Niseko Ski Diary
Holiday diary and pictures from our 2006 ski trip to Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan.
Contents
Background
- Travelling from: Sydney, Australia.
- Travelling to: Niesko, Hokkaido, Japan.
- When we went: March 2006, for 8 days.
- Number of people: 2 - myself (age 31) and my Dad (aged somewhat older!).
- Level of experience: Me - intermediate (could parallel turn, but badly; Had only skied in Australia before this, at Perisher a tiny amount at Thredbo); My dad - absolute beginner with exactly 2 days prior skiing experience (and only barely able to snow plough).
- Had never been on a ski holiday outside of Australia before.
Who we booked it through
We originally booked for Furano, through Flight Centre. However we had questions about the room (e.g. did it have a kettle - my Dad is a big tea drinker), and about how to get ski lessons (in English, of course). It soon became apparent that Flight Centre knew nothing, and were simply unable to answer even these basic questions, so we dropped them.
If you don't speak Japanese, and haven't been before, then you really need to organise it through someone you can talk to, and ask questions of. And you will have questions - even something as simple as "where do I go for my ski lessons?".
At the same time I read through some of the Australian skiing discussion forums, and the bits of the Lonely Planet guide to Japan. Furano got generally good comments, but Niseko generally got excellent comments, so we focussed more on Niseko instead of Furano.
Through google we found Niseko Ski Tours. My Dad phoned them, and it was immediately clear they knew what they were talking about. Shortly thereafter we booked with them. There are other tour operators that specialize in Japanese skiing (e.g. Snowave, and Ski Japan, and TravelPlan), but all I can tell you is that we were extremely happy with Niseko Ski Tours.
Cost for direct return flights (in business class seats), 8 nights accommodation breakfast, ski lessons, all transfers, and 7-day all-mountain lift passes, was around AUS $3300 per person.
I meant to get travel insurance (AUS $90 extra) before leaving, but I never got around to it, and was a bit worried about this - but thankfully there was no call for it.
What to pack
- Stan
1000 dard ski gear (pants, jacket, beanie, goggles)
- Skis (carve skis are fine, and what we used, but the people that live in Hokkaido tend to have powder skis which are wider and a bit shorter), boots, stocks.
- Standard clothes (Jeans, tracksuit pants, long-sleeved tops, 2 or 3 short-sleeved tops, 1 or 2 jumpers). (Didn't think we would wear the short sleeved tops, but we did - both in the hotel, which was quite warm, and my Dad wore his on the lower beginner slopes on the hotter days).
- Standard toiletries 2 tubes of Voltarin ointment (to apply to aching limbs).
- Thin socks for skiing in (I brought socks that were too thick, and it hurt my shins)
- Good gloves (I really wanted better gloves on several occasions). Your gloves should be much longer than standard gloves, if possible, that should go about 10 centimetres beyond the wrist. (When you fall in powder it goes everywhere, so you want to have a really good seal between your gloves and your jacket). Also it's cold (-15C at the top of the mountain), and windy, and so far more demanding conditions than Australia. I started to get frostbite on 3 occasions whilst wearing gloves that had been fine in Australia. So if you are intermediate or advanced, try to get good gloves before you go. (We took some extra pairs of gloves, and rotated them so that they were dry).
- A full balaclava and/or neck warmer. A must, in my opinion. You lose a lot of heat through your neck. Never needed one in Australia, but was really glad to have one here.
- Full body thermal underwear / long johns. (It gets cold out there. My Dad didn't wear his once on the lower slopes, because he wasn't sure he needed it, but by the end of the day he was sure).
Note: Baggage weight is a serious problem! We each got a baggage allowance of 20 kilos, plus 5 kilos extra for ski gear. When you add the weight of all you ski gear, the bags themselves, ski clothes, non-ski clothes, then it will be very tight to fit into this allowance, so weight everything first. JAL has a reputation for very strictly enforcing weight limits and charging extra if you go above these. I did go above them by about 3 kilos, but luckily both our flights were only half full, so they didn't seem to care too much about weight, and never said anything to us about this.
Also you will want to take lots of Yen, in cash. Cash is king in Japan, and we never used a credit card or an ATM card even once, and you should assume that these facilities will not be available, and carry adequate cash with you, just like the Japanese do. (I took AUS $500, Dad took AUS $1,500). I carried my cash with me the whole time, but safety deposit was available at the hotel reception.
What not to pack
- Despite my Dad's fussing, we didn't need any washing powder - they give you as much as you like in the hotel for free!
- Towel (thought we might need this for the onsen, but they gave us towels)
- Swimmers (never went to any pools, and you wear your birthday suit in the onsen)
- Sunscreen (Was never enough sun to need sunscreen, but it's pretty light, so probably didn't hurt to take it)
- Your mobile phone (it won't work in Japan; Japan and Korea use a different system which is incompatible with the GSM phones used in Europe / Australia / USA). A mobile can be useful in Australia (e.g. for meeting at the airport, letting people know you have arrived back, etc) - but it won't work in Japan.
