This report is from Saturday, January 11
A taxi. Two trains. The London Underground. Two airplanes and a bus.
London. Beijing. Sapporo.
72 hours with little sleep.
This introduced us to Niseko, Japan, to tick off a bucket listing vacation spot and expertise two weeks of the world-famous JaPOW.
The omens have been good. Hokkaido has skilled its greatest begin to a winter in virtually 70-years.
Niseko United is a ski space in Hokkaido, Japan, comprising 4 interconnected ski resorts: Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village, and Annupuri. It averages a formidable annual snowfall of over 50 ft. It is usually on the Ikon Go, the catalyst for our journey right here.
All 4 areas are on 4,291′ Mount Niseko Annupuri, which faces the spectacular 6,227′ Mount Yotei. You’ll be able to see Yotei from virtually each run at each resort, albeit from barely completely different instructions—the one exception was far skiers’ proper of Annupuri when it was behind our peak.
We’re staying in Grand Hirafu in a lodge 300 ft from the primary gondola. It’s not fairly ski-in ski-out. For that, I’d must remortgage my home and promote a kidney. Fortunately, the lodge we’re at solely price a kidney.
We arrived a number of days after a chronic snowy interval that dropped three ft of snow in 10 days. Our first few runs discovered us within the timber, nonetheless discovering stashes of sunshine, fluffy powder, the sort you’d discover in Colorado or Utah. Nevertheless, there, it will have been skied out by noon.
The timber are tremendous enjoyable. There may be loads of snow, well-spaced, and few folks. The aspens jogged my memory of Steamboat, Colorado.
The locals we chatted to are sad as a result of it hasn’t snowed in 36 hours, claiming the circumstances aren’t good. If that’s the case, then a foul day at Niseko is the equal of day at many resorts I’ve been to in Europe and North America.
The snow on the pistes continues to be delicate, nothing wind-scoured, hard-packed, or icy. There’s nonetheless delicate snow to push round. The timber nonetheless had untouched powder, and the few mogul runs we discovered have been enjoyable and forgiving.
It’s straightforward to journey between the 4 resorts, all accessible on the Ikon Go; runs and lifts join them. At the moment, we explored Grand Hirafu, Annupuri, and Hanazono. The lifts range from trendy 10-man gondolas to bubble chairlifts, fixed-grip doubles, and even singles (actually a wood board suspended from a haul rope.) We noticed one carry line right now, which we prevented, however aside from that, contemplating it’s a Saturday, we hardly waited for any chair.
The city of Grand Hirafu has blown my thoughts. I’m undecided what I used to be anticipating, however a bustling nightlife meals scene was not it. There are many retail shops and eating places, and a minimum of three meals truck zones the place you should purchase avenue meals starting from Japanese Ramen to pizza, subs, tacos, curry, sushi, kebabs, and ice cream. The ambiance is great, with strangers from all around the world (however primarily Australia) congregating round small fires, consuming meals from paper wrappers, ingesting Sapporo beer, listening to music, and having time. So cool. Us? We lined up for an hour for ramen at a restaurant. Lesson discovered. We’ll ebook in future.
The climate requires a mini dry spell (two extra days) earlier than over two ft of snow is forecast within the subsequent ten days. We haven’t discovered something steep but, albeit we’ve solely exited a few gates, so with extra snow on the way in which, we hope to discover extra of what this fabulous place gives.
Issues we’ve discovered attention-grabbing and by no means seen earlier than:
Each time the chairlift stops, there’s an announcement over a tannoy. It’s in Japanese, so I have no idea what they’re saying, however I wish to assume they’re telling us why the carry has stopped and for the way lengthy.
The ski patrol snowmobiles have a nee-naw siren. Superior!
The carry corales are extra akin to Europe than North America–each man for himself. There aren’t any singles strains both.
Scorching espresso. In a can. From a merchandising machine.
The stereotype is actual–the bogs, with heated seats, are like spaceships!
All gondolas give snowboarders a ‘hood’ to cowl the highest of their boards in order that they don’t harm the gondola glass.
I haven’t seen a single sticker on something wherever.Â
The whole lot is automated, from ready in line to ordering food and drinks and paying; a touchscreen or machine is concerned someplace.
The climate adjustments in seconds. I spend a lot time within the mountains, snowboarding, operating, climbing, and many others., so I understand how shortly the climate can change. Nevertheless, right here, it’s virtually on the spot. We skied down a brief run in brilliant blue skies and sunshine, and by the point we returned up the identical chair, it was chilly, windy, and whiteout, similar to that.
That is my first time touring east, and the time zone distinction messes with my head. I do not know what time it’s the place my worldwide colleagues are. After I’m in Europe or North America, I do know immediately.
Present Circumstances
Forecast
Path Map
Pictures
