Kevin Pearce, Nicolas Muller, Mason Aguirre, Mikkel Bang & Jake Burton do Niseko

Kevin Pearce, Nicolas Mullar, Mason Aguirre, Mikkel Bang & Jake Burton entertained by Niseko!

Results from their 2007/08 trip below.

For full story and pics pick the January issue of Transworld Snowboard magazine.

Day 1 of Season 2008/09

A photo or two says all that needs to be said!

Photos by Niseko photographer Glen Claydon

Are You Ready?

By the time most of you read this it will be on! That's right, the mountain will be open for business!

Official Opening - Saturday 22nd November 2008.

Good luck out at Furano Noriko and Furano Tourism, hope the cable car rocks the socks off the locals!

Just to get you a little pumped here is one of the greatest movie trailers ever! Enjoy!

Beyond Niseko

Coming to Niseko this year and want to check out something new! 

Here are some super early pictures of a litte place called Kurodake in central Hokkaido! Problem is this little area is closed from late December to early March because of too much snow! Good thing there is other places around the same area that will rock your socks off! For more info on Kurodake go over and check out the Black Mountain Lodge Blog here.

Thanks to Glen from GCP for the pics! Taken on the 13th of November, 2008.

If you want some special photos taken while your in Niseko this year he is the man to take them for you! Contact Glen at GCP. 

Hirafu First Runs

Some of the locals are a little excited about the season knocking on the door so have decided to hike up the Hirafu area to get some turns in!

Check out the pics by GCP taken on the 4th November, 2008.

Niseko Could Be A Ghost Town This Winter

Has the economy forced Niseko into being a ghost town this winter?

Holiday prices have almost doubled for Australians wanting to get their powder fix if they have not already booked and paid for their accommodation. With the value of the Australian dollar crashing in the past few weeks against the Japanese Yen has forced a lot of travellers to cancel their holidays for the fastly approaching winter!

Property management companies are experiencing a substantial number of reserved rooms not being paid for as travellers look for better value alternatives for their summer holiday.

Staff have been let go from many companies to cut overheads as companies start to panic coming into what should be the peak time for bookings and preparations for the winter.

If you are one of the lucky travelers that booked and paid for your holiday near the start of the year you may be very lucky to have the town to yourself, no reservations being made to have dinner days in advance or having to line up at the Hirafu Gondola.

It could be flash back to the days when you could get out of bed at 11 after drinking beer and singing karaoke all night with the local pension owners and still be getting fresh lines all afternoon. 

I miss those days! Maybe this year it will be back!

Car Danchi drives to Niseko

The Car Danchi crew will be rocking Niseko on the opening day of the resort. Shred all day and kick back and chillax at the Loaf Loung in Kuchan with live music, skate session and video footage by the man behind the Car Danchi DVDs and other artistic ventures, Neil Hartmann.

Don't know who this Neil Hartmann or Car Danchi jizz jazz we speak of, get over to his blog and give the man some love right here!

Need to know about the Loaf Lounge and the what the next clone army will look like - it's all here.

Snow To Reduce Global Warming?

What to do with all the snow that falls in Hokkaido?

The New Chitose Airport, gateway for thousands of tourists during winter from around the globe to revel in some of the world's great powder snow is now taking steps towards to preserve their backyard. This will ensure winter tourism for generations to come by reducing global warming.

Starting in 2010, the New Chitose Airport will collect snow during the winter season and use it to cool the building though summer. It is expected that this will provide 30% of the buildings cooling, reducing Co2 emissions per year by up to 2,100 tons per year.

Source: Good Clean Tech

Niseko & Furano Ski Camps

Planning a holiday to Niseko and Furano and want to improve your skills on the sticks?

You better check out the Warren Smith ski academy.

Tanner Warming Up For Niseko?

Will the greatest freestyle skier of all time be back in Niseko this winter after stopping in during the 05/06 season? We can only hope so!

So what does Tanner get up to in Summer? Check him out getting his thing on!

Traffic Controller of the Month

We would like to take this opportunity and take our hat off, we hope you join us, for this dedicated traffic controller from Sapporo. It is all about giving that little extra in job, notice the leg action! Such grace and authority, truly a thing of beauty!

100 Top Ski Holidays

Niseko has been named in the 100 Top Ski Holiday destinations by the Telegraph in the UK, will this push the UK market to make the leap to Niseko?

Well maybe not with quality of the photo used, Niseko's major drawcard afterall is POW and the photo used does not really capture that it in all its glory, well except that statement under the photo, "Hokkaido, on Japan's north island, boasts some of the world's best powder". But aaawwwww it does look pretty.

To anyone from the UK or anyone that is looking for a Niseko holiday, contact Japan Ski Experience, they are based in the UK and know there way around Niseko and Japan!

Snowboard Soundtracks

We were cruzin around the web today and found this site, Snowboard Soundtracks, it has a complete list of snowboard movies with soundtracks, hence the name.

I thought it was worth sharing with all the Niseko Webzine followers because if you are anything like me you always find funky old tracks and remixes on snowboard vids iPod worthy, or other MP3 device if your an iPOD hater.

So get over to the site and check it out, find all the names of all those tracks you like on all your favorite snowboard vids so you can load them up on your iPod or MP3 player ready for your next Niseko session.

Check it out - Snowboard Soundtracks

Not Ready To Let Summer Go?

NisekoMTB are putting together a last minute effort to get down and dirty before the snow falls.

The destination: Tokachi - http://www.mtbhokkaido.net/

The Plan:
- Depart Friday 17th October from Hirafu
- Ride 18th Saturday followed by BBQ & beers
- Ride 19th Sunday morning then return to Hirafu in the afternoon with the survivors

Let the crew of NisekoMTB know if your in by Friday 3rd October.

Also if you have a vehicle capable of carrying bikes and people and are willing to use, please let Martin know - you will be compensated.......... in more ways than one!

Niseko Snow Report

Ok, so it might not be want everyone was hoping for, but it is snow!

