My Niseko summary:
– it’s powder heaven
– all about quality over quantity
– first lift is the best gift
– the snow will make you involuntary squeal in happiness
– Gates, Gates, Gates
– the slopes are empty as everyone is off piste
– the Green Leaf is an ideal base
The Hill
The Niseko mantra should be quality over quantity (apart from the snow where quantity is immense averaging 15-18m a year). Get up early and get some quality runs in, by 10.30 the mountain is generally tracked to oblivion and gets choppy but fun. We are good European holiday skiers/boarders and generally go from 9am to the lifts shutting but underestimated how sapping powder is and the legs started complaining around 2pm, so go early and go big.
The 4 ski areas themselves aren’t huge and my first look at the piste map left me a little deflated. If it was a European resort I would have expected it to be part of a bigger ski area connected by a super lift pass. As it is the piste map belies the real truth behind Niseko, you can ski everywhere – the piste map is just for guidance and to show you where the hilltop restaurants and cafés are. The most important thing on that map are the tiny black diamonds referring to gates. These provide access to back county powder fields and tree runs which will turn even the biggest frown upside down.
The four areas each have their own unique characteristics providing pros and cons. Every area has a selection of gates which should be your first target on any given morning after fresh snow and you’re looking for some fresh tracks.
Annapuri has great access to the back of the hill which is a powder park with gullies, natural cliff drops and jumps to make any heart warm and keep the knees bouncing. It has also has some nice big motorway like piste runs with a great lift infrastructure making runs fast and leaving little time to recuperate between powpowing. Annapuri also gives you access to the back of the hill and to a 5th resort called Moiwa, but beware the standard lift pass doesn’t work there but buying a Moiwa lift pass is cheap and well worth it. We got trapped in Annapuri when high winds shut the peaks lift and found Moiwa completely by accident following a group of other riders through some trees. Moiwa looked jank when we arrived confirmed by a sign greeting you stating the lift pass you have doesn’t work which didn’t bode well. It got worse as we only spotted 2 lifts and a handful of people – the warning bells started to ring. We found the ticket office expecting the worst but was pleasantly surprised when a one off lift pass was 450 yen (£3) and you need a double lift pass (900 yen) to access gate 6 to get back to Annapuri. The 2 lifts give you access to a whole lot of awesome backcountry which very few other people seemed to know about and a minimal amount of tracks proved. It is well worth getting lost and spending some time there if winds are high and you’re stuck that side. This is the main con for Annapuri as if the lifts shut you can’t really get back unless it’s by bus and if that’s the case EVERYONE is getting the bus back. Pick a nice day if you’re going.
Niseko is a bit more straight up straight down than Annapuri. The gondola station chucks you out at the junction of Hirafu and Niseko giving plenty of options. If the top peak is closed then gate 11 in Niseko should be your first destination after fresh snow – it’s an immense run mixing powder fields and tree runs allowing you to pick lines of different difficulties depending on how close you are feeling to being Charlie Big Potato that day. It’s an avalanche warning area though and prone to cracks so listen carefully to the gateman for where to avoid and be safe. There are a couple of amazing black runs which get proper bumpy in the afternoons and can be sketchy if busy but you can divert round them using green and reds if the legs have taken a battering in the morning or if you are still working up to that colour. Either way Niseko is a good fun and has something for everyone. Check out the Lookout Cafe as well, we can highly recommend the corn chowder served in bun (actually in the roll – quality).
Hirafu is the main ski area and is perfect for every level to ski together. It epitomises what the ski area represents, a nirvana of snow for all abilities. There are runs of every colour all of which access the same points in this resorts (lifts, cafés, meeting points etc) making it ideal to ski together without abilities affecting group dynamics. This is the perfect play area to release your own Charlie Big Potato, if you feel brave pop off onto a black, some off piste or a tree run and if you start sketching out then a nice green or blue is always easily accessible to put Charlie back in your bag. The main gondola station, guides and ski schools can be found here (brilliantly though they operate across all the 4 areas so don’t panic about getting to Hirafu just contact the ski school and they will meet you wherever and take you home to wherever). The only downside is that it can get busy as a result but most of the main pistes are open till 8pm for night skiing so you won’t miss out. Visit the 1000m hut, this old school cafe is lush and the heater in the middle of the room provides a welcome relief to the outside and a place to warm your gloves.
The traditionalish furniture isn’t comfy but it doesn’t matter as the overall effect and warming drinks do enough to warm the body and sooth the soul whilst sharing stories before working your way back to Niseko or Hanazono.