- Sunglasses (I used goggles the whole time because of the wind, snow, and cold - but again, it's pretty light, so probably didn't hurt to take sunnies)
Travelling there
The flight out was very good - it ran to schedule (departing at Kingsford Smith at 11 AM), and we were right up the front of the JAL 747-400 charter plane. It was a direct flight to Sapporo - a direct flight is highly recommended, rather than transferring at Tokyo, as Tokyo has 2 airports, 1.5 hours apart, and you will need to travel from one to the other; If you fly Australian airlines you need to transfer at Cairns, which still adds around 4 hours to your journey. Go direct if you c 1000 an.
Onboard the plane was Steve Kelso from Niseko Ski Tours, whom we had booked through, who was going on business travel to Furano and other locations to see about adding them as a destination. We found that Niseko ski tours had around 18 customers on the December 2005 charter flight, none on the January flight (could not get accommodation, because the dates conflicted with a Japanese local holiday), and 6 people on the March 2006 flight that we took.
The flight took 9 hours 50 minutes, and we arrived at Sapporo's New Chitose Airport at around 7 PM (note that Japan is 2 hours behind Australian Eastern Time). When we landed at Sapporo there was snow at the airport on the ground, but it wasn't snowing. There was a camera in the nose of the plane, and you could see the landing and approach and runway projected onto the overhead screen - there was a guy who guided the plane into its berth/spot with two red wands, and after we got into the right spot he bowed to the plane (very Japanese!). We got our luggage quickly (thankfully the baggage the doors weren't frozen shut, as we worried they may be and has happened before).
Whilst waiting for our bus at New Chitose Airport, we talked to an Australian who worked for the JAL airline, who was taking some reporters on a whirlwind tour, and he indicated that next year (2006-2007) that JAL will probably continue direct flights from Sydney to Sapporo, but with a smaller plane (e.g. 777 instead of the 747-400 that we were on, and which was only around 40% full). Apparently the December plane was around 75% full, the January one maybe 65% full, and this one was 40-50% full). Also there are supposed to be around 12000 Australians visiting Niseko this 2005-2006 season, and there were around 8000 in the season before. Apparently this 50% growth per annum in Australian visitor numbers has been happening for the past 5 years.
Then on the bus to Niseko, there was a Japanese manager of Rusutsu (a ski resort that is a bit closer to Sapporo - our bus stopped there before continuing onto Niseko). He talked to us about a lot of things, including a study done for them by the University of Canberra about why Aussies come here. Apparently there are 4 main factors that explain this:
- Powder
- No jet lag
- Cost of lift tickets (nearly half the cost of Australian lift tickets)
- Consistency of the weather here
He confirmed that the number of Australian visitors is increasing, but added that the number of Japanese visitors is in a steady decline. The reason for the slow decline in Japanese skiers is that apparently the younger generation would rather stay indoors with Internet, TV, and video games.
The bus ride was around one and half hours to Niseko, and it was freezing cold when we moved our bags into the hotel, and it was snowing lightly. We had a welcoming thing when we arrived, but we were so exhausted that we didn't take it all in. Got to bed around midnight local time, or two AM Sydney time.
We stayed at the Niseko Scot Hotel (and more info here). The rooms are small, but the location is fantastic. The hotel is advertised sometimes has having 4 restaurants, but in reality it has 3 - a sushi restaurant, a restaurant just outside the front reception, and Gulliver's and Scot Dining (which have the same staff and the same menu and the same prices, so by any reasonable definition they're one restaurant, not two).
Day 1
Day 1 - Kogen
Day 1 - Alpen
Day 1 - meeting area
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Day 1 - Tired after yesterday's flight
Dad woke me at 6 AM with coughing and banging and boiling the kettle, and then said in his best surprised voice: "Oh, you're awake!" Then we had breakfast, and it was half western / half J 1000 apanese (some noodles and stuff). Then off to our lessons, Dad in the newbies and me in the intermediate section, my instructor called Junto (not sure if I'm spelling that correctly). Dad had dressed for really cold weather, and I dressed for semi-cold (did not wear my fleece). The sky cleared up to a nice blue sky (very rare here apparently), and so it got much warmer. Found out that Dad later went back to the hotel and took off most of his stuff because he was dripping in sweat! I was okay though.
The view was/is fantastic from up on the mountain; Opposite our mountain is another mountain in a national park, called Mt Yotei, that looks just like a smaller version of mount Fuji - really beautiful.
Had lunch at the bottom of the mountain - AUS $11 for a big bowl of fried pork cutlet and rice and yummy gravy - good value, very filling, couldn't finish it all! They do an amazing variety sorts of drinks here, by the way. Hot and cold cans of every variety (coffee, tea, soft drinks, juices, etc). Lots of vending machines too. Then after an hour back onto the slopes (no rest for the wicked!)