A light dusting of white gold has landed on Mt. Yotei on Wednesday 24th September, 2008, after a noticeable change in the weather to highlight the official end of summer!

You might have to look pretty close to see it but it is there, we promise!

Powder TV and Shaun White

So we got some abuse for letting our readership know what we thought of the Shaun White interview from certain people, without naming them you can figure it out if you read the original post, but before you do, here is another quote from an unsatisfied viewer of the Shaun White interview.

“so ahhh….this interview is pretty shocking! has this lady ever done an interview before? maybe someone should let her know there is a difference between having a caffeine buzzed conversation and interviewing one of the best sports people in the world.” See post for yourself here

You can read the original post by Niseko Webzine here - Niseko.

Keeping In Touch In Niseko

Just a quick note to everyone that is coming to Niseko for the quickly approaching winter.

It has been a problem in the past with people coming to Niseko with families and friends to use Australian UHF-CBs and New Zealand PRS radios. For those of you that do not know, the use of these devices is highly illegal in Japan!

Most people have thought that they are above the laws and ignored the notices that have been placed at airports and around the town in English to make you aware of the laws in the past. However, the issue is gaining more attention from authorities as the level of incidents with foreigners increases from being stupid and disrespecting the local community.

Prior to last winter season kicking off the level of security that was enforced on winter tourist increased dramatically, this year could see a search of all baggage to uncover these communication devices. I am sure everyone has seen boarder security and seen the consequences when airport customs finds something they shouldn't!

To get around the communication issue in Japan, find out if you can use your mobile phone on the 3G network or rent/buy a prepaid mobile for a cheaper option from IXSM Travel (www.ixsmtravel.com/)

As a guest to Japan it should be pretty simple as respecting the local laws regarding these devices in Japan so do NOT bring them fools!

Niseko Cycle Week

It is getting closer, Niseko Cycle Week and winter are just around the corner!

Check out the latest event to be hosted in Niseko - Niseko Cycle Week

Niseko and Beer?

If you have been to a few places around the world skiing and snowboarding you would have most likely experienced a few different types of beers and possibly though, "why does this beer taste so good?" Well you are not the only one and these guys have decided to make a business out of it, we have to say we at Niseko Webzine are a little jealous.

Want to know what the hell we are on about? Read this article here

Niseko Night Session

So you are thinking of coming to Niseko this winter! If not you should be! For those of you that have not been here before, night skiing or snowboarding or whatever you kids are into these days, is one thing you have to experience before you can say you have been to Niseko. But be warned, be ready for the weather! We found this little photo while cruzin the net waiting for winter to come back around and thought we would share it with the world.

Photo was taken by Shelly Johnston, thanks for posting it on the web Shelly, love your work and hope to see you back in Niseko again this year.

Check out Shelly's photo here

Niseko Summertime

What's on this week 11th August - 17th August?

Monday
- 6pm Soccer - Sunsports Land. All Welcome!

Tuesday
- 6am Road Bike Ride - Meet at Kutchan Station. Cruisey ride through the potato fields. Beginners welcome.
- 6pm Touch Rugby - Sunsports land. All Welcome!August 12th-24th Minamo Photography Exhibition - Shapes and Colours of Half-moon Lake (Hangetsu-ko) - Lake Toya. Details: www.toyako-vc.jp/

Wednesday
- 5.30pm Mountain bike JAM - Meet at SunSports with your bike and 100 yen for some MTB fun in the forest - info:Niseko Mtb

Thursday
-6am Road Bike Ride - Meet at Kutchan Station. Cruisey ride through the potato fields. Beginners welcome.
- 6pm Touch Rugby - Sunsports land. All Welcome!
- 8pm Darts Competition - The Brick. JPY 500 to play, winner takes all. All Welcome!

Thursday
- Saturday, August 14 - 16 @ KyogokuKyogoku Furusato Festival @ Sanjou dori Shoutengai (Kyogoku town)14th 10am - 9.15pm, 15th 10am - 8.45pm, 16th 4pm - 8.30pm. Bon Odori were originally a religious ceremony held to send off spirits, but they have become local festival for entertainment. Inquiries 0136-42-2111.Friday6pm Soccer - Sunsports Land. All Welcome!

For the rest of the dates and times on what is happening in Niseko check it out here

Niseko Playground

Warren Miller, the world famous ski/snowboard/extreme sport series films and all round nice guy has slipped a little Japan into his Playground film!

His crew checks out Tomamu and of course Niseko!

You can see the trailer of the film right here - Playground

Mtb Dirty Wednesday

Yer it is hump day again! But the good news is you can get your flow on at Dsen tonight with the Niseko MTB crew!

The word on the street from the organisers:

The D sen will be in top condition after the sweltering temperatures over the last couple of days. COME enjoy an early evening blast on:- Wednesday- 17.30 at SunSports- 100JPY for the BONGO fund Keen Ken has been out with his whipper snipper working on an extension. let us know if you have a sassa slashing implement and a will to use it. we have about 500m more track to clear.

ALSO Niseko Cycle Week - www.nisekocycleweek.com - check the program and make sure you are around that week.

Ride while you can!

Fatal slip from ski lift

A 31-year-old Sydney adventurer slipped off a ski lift in Chile and died when he tried to make his way across the perilous Andes, his family says.

Julian Fine's family stressed that he was doing nothing reckless when he fell from a ledge at the Portillo resort, north of Santiago, on Tuesday.

Read full story here

Japan Ski Holiday Specialist

With all the media attention on Japan as a ski destination in the last few year there has been a lot of "ski holiday specialists" taking advantage of unaware travelers looking for the ultimate snow holiday in a cultural rich country, however so many people have been let down and have bad memories of Japan.

Well there are now some new kids on the block that truly are Japan ski holiday specialists! Experience in the snow holiday industry and years of living all over Japan gives these guys the knowledge and experience to deliver a true Japan snow holiday that will blow your skirt up!

Do yourself a favor and check em out!

