served an eclectic mix of food including local favourites Hokkaido Tori Nabe (hotpot), sashimi, traditional Japanese green beans and for the more adventurous, cod semen, horse or chicken hearts.
Après-ski night life is best found in Niseko’s main hub, Hirafu. Bustling with Australian bars, Japanese karaoke suites and man-made ice bars, Hirafu has something for all tastes. Try Big Foot in lower Hirafu, a trendy Australian spot; Blo Blo on the main street, with its own ice bar designed by local ice sculptor Hiro Takenaka; or Gyu Bar, one of the best Japanese bars in town, accessed through an Alice in Wonderland-like fridge door. Everything in Hirafu is geared towards making the most out of a ski holiday – from expensive cocktail bars to all-you-can-eat-and-drink bars (nomi tabe hodai). Nomi Tabe Hodai usually cost between €25 and €40 and allow you to eat and drink all you can handle for 90 minutes then stumble out, catch a bus and still be home and tucked up in bed just after midnight.
Be wary of packing the correct clothing for any trip to northern Japan. Temperatures in winter and even early spring can range from minus 2 to minus 20. Police in Niseko have issued warnings to foreigners visiting the resort to be aware of the dangers associated with severe weather and the risks posed to tourists after an Australian man was found dead last month in a snow bank after leaving a late-night bar in Hirafu.
Japan is a land of idiosyncrasies and it revels in juxtaposing quintessential images of old and new: Kimono-clad geishas and trendy business-men, mist-coloured mountains and futuristic necropolis cities, ancient temples and new-age karaoke bars, the majestic nationwide blooming of the cherry blossom (sakura) and months of uninterrupted winter snowfalls. And Niseko is no exception, throwing up many of its own paradoxes – technologically advanced heated streets but no ATM machines, electronic lift passes but no internet facilities and endless champagne powder-filled slopes with practically no one here to enjoy them.
(New York Times Service)
JAPAN: where to...
STAY
For those who want luxury there are several hotels and apartment buildings with ski-in/ski-out options. Check out the Vale Niseko Hotel and Apartments, with one-bed apartments from €25-€37 per person per night, or deluxe suites with private onsen (natural hot pool) from €67pppn in March and April. See thevaleniseko.com
Last minute packages are available at the Niseko Hilton hotel in Niseko Village. Two nights free accommodation and free bus transfers when booking seven night’s accommodation for a limited period in March and April. Prices range from €180-€325pppn.
SKI
Japan is offering an extra night's free accommodation during March on a range of 17 local pensions (lodges) costing from €21-€38 pppn. See skijapan.com.
EAT
A-Bu-Cha 1 doubles as a delicious bakery by day and izakaya (restaurant) by night, serving local hotpot, yakitori meats and an a la carte menu, ranging from €10-€30.
Ebisutei in Lower Hirafu is the best Japanese spot in town for a wide variety of sashimi and grilled Hokkaido fish (€20-€30).
Sushi Train in nearby Kutchan offers excellent Nomi-hodai (all you can eat and drink). It costs €45 for 90 minutes of indulgence.
GO TRY
The onsen (hot spring) at Niseko Hilton Hotel in Niseko Village or the Grand Hotel Niseko, both €10.
HOW TO GET THERE
Aer Lingus to Frankfurt connecting via Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and on to Sapporo, Japan, costs around €1,022 return.
Niseko is two- to three-hour- drive from Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport, just outside Sapporo. The bus is the cheapest form of transport from the airport in winter. Buses depart every 30 minutes from the airport to drop-off points in the three major resorts in Niseko – Hirafu, Niseko Village and Annupuri. It also stops at Rusutsu resort. One-way will cost about €23, or €37 for a round trip. See tokyotravelpal.comto book tickets online.
For those planning on a longer trip around the country, the Japan Rail Pass is an excellent money-saving option. It can only be bought online outside Japan and validated upon arrival. See japanrailpass.net