Dad skied for around 1 hour more before being exhausted and throwing in the towel. I skied for another 30 minutes (finished around 3:45). Our lift tickets go from 8:30 AM until 8:30 PM each night, but so exhausted I don't think we'll manage that for a bit!
One thing that you notice on the mountain is that are semi-continuous automated announcements in Japanese over the loudspeaker system. There are also some announcements in English, and although some English announcements had a sense of humour, they rarely told you anything useful. However, you got used to it, and learned to ignore it pretty quickly.
Then we had an Onsen / Japanese bath. There is one in the hotel but apparently it's not a "proper" one (I think that means it's not using geothermal power to heat the water). One is being installed for next season (2006-2007) apparently. It was interesting to try all the washing rituals, and the hot bath after skiing felt so amazingly good. Very civilized - I approve! All Australian ski accommodation needs one of these.
Was feeling very knackered by the end our first day of skiing!
Day 2
Day 2 - The Snoopy themed room
Day 2 - The Snoopy themed bed covers
Day 2 - The Snoopy themed tissue box
Day 2 - Snoopy themed rubbish bin
More about the room we are in: It is decorated in a "Snoopy" theme; Snoopy curtains, Snoopy doonas, Snoopy tissue box, and a Snoopy rubbish bin. Not sure whether to find it cute or creepy ... The thing with Snoopy is not a kids thing, I think it's just a theme; There is a 6 foot cardboard cutout of Snoopy in reception. I think the Japanese maybe just like Snoopy. They seem to like cartoons a bit in general in fact, and on the plane when they were saying do or don't do something, they would show it with a cartoon.
The room itself is quite small, and has almost no storage space (no drawers, only 4 or 5 hangers in the whole room, etc). However the view from our room is fantastic - we are in the corner of the building, and we look straight up the main Grand Hirafu ski slope in one window, and right down on the main ski lesson meeting place with the other window. We're in the second building down the slope, and from the front of our hotel you can ski to 3 or 4 lifts (one lift is a beginner one, and so maybe should not be counted). It's technically not quite ski-in ski-out as you have to carry your skis about 15 metres through the car park, but its position is so fantastic that it really doesn't matter.
We went for a wander in the Niseko village today, and there are two real estate shops, mostly directed at Australians. By the way, real estate prices are AUS $3 million for a house, and a 2 bedroom unit is >= AUS $400,000 (eek!). Also on our wander we found there is a whole sho 1000 p here filled with "Hello Kitty" merchandise.
Day 2 - Dad impersonating an alien
Day 2 - Alpen
Day 2 - Kogen
The weather today was really bad, after a great day yesterday. Only 4 or 6 of the lower lifts were open today, and it was constantly snowing. They said it was the worst wind of the whole season, and that this was the first time in the whole season that this many lifts had been closed. What a contrast to the beautiful conditions yesterday.
We had lunch in a Japanese restaurant, and an elderly lady made us change out of shoes and into slippers. After the meal the waitress refused Dad's tip (probably because it was the equivalent of $2.50 !)
At dinner tonight, I had Ramen noodles and pork as mains, with snow crab sushi and salmon roe sushi as entree. The sushi was particularly good (the seafood was really fresh and tasty). There is lots of seafood in the food here, and lots of noodles or rice (you can even have rice at breakfast if you want); there isn't much fruit in the food, and not really any desserts as such though. Then after 4 beers with dinner, Dad burned himself by spilling piping hot Japanese tea onto his crotch. The poor Japanese waitress rushed over to help him as he yelped in pain, but I think that he had had so much beer that we won't really know until tomorrow if he hurt himself. :-(
I continue to approve of Onsens... the hot water feels so good after a day's skiing, although I do feel a bit dizzy when I get out after 15 minutes in the hot water...
Day 2 - blurry night view up Hirafu
Day 2 - night skiing on Alpen
The computer where I am writing this looks right down onto one of the lifts, and it's still snowing, and the forecast is that it will probably do so tomorrow as well, but the day after it is forecast to clear up.
Day 3
Tried calling a mobile at home with a 1000 Yen calling card that you can buy here, but the quality was terrible. Not sure if this was because of the calling card, or because of the mobile. Also tried to check my voice mail, but for some reason I could not get it to work using the calling card (it would not accept the mailbox number, so maybe the Japanese phones make different tones when you press the buttons).
Dad is OK from the hot tea - no permanent damage.
Day 3 morning - View of fresh snow on Kogen
Day 3 morning - Dad studies the snow
Day 3 morning - Kogen Hotel
Day 3 morning - Non view of Mt Yotei
Day 3 morning - sticking tongue out
Day 3 morning - View of Alpen
- Day 3 - View of bottom of Alpen