Kaku Cafe Jazz Night, Kutchan

Well the Kutchan Jazz Festival has been and gone for another year! But that is not to say lovers of jazz can not get their fix of some live and cool tunes! The best cafe in Niseko and Kutchan is hosting a jazz night; this will be a night not to miss!

Could It Be A Wet Weekend

This weekend is not looking good for outdoor adventure with a wet lead up to the weekend it looks like the weekend could be more of the same type of treatment. We can only hope that we wake up tomorrow to a perfect summer day in Niseko to rock the oldies at park golf and spark up the BBQ!

WhoTurned Off Their Lights?

Following our last blog post (Niseko news) regarding the Toyoko G8 Preparation Council requesting everyone to turn off their lights, it was unbelievable the amount of establishments that did not make the effort to support the cause!

During the two hours of darkness the Niseko Webzine crew took time out and enjoyed a walk around the village. We lurked in the shadows and darted from roof top to roof to spy on who was destroying the world. It is safe to say the majority of houses that had lights on are occupied by the western community of Niseko!

G8 Summit Kicks Off & Hokkaido Turns Green

In co-ordintaion with the commencement of the official meetings of the G8 summit, the G8 Toyako Summit is helping rise awareness of climate change issues and is asking everyone to turn off their lights and other electric appliances between the hours of 8.00pm and 10.00pm tonight. This is an opportunity to chillax by candle light and help the environment at the same time!

We hope you support the efforts of the G8 Toyako Summit and help the environment that lets us indulge in the powdery goodness!

TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS!

Kutchan Jazz Festival

Time to get your swing on again you crazy cats!

Everyone has had time to recover from the Northern Fox party and now it is time to slip into the cool groove of the Kutchan Jazz Festival!

After a week of super summer conditions and rain this week, we can only hope that the man up stairs is a fan of Jazz!

Enjoy the Kutchan Jazz Festival this weekend!

Mountain Bike Weekend In Niseko

NisekoMtb.com and Black Diamond Lodge is doing thier thing for the mountain bike community of Hokkaido and Niseko.

Its going to be a great weekend of mountain biking so show your support and get on Saturday & Sunday to check it out!

Saturday - Practice day
- Grand Hirafu, Center 4 Lift.
- NisekoMtb.com & Black Diamond Lodge dirt jump session and BYO BBQ & beverages!

Sunday - Race Day
- Grand Hirafu, Center 4 Lift

Niseko News

Niseko Is The Place It All Happens!

Tonight is the night of the Niseko Utari Music Festival at The Northern Fox! All we can hope for is that they have their shit together for tomorrow tonight!

White Bear Pension also looks like they are playing host to a local soccer club this weekend that is in town for a training weekend! White Bear Pension is located right next door to venue for tomorrows music festival - hope they don't plan on sleeping tonight! Go party next door boys!

The mountain bike crew headed by Nisekomtb.com commander (Martin) was out in the trees today adding some nice corner features to the D-sen track. The new feature will have you railing one of the last corners at mach 10!

Good luck to Martin at tomorrow’s downhill race in Teine, just outside of Sapporo.

Niseko will be hosting its own race on the last weekend of June, more details to follow!

Niseko News

Niseko Utari Festival

When: Sunday 22, June 2008
Where: The Northern Fox, Niseko
Cost: Advanced tickets 3,000yen
At the door 4,000yen

The Line Up & Times
Open - 16.00
Live 3 - 16.30
Live Charaves - 17.30
Live GOMA - 18.30
The Sun Paulo - 20.00
dachambo - 21.30
Cro-magnon - 23.00
DJ QLIONE - 24.00
DJ TOMO - 01.00
Close - 02.00

Hope to see everyone there! Should be a great night!

Niseko News

Niseko & G8 Summit

A police technician dispatched to Hokkaido for the Group of Eight (G8) summit meeting in July has been arrested for sneaking into a women's bathroom to take photos of a bathing woman, police said.

Read full article

Niseko News

Niseko Lift Ticket Prices

One of the major draw cards of taking your snow holiday in Niseko is the inexpensive lift tickets, you know, besides the massive amounts of powder snow, Japanese food and culture and the short flight times from Australia and other Asian countries!
Lift Ticket prices for Niseko for the 2008/09 season maybe going up in price! One thing that you need to keep in mind, they will be not even close to the cost of a lift ticket in Australia ($100 dollars a day is ridicules!) In fact the lift tickets for Niseko will only be going up 8%, so a 1 day lift ticket might get to the equivalent of $60AUS, yes, we said might!

Really it is surprising that people still go to the snow in Australia! Expensive lift prices, very poor snow conditions, over priced accommodation, massive crowds if it does snow and over priced food and beverage prices, should we continue?

Our message to the blog world that loves snow – “Come to Japan!”

Niseko Gets Environmental

Supermarkets in Kutchan, the town just outside of Niseko, have introduced the practice of charging for plastic bags!

Of course this a step in the right direction for the Niseko environment and the environment in general of course! It does seem that a lot more of an effort should be made to protect and improve the amount of negative factors that affect the environment considering the people of Niseko rely so heavily on environmental tourism.

So how will this affect you?

Well when you come to Niseko on your next snow holiday, consider bringing your “green” shopping bags from home, or buy ones to use here, or maybe even use the boxes that are provided at the supermarkets, but whatever you do, DON’T USE PLASTIC BAGS!
If you don’t use plastic, Mother Nature will of course reward you with nipple deep snow conditions for everyday of your holiday in Niseko!

We just hope you’re not a midget, nothing against midgets; we just want deeper snow than the height of midget nipples!

Niseko Getting Crazy!

For those of you that always wanted to know what was under the blanks of snow during the summer, here it is, well one of the delights of the area anyway – Asparagus!
To showcase the Asparagus of Niseko of course you need a free testing day at Niseko View Plaza weekend markets. During the summer months this is the place to get all your fresh fruit, vegetables and rice straight from the farmers.
So how was the Asparagus? Well it was as good as a vegetable could get, until you drown it in Japanese mayo, all of a sudden it was the most delightfully tasting thing you could experience! Hahahaha

You can see the excitement overcoming the lady as she tastes a snippet of Asparagus ecstasy!