Hanazono is the last but by no means least of the resorts and Charlie Big Potatoes favourite. Again there are big motorway like piste runs with long schusses and plenty of snow to give all abilities access to the 308 restaurant at the bottoms which serves some amazing food (the ramen is a winner every time and the burgers aggressive, even the sandwiches need a stomach of epic proportions to get through and all for between 1,400 – 2,500 yen which isn’t bad for mountain side prices). The perfect morning is to get first lift to the top of the hill, which will involve about 30 mins of hiking, and then you have 1000m descending in knee to waist deep powder through forests, fields and valleys which will actually make you scream in pleasure. Hanazono also has Strawberry Fields which is another gate leading you a Narnian like tree lined natural playground. A great philosopher once asked if a tree falls in woods and no-one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? In strawberry fields it doesn’t matter as all you can hear is whoops and cheers of pleasure as those fallen trees provide jumps, obstacles or naturals grinds. If so inclined there are a couple of jump parks in Hanazono and I wish you luck in them. Fortunately my Charlie Big Potato and me are both backcountry addicts and happy to let the younger generation dominate the skies as long as they leave the fresh powder for us.
The Green Leaf Hotel
We stayed at the green leaf which is a very unassuming hotel with ski in ski out access located in the Niseko ski area (one of 4 areas on the mountain made up of Annapuri, Niseko, Hirafu and Hanazono). The hotel itself is well set up with everything you want from a ski hotel. It has a HUGE locker room with hire equipment on site, everything from boards and boots (new the season we there and good quality) through to gloves and snowpants, and dedicated storage for each room so none of the normal fights with other hotel guests who so often encroach on your space. The bar is small but cozy and located in the main reception area of the hotel with a great view of the lower slopes in Niseko so perfect for people watching. The only weird thing is that they have 2 happy hours from 2-4 and 6.30-8.30 which we found odd as daylight lifts close at 4.30 bang in the middle of both happy hours but they have beer in vending machines at a third of the price so no real dramas but the first signs that you know European skiing doesn’t apply in Niseko.
The room was nicely appointed with a good pressure shower and 1500×700 bath if you wanted a soak but the Onsen was generally a better option (more on that later). We also had a bidet seat which was our first experience of such a device. It’s defo one UK residents aren’t used to and we had a bit of fun with it. You’ll know when you’re used to it when you stop clenching whilst waiting for the wash function. We had a double with a MASSIVE bed which was comfy and all we really needed from the room.
The on-site Onsen is a must try, it’s like an outdoor jacuzzi without the bubbles and everyone is naked. It’s a full on international get your junk out parade and remember eye contact is your friend. It’s a natural spring heated by Mt Yotei to around 42 degrees and full of goodness for your body. There is an indoor and outdoor Onsen but I mainly went outdoors – don’t be shy by the time you make the outdoor pool over the 3-5m you need to walk dressed in your birthday suit in the crisp mountain air no-one had anything to be proud off.
The buffet breakfast is great with a wide selection of Asian and European (Western) cuisine and sets you right up for a day on the mountain. My daily breakfast consisted of orange segments, bananas, cereal, scrambled egg, sausages, bacon, and toast with some Asian thrown in to try. My particular favourite Asian breakfast foods also turned out to be dinner favourites which was weird. Having watched what the locals were eating I tried it one day but salad followed by fish, rice and some things I didn’t know what they were and some miso soup was a step too far for me at that time of morning. I am adventurous but I like breakfast to be different from lunch and dinner. Get there early or late to get a table though as queues often formed between 7:20 – 8am.
First lift is at 8.30 outside the hotel but a short walk up the nursery slope will get you to the gondola and access to the higher lifts first thing. Breakfast starts at 6.45 and try to get there for 7. If you told me before we went I would be doing that my response would have been a disbelieving guffaw, a witty remark about coming home at that time in the morning and a pitiful smile that you would be waiting a very long time for me to get up. However jet lag kicked in and not only were we at breakfast at 7 we were fully dressed and ready to go, much to my horror and personal disappointment. I have always been one of those people who rock up in shorts and flip flops for breakfast before swanning off to get dressed properly before hitting the slopes so this change has been a real identity challenge. It took me a while to get over the fact I wasn’t just letting myself down but those who taught me to ski/board, took me under their wing and showed me the way. But they hadn’t seen how much powder was untouched at the top of the hill, everyday, just waiting for the first lift to open its doors and unleash that days lucky few to plough their lines in the virgin snow fallen overnight. I think they would have let me off and I can’t wait to relate our tails of the east to them.
The other key thing to tell you about is the bus service. Visiting Hirafu at night is key to making the most of this resort. There is a free bus service (free if you have an all mountain access lift pass) to get around and we recommend you make the most of it. Whilst the Green Leaf restaurant was nice it did charge a pretty penny for it and the bar is quiet to say the least. For some amazing food and to see Niseko at night catch the bus, it is well worth the effort after a hard days snowboarding. We found the best way to find restaurants was asking the locals or using trip advisor, we weren’t let down by either.
That’s a real quick summary of the mountain and our hotel which hasn’t really done either justice but hopefully done enough to pique your interest. If you go, enjoy. We did.
Ja-Pow 2016!
Spiffy Smiffy 