How a piece of wood changed world history

As we have a considerable amount of spare time to waste, we end up finding some interesting and sometimes not so interesting articles and information on the web. So we thought it was time that we start sharing a few more of these with you.

Below is a extract from one of the articles that we have found today:

How a piece of wood changed world history.

Many times someone doing something a little different and having his or her ideas catch on has changed history. The pasteurizing of milk to prevent spoiling and contamination is a perfect example. Snowboarding was also the result of someone doing something a little different.

To view the full article please follow the link - How a piece of wood changed world history.

Japan Rail Hokkaido Going Green

In a step in the right direction to look after Japan’s environment, Japan Rail Hokkaido have been testing a form of transport that combines the function of a small bus and a train!

This hybrid form of transport has been developed to save on resources used in Hokkaido railway; often services in Hokkaido are extremely underused as the island only contains approximately 6% of the country’s population.

This is also a step in the right direction to help preserve one of Hokkaido’s major tourist attractions – winter! We hope more companies in Hokkaido will take a step in the “green direction” to help preserve the unique environmental conditions that brings a new way of looking at life after experiencing their first powder turns!

Niseko Hilton Official Opening

If you have not heard by now, the Higashiyama Prince Hotel has been undergoing a re-branding since the end of winter. The hotel is being operated by the Hilton group and will be called the Hilton Niseko Village.

The official open date is to be July 1st to the public and should prove to be a major draw card for international visitors looking for a first class one stop hotel experience. This will also affect not only the winter traveler but also the summer travel market to the Niseko as summer facilities are right on your doorstep, including, one 18 hole golf course, dirt buggy course, hiking trails and other assorted activities.

We hope that they invest in using the ski hill and area into building extensive mountain bike facilities, tires crossed!

Kutchan Jazz Festival

The biggest summer event on the Niseko/Kutchan festival calender is the Kutchan Jazz Festival. This year it is being held on July 5th and 6th.

Advanced tickets are on sale now. Ticket Prices are:
Advance Tickets: 1 day pass 4,800 yen*. On the day: 1 day pass 5,500 yen*.
Advance Tickets: 2 day pass 8,000 yen* (July 5th and 6th). On the day: 9,000 yen*.
*Prices include tax.
Elementary school students are free; high school students only pay half price and camping sites available.

This year has gathered another solid international and local line-up. Additionally, if you have your own band, this is your chance to get on stage yourself! View the Kutchan Jazz Festival site for futher details, under, "What's New" at the bottom of the home page.

See you there!

Dirty Wednesday

Mountain Bike Niseko

O its wednesday again! Time to get dirty after work!
Wednesday is the day that the niseko mountain bike crew meet for their mid-week dirty session! Get your work frustration out on your bike that has built up from your boss being on your back for the last few days and the rest of the week will seem like your sitting on a island surrounded by swimsuite models! ;)

Dirty Wednesday Details
The track - D-sen
Location - In the forest behind the Family lift.
What to bring - your bike!
The track is suitable for all levels and any bike. You will need to keep your flow on and be super smooth to be fast on this track.

For more info on mountain biking niseko

Niseko Summer BBQs - Round 1

With fantastic weather on saturday it was time to bust out the BBQ and give it it's first test run of the summer season! And what a way to start!

After a 7 hour marathon of eating the fantastic foods that Hokkaido is blessed with and enjoying sum of Sapporo's finest draft beer, it was time to pack it up and sleep off the food hangover!

What a way to spend a lazy Saturday in Niseko!

Tragedy Strikes Niseko

Many of the local residents would have woke on Wednesday 7th May, to the whirl of helicopters hovering in the distance over the river area.

Many residence feared a white water rafting accident, but in fact, a sicking death within the local community had occurred. A 29 year old female had been tragically murdered and her young baby girl was missing and feared drowned in the near by river.

The suspect was the husband and farther to the victims who was later arrested and admitted to the allegations. The husband a Napalese man who had only moved to Niseko in March of 2007 and shortly after married the deceased told police, “ She started talking about a divorce, so I killed her.”

An autopsy revealed that the death to the wife was caused by a combination of asphyxiation and shock brought on as a result of her facial injuries from repeatedly being struck with a hammer, kicked and punched to her chest, head and face.

A Green Weekend In Niseko!

A green weekend after almost 6 months wearing some or all of the following, thermals, gloves, down jackets, beanies is one of the most energizing experiences you can imagine! Stir the Niseko landscape and relaxed way of life into the mix and it will blow your mind!

A complete weekend sitting in the sun on deck chairs while enjoying a bbq with friends after spending the days riding and building mountain bike trails has never felt so good! Besides the muscles wanting to explode from not riding a bike in 6 months, however after the late Sunday afternoon onsen you feel like you could do it all again!

Bring on next weekend!

Last Lifts!

Well it's done!

The last lift of the season has run. The gods gave us the start to the day that we needed, a perfect spring day with blue skyes shinning upon us! A super fun day on to be on the mountain with locals ripping everything in sight from park to moguls and everthing in beween!

For the last few weeks in Niseko have been an awsome time of year with the best of both worlds on offer! Snowboarding in the park in the morning and mountain biking in the afternoon! Life does not get any better than that, for us anyway!

Others have been enjoying the early opening of golf courses in the area and hiking trails have also seen a lot of early traffic! It will not be long before hiking to the top of Yotei without an avalanch pack will be possible!

Time to bust out some short action and show the world our pasty white chicken legs! You know you want it!

Hold On Niseko

In Japan at the moment is what they call Golden Week! Normally this extra long weekend sees an influx of local Japanese arriving in Niseko to take advantage of the uncrowded slopes and terrific bluebird days. Unfortunately the crowds don't seem to be here this year as the early onset of Spring and vast melting of the snow pack has detered a lot of regulars.

For those that did arrive in Niseko this Golden Week to go skiing and snowboarding have not been blessed with the best conditions. With strong winds holding a few of the lifts from operation and heavy rain today (Monday), we can only hope that the conditions will be favourable for us all tomorrow.

If conditions continue to deteriate, this long weekend may be the last days the lifts are running for skiiers and snowboarders for the season. In the coming weeks this of course will allow for the hikers and mountain bikers to get into the lifts and up on the mountain to enjoy the green side of Niseko life!

One more day of perfect weather to enjoy the snow is not too much to ask for is it?

Shake It Niseko

Was it really? What ever you are doing at the time, you always start to second guess what is going on! You always start to think to yourself, "Is that me or not?", "I don't think I am feeling dizzy, so why is the PC screen a little fuzzy and moving".

What ever it is that you start to think, it is always your first thought when you live in Japan, not sure what I'm talking about?

Well my first thought was, "Is that an earthquake or tremor that is making the building feel like it is moving?"

At 2.29pm today Niseko was shaken by a tremor! Most people would not have even felt it as it was fairly minor, but pretty weird to feel a building move no matter how small the shake!

Abu - Cha Bakery

A sad day in Niseko!

Today in Niseko Abu - Cha bakery baked its last chocolate croissant for the season! In true Abu - Cha style they went out with a perfectly baked assortment of bakery goodness! If you are still in town the restaurant is open till mid april! They will celebrate with a half price night in the restaurant as well, you will have to visit Abu - Cha for more details.

Out of respect for everyone that visited and worked in Niseko this season, the members of Niseko Webzine exhausted all efforts to stuff ourselves to the point of not being able to walk for the remainder of the day!

All we can say is, damn it was good! It was well and truly worth spending the day on the couch out of respect to everyone!

See you next season Abu - Cha!

Jam Bar & Mina Mina = Jamina

Need something to fill in the 31st of March? Check out the two coolest bars in town for the event of the season! Jamina!

One fee of 1500yen for all you can drink at either bar! The cost of the ticket also lets you check out some live DJs!

Start the night off at Mina Mina and then move onto to Jam Bar to pay your farewell respects to the old Jam Bar and toast the arrival of the new Jam Bar for next season! Yep that is what we said, the current Jam Bar will undergo a face lift over the summer and be bigger (not to big) and better then ever ready for you to get down with the best pizza in town!

See you at Jamina!

Niseko Night Sessions

We have found a lot of people ask us when and where we like to go riding? When we answer, people seemed shocked and dismayed that we like to lurk in the shadows of the trees after hours! Well not after the resort has closed, but after the normally accepted times that people spend on the mountain in the rest of the world – night sessions!

When you mention night skiing to the majority of the snow junkie enthusiasts people automatically imagine a skiable area of maybe one or two runs that have poor lighting covering terrain that is as interesting as listening to your grandfather talk about mowing the lawn on the weekend! Not here in Niseko!

With a vast amount of terrain open to riding across the Grand Hirafu (highest point of access for night sessions is just over 1000m of altitude!), Higashiyama and Annupuri areas it is surprising so many visitors to Niseko don’t pucker up and venture out into the darkness to get amongst the night powder sessions.

If you are feeling imaginative you will be surprised at how many areas have enough light for you to ride in. Add in a full moon you have what we call the “Blair Witch Project” factor! If you haven’t seen the movie “Blair Witch Project” get with the program and go and get it from your local video store, you will get the idea!

Next time you are planning on heading out for dinner or going for a few drinks in Niseko, just think for a moment, what would the Niseko Webzine be doing right now? Where would they be riding? I wonder if they are getting sick photos? Are they balls deep or even nipple deep in powder right now? Well no matter what your question, consider going for a night session while in Niseko, you will enjoy the uncrowded slopes and epic times you and your friends and family will have jibbing around on the beginner slopes or being deep into the world famous Niseko powder!

You can always go out drinking at home after all!

Who's Been Chillen In Niseko? Part 2.

As a follow up to who's been chillen in Niseko, we thought we should let you know the latest big star to blow in and out of town!

So where does the great Shaun White go to get the best powder?

To all the sceptics that think Niseko can not possibly have powder as dry as Colorado, take a lesson from one of the greatest ever snowboarders!

Niseko is the place to be!

Apologies for the poor quality of this interview, Harmony and Powder TV at their worst again.

It's ok Terje, everyone does it!!

Terje Hakonsen, the great Norwegian snowboarding legend has shared the feelings that the majority of the snowboarding community feels everyday they spend on the mountain. Terje himself described it as embarrassing as slipping over in the shower!
While recently boarding in Japan, Terje caught an edge while getting on the lift, fell and had the wind knocked out of him; later examinations in Norway revealed he had injured his shoulder.
With the Arctic Challenge just days away, Terje’s own event, has commented he does not think he will set any new world records like last year (9.8 meters out of the quarter-pipe) and will stick to basic tricks!

Welcome to our world Terje! You are still a god on our webzine!

Terje in action at the 2007 Oakley Arctic Challenge.

Who's Been Chillen In Niseko?

Niseko really has earned its world wide reputation as a powder paradise!

Over the last month or so if you have a well trained eye, you could pick many pro skiers and snowboarders ripping it on the mountain and chillen around town!

The guys from Poor Boyz Productions have been back in town to film for their new movie, as well as the Scandinavian Ski Team and the Volkl Snowboard Team, also filming for their new DVD, check out the teaser!

The Northern Fox

It has been a while since the Niseko Webzine has reviewed a restaurant or bar so we thought it was time to venture out from under our rocks and check out The Northern Fox.

The Northern Fox (the old Lodge Ronde entrance) is a new addition to the Niseko night scene this year and was labeled to be the live music venue for Niseko. It is positioned right in the middle of town on the 343 (main road), giving it unsurpassed amounts of foot traffic and potential for a Niseko Hot Spot!

It seems that the decision to turn the old Lodge Ronde into The Northern Fox was a late decision as renovations to the building started very late in the year. From our first encounter with The Northern Fox it seems that the renovations was the only thing they had planned as we were very disappointed with the establishment, well that is not totally true, the renovation has turned it into a great looking bar with the highest level of potential in Niseko! It is just a shame that the purpose of the bar does not match the cliental they are trying to attract!

Traditionally a live music venue is targeted at the "mass" of the demographic in a location; however, The Northern Fox has gone out on a limb! The prices of drinks and snacks of this establishment reflect a high end up market bar, for example, the devil water we like to consume is Jack Daniels with a splash of Coke; The Northern Fox charges 1000 yen or the equivalent of $10 Australian!! Yep and that is only for 1 drink!

Our next point that gets us a little upset besides ridiculous drink prices is service, if you are looking for service just do NOT go to The Northern Fox!! Sitting at the bar (as from our experience this is where you get the quickest service) our first round of drinks took in the proximity of 10 minutes! I would like to mention we were sitting at the bar and the place was far from busy with no more than 50 people inside at the time with 8 staff that we could see on the floor (yes we started to count them after the first 5 minutes of not having a drink in front of us).

So where to go?? Well if you are after an up market bar you can not go past J-Sekka! The service is first class, friendly, quick and the establishment matches the products! J-Sekka also has the advantage of having multiple restaurants on-site! Not just bar snacks that you will find at The Northern Fox! Want some live music? Your best option is to check out bars such as Wild Bills and Barunba to see what is playing at the time!!

Last words of advice - Do not go to The Northern Fox!

Niseko & Global Warming

It is obvious from the crazy atmospheric conditions that have been changing over the last 20 years that global warming is a real concern and not a fictional fairytail that some one eyed scientist has conjured up to give environmentalist something to protest the corporate world about.

Just about everyone knows that the easiest way for everyone to help save the world from turning into a massive pizza oven is to make sure that you turn off lights when they are not needed. How easy is that? Something this small can make a massive difference!

The surprising thing is, in an area such as Niseko that relies on the environment producing epic snow conditions to be the drawcard to attract now thousands of tourists every winter, it seems that development companies have a faily low respect for social responsibility and the surrounding environmnet that they are making a very healthy living from!

It has been brought to our attention, mainly from walking home in the early hours of the morning that one particular development company seems to have external lights that are on from early afternoon when darkness falls till morning! This seems like an excessive waste and damaging the environment that they are profiting from!

Take the future of Niseko into your own hands Niseko developers and turn off the lights on the outside of your ugly buildings! The future generations that will continue to enjoy the epic powder that is produced here will thank you for it!

The New Niseko Guide

If it's your first time to Niseko or your a season regular, the Niseko Giude web page is a new and very handy little source of information. It will keep you up to date with all the new restaurants, bars and facilities that are in the area.

The site has a very cool feature of being able to rate restaurants, bars, accommodation etc. so you if it is your first time to Niseko, you can have all the knowledge of a local and know the spots that rock!! ; ) Don't forget to the location map so you know where you are heading; it will save you walking the streets at night when your freezing cold looking for that bar or restaurant that everyone is rating as super hot!!

Check it out at - http://www.nisekoguide.com/

Respect paid to Japanese woman reaching South Pole on skis

A 40-year-old adventurer has become the first Japanese woman to ski to the South Pole, the Kyodo news agency reported Thursday. Sumiyo Tsuzuki reached the southernmost point of the planet at 1445 GMT Wednesday, members of her support team told Kyodo.

Tsuzuki had in May 1998 been the third Japanese woman to climb Mount Everest, and three years ago traversed Greenland by ski.

Having departed Japan for Chile in mid-November, Tsuzuki then left Hercules Inlet in Antarctica on November 28.

Travelling with three other men including a Briton and a Canadian tour guide, Tsuzuki then skied the around 1,100 kilometres to the South Pole, braving temperatures as low as 35 degrees below zero and wind speeds of over 46 kilometres per hour.

Snow Report

Hope you guys got the snow shoes out today!
no new snow over night and the rest of the week will be very little snow. But the good news is that at the end of the week the weather should get all freaky nasty and puke down! so hold on to those beer glasses at wild bills for a few nights and be ready for a nipples deep weekend!

Snow Report

Just to mix it up, the Niseko Webzine crew headed to Moiwa Resort again today! Anyone in the area should really think about taking the time to check it out. We have mentioned this before, a 4 hours lift ticket is about the equivilent to $25 bucks aussie bucks! It really is worth it!
A lot of people have asked, "how could it be good if it is such a small mountain?"
Well the simple answer is that you dont need a large area of terrain to be good terrain! It is about the quality not the quantity! Imagine the well know strawberry fields in Hanazono with a tenth of the the amount of people destroying your lines and multiple options when exit the chair lift!
We can only describe it as the most fun you can have with your pants on! Or if your into that type of thing ride with your pants off!

Snow Report

Today is not a first hand experienced snow report! We are sorry! After the Rusutsu mission we had nothing left in the tank to get back on the hill! Instead we relaxed in Onsens, drove to Otaru to catch a movie and indulge in the best sushi we have ever had!

From we hear it was a windy day to be on the mountain! The top lifts had to close and this caused a little congestion down on the lower lifts. If you wanted it but, the powder was still there! just took a little hiking and imagination on how to find it!

Snow Report

So the snow has not really stopped over the last few days and the legs and body are starting to get effected! So just to make sure the Niseko Webzine Crew hit Rusutsu Resort today!

All we can say was DAMN!! It was the goods for sure! It was well over balls deep all day long with no crowd to be seen! We thought for sure the Sapporo crowd would have made been the trip, but they didnt. A few of the staff from Niseko were spotted ripping it up in the trees and they had some pretty happy looking smiles sitting under their goggles!

Snow Report

So it looks like its about to be one like donkey kong! Tomorrow should be the day to be in Niseko, if you are in town, make sure you get your safety gear on and get to the Annupuri back bowls! They will be EPIC and the Niseko Webzine Crew will be chillen out there for sure!

Snow Report

After the night session last night there would have only been only another 10 or so cm fall between 9pm and 8am. Only 10cm? is it really worth getting out of bed for?? hahhhahaha hell yer!!!

The groomers had been out in the early hours and converted the piste into work of art! It was like slipping into your favorite pair of old jeans that your girlfriend, wife or mum or always hounding you to throw out, but you hold onto them!

Off-piste was still very wind blown after the last few days, however, the snow always gets caught somewhere! If you know the gullies around the resort you would have had no trouble finding balls deep POW to play in and the Niseko Webzine crew had no trouble finding it! We attempted to get pics for you guys to check out, but due to the amount of snow you can not see a thing! Sorry!

Snow Report

Well this morning there was a massive amount of tourists around the village! The ground service providers must have their work cut out for them yesterday. The line up for the center 4 quad chair was almost to the road near the ticket office at one stage this morning!

When we checked our weather station this morning it showed us that it had snowed a little over night and was looking like it would continue to snow for the majority of the day. It is puking down now as i write this before we go for a night session!

We managed to get some quick pics today, finally!!! The conditions are not the best but it shows it is deep and that is all that matters!

Snow Report

An extremely windy day to be on the mountain! We braved the conditions for as long as our faces could withstand the wind burn, so it was not long before we were back enjoying a warm hot chocolate straight from the vending machine!

If you know where to look, you could escape the winds and enjoy the benefits of wind blown pockets of white gold!

Snow Report

Well after the last few days today was a little disappointing!

No new snow overnight that is worth measuring. However the groomers had been out during the early hours of the morning and turned the smashed powder into perfect corduroy! Another day to get into the park!

Tomorrow should bring some wild weather with high winds. We hope it will be followed by heavy snowfalls!

Snow Report

Well what can we say, the Niseko Webzine Crew had a lazy day today! We didnt get up the mountain at all! Our bodies this morning had been hit by a sumo a few times!

Reports from the guys that we have spoken with told us that it was another epic day!

20cm approx fell in the village overnight was the report from our very highly sophisticatedly technically advanced weather report system. We will reveal the system to the world soon!

Old School Outwear Compition

Hi to all the Niseko Webzine readers!!

We hope you have been out on the hill in the last few days and been ripping the powder to shreds!!!Over the last few days we have seen some very impressive old school outswear combinations on the hill, so we have decided to start a little photo comp!

Whoever can snap a quick pic of an impressive old school outwear combo will win endless amounts of praise from the Niseko Webzine community! At the end of the season the entire Niseko Webzine community will be asked to vote on a winner, who ever has the most votes wins!!

Place your photo's on the Niseko Webzine Facebook gruop , you will have to join the group if you have not already (see the Facebook icon on the right side of the page)!!! Under the discussion board you will see the header "Old School Outwear Compition". That is the place to post this years old school outwear fashions!!

So get out on the hill and start snapping those pics and post em up! Lets see what old school fashions are rocking the hill this season!!

Lessons - Who To Use?

We have had a few people ask us in the village who to go to for lessons. So we thought it would be best if we let everyone know before they get here so they get the best instructors!

In our our eyes, the choice is easy! We recommend using Pro-Powder!Trever and his crew provide world class ski and snowboard lessons, you are guaranteed that all his instructors are qualified!!!

Unlike a few other companies in the area! You will be ripping the powder up like a pro in no time!

Check them out - www.pro-powder.com

Snow Report

We retired last night after a long day thinking that we would sleep in today, after all it was not snowing when we called it a night! Until some idiot (you know who you are) woke everyone up around 1.30 AM to tell us that it was humping down with snow! The alarm clocks got quickly changed for an early wake up, again! When will it stop!! March sometime maybe? hahaha

The morning woke and it had continued to snow all night by the look of the amount of snow keeping our car in the garage for an extra 30min until we got it dug out! Anyone now a snow clearer that will work for empty beer cans??

Screw the story! You just want the snow report?
All we have to say is:

SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!!

The resort had bogus reports of 10cm, in the village we thought 15-20cm and on the mountain it was a well over balls deep, id almost give the nipple deep rating!! Almost!

Snow Report

Waking up to sunshine and blue skyes is not really what you come to Niseko for and this morning was one of those days!

The Niseko Webzine crew thought they would make the most of it and get up on the hill anyway, the options were to get the backcountry gear out and head to the peak or a few of the other top secret spots around the area or get the short sticks out and make our way to the park; today the park won the Janken (Japanese version of paper, rock, siccors) match this morning to the delight of the lazy part of the crew that dont like strapping on the snow shoes!

It was a perfect day for the park, the groomers had been out and the jumps were looking good, rails looked pimped, the snow was fast and still soft to make those f"#$ ups a little softer on our quickly aging body!

After a few hours of getting back into the spin of things in the park, the weather turned back to Niseko style! It was PUKING down again!

Back to our humble abode to watch some crazey Japanese TV and eat ice cream while the snow gods got their funk on! A few hours later and nearly 20cms of fresh in a few hours the weather cleared and it was time to get on the mountain for an arvo/night session!

GOOD TIMES!!!

Snow Report

It is on again!!

Another solid snowfall overnight has left us with some work to do this morning to get the car out, it looked like between 20 - 30 cm again and still snowing.

We really need to apologise to your readers, we originally planned to take more photos for our snow report, you know what they say, a picture is worth one thousand words, or something like that. We will try a lot harder for the rest of the season to make this happen!! If anyone has any pics they would like to contribute to the reports, please email them in to us at nisekowebzine@gmail.com with the date and the location or resort if you do not want to give away your secrets!

An epic day to be on the Mountain! If you missed it, GOOD!!! MORE FRESH LINES FOR THE NISEKO WEBZINE CREW!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA

It started to snow in the early hours of the morning and puked down for the majority of the day! Reports of 10cm by some are totaly rediculas! We measured about a foot of snow when clearing the driveway this morning to get the car out and another solid 20 or cm at night to get the car back in!!!!! Should have got a higher 4wd!

You could ski or ride anywhere today and have a sick day! Make sure you have the face mask on and light lenses in the goggles as the light was flat for most of the day. If you suffer from motion sickness try using rose lenses as they seem to reduce the effects. We recommend Electric Goggles! You get a free rose lense!

Only a very light sprinkle of fresh snow overnight but today was a perfect sunny day to be on the mountain! With great visibility and low winds, the pick spots were Moiwa, Rusutsu, in Niseko the out of bounds areas were very popular as the areas were very stable. Please remember to carry all the right equipment when you go to these areas. The other spot to be was in the park. It is still early in the season so the parks are not up to full size yet, however the park in Hanazono is coming together nicely. In our opinion the best rail in the area is in Annupuri, check it out!

Consider today the calm before the storm! We hope you got out there and worked on the goggle tan, you may not have another opportunity for a few months!

Snow Report

20 cm of new snow fell overnight. It was not enough to completely cover the tracks from yesterday however. With high winds ripping across the mountain, many of the higher lift were on stand-by to close for the day, giving the off piste areas like strawberries time to recover and fill in as it continued to snow consistently for the majority of the day.

With the weekend crowd arriving tomorrow it is expected to be a busy day on the mountain. Avoid the main areas and the peak times around the Gondola and center 4 if possible.

If winds are high the places to check out will be Rusutsu due to the great tree skiing and the large resort area always makes the weekend crowds seem a lot smaller then in Niseko.

Get Your Shit Together For Niseko

With a lot of quickly growing companies based year round in Niseko and some just for winter, there is one company in particular that stands out to the Niseko Webzine crew that really needs to pull their public image into shape for the local community in some respects. This particular company has done a great deal for the area, for example, they bring a lot of tourist dollars to the town and of course the local economy is healthier for it! However, they do a few things that have upset the Niseko Webzine crew in the last week.

Firstly their mountain guides at in the firing line. They were seen guiding a group of approximately 8 egger skiers and snowboarders around the mountain, this of course is great to show them around, but at the time they were taking them straight down directly under a lift line, so what is wrong with that? Well, after the mountain orientation is over those 8 guests will assume that this is ok and continue to ride and ski under the lifts for the rest of their holiday, if they get away with it!

In Niseko, it is a request of the resort that you do not ski or snowboard under a lift, to the point that the resort will take your lift pass if you are a repeat offender in a dangerous area! But why? In Niseko this is extremely dangerous; with the high snow fall the area can receive in a short time period, it can bring the heads of skiers and snowboarders in contact with dangling skis and boards from the passing lift above!

"So how did you get injured on your snow holiday to Niseko?"
"I got a ski to the head because I thought it was ok to ride under the lifts!"

Due to the lack of respect or education the mountain guide has of the rules of the resort, you will look like an idiot to your friends!

Secondly and lastly (for the moment), the fools that you have behind the wheel of some of those work pick ups really need to be pulled into line! After a long day on the mountain the Niseko Webzine crew were taking a short walk up to Lawsons to grap a few snacks to get ready for the afternoon of not knowing what to do, when around the corner came a vehicle at excessive speed sideways!! After some quick Chuck Norris like evasive actions, we had managed to jumped out of the way and into the snow bank to avoid being clipped by this work pick up!!! At the time the driver and the passenger thought it was a great by the look on their faces, massive grins and laughing!! Just so everyone knows, I'm all for drifting action, but there is a time and a place!! The narrow streets of Niseko are NOT the place!!

To finish our experience with this company for the day, we had to avoid being run into by them again, this time we were driving. They decided that they would back out onto the street without checking for other traffic, hold on, sorry, my mistake!!!! They could not check for traffic as their rear window was totally covered with snow! A good sign that it has been snowing! But have some concern for the rest of the community! What if little Jonny was walking up the street to go to Lawsons at this time and got backed over while on his school holidays in snow paradise??

I know it is all "what if"!! But they should not need an accident like this to happen before they get their shit together for the community they live in!!!

So who are they? Well they are sk#@#$an.com

Snow Report

With not a lot of new snow falling overnight, the key to a good day was who you were riding with and where you looked! With all lifts open and many of the gates to the out of bounds areas open, there was plenty of opportunities to be balls deep in fresh untouched POW!!!
The pick of places were the back bowls of Annupuri with some super deep and untouched areas that would the most seasoned professionals needing to change their underwear! The other pick spot was either side of the Mt. Moiwa peak! Moiwa would have to be the best value for money to POW ratio on the planet!! Approximately $25(AU, for all the ozzies) you can get a 4 hour lift ticket. You will feel like you have the resort to you, your buds and the lifties!! Great spot to get those perfect photos to show all your friends at home what the Niseko area has to offer!

Snow Report

Another 15 cm last night to top up yesterdays snowfall did not go astray!
With snow still falling tomorrow and the next few days should be epic times! The weather patterns expected to hold over the next few days with more snow falling.

Make sure the skis are fat and the boards are long!

Snow Report

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Well it was a great start to the new year with 20cm of the white stuff falling from yesterday afternoon to this morning.

Even with the new snowfall, please be carefull!! under the fresh snow is a bullet proof layer of hard/compact snow and ice from the poor conditions over the last week! With the low pressure system trying to strenghthen, we should see the temps dropping and more snow starting to fall! Then we will be back on track for the rest of the season!

You should also note that avalanche warnings are in place for areas at the base of any valleys! Please be carefull and make sure you have the right safety gear!!

New Years Celebration Hirafu Style

A few pics from the New Year celebration on the mountain.
It is always a great show, live Jpop band, fireworks, sake, deep fried food, skiers with fire torchers coming down the hill and snow falling!
You will not find a better combination! Sorry I did't get more photos to do it justice!