Niseko direct flights gone? Real estate impact?

[SerreChe 2]

I was told Sapporo direct flights from australia are now gone. I am not sure whether this is accurate or not, maybe somebody can confirm. If Niseko was so popular, and flights from australia always full, I am wondering why the direct flights would be cancelled?

 

I was also told this is going to dent real estate prices substantially and pretty quickly and burn quite a few people who have invested to speculate there despite the new resort management and the other flights from Asia. I assume that people who are invested or own something there will disagree, just wondering what peeps think in general.

 

It would seem to explain why Hakuba is becoming ever more popular (beyond the usual terrain/snow arguments). If you have to change plane in Tokyo, you may as well head over to Haks.

 

It all seems fad-related boom-bust locust action supported by individuals/firms with commercial interests. I wonder where the next fashionable ski destination will be in Japan after Niseko and Hakuba. It will also be interesting to see what happens once the AUD starts weakening and the impact on vacationers coming from Australia.

[klingon 10]

You mean direct flights to Sapporo, right?

[SerreChe 2]

Yes Klingon, you are correct, meant Sapporo !

Will try to change that.

[Curt 1]

Surely they haven't cancelled them?

[HelperElfMissy 42]

OK.

Not the authority on this topic here, but I have investigated flight options over the past few years. Here's what I have found out.

 

There were flights direct from Cairns to Sapporo until this past season. Although I do not think they ran for more than a season or two. There seems there was some connection between the owner/investor in Hanazono, and someone in power in Qantas - so the flights happened. Those direct flights have stopped. Why - my speculation is as good as yours!

 

Those flights might have made sense for some of the Eastern Aussie travellers - they may find it easier to fly up to Cairns, then change planes and fly into Sapporo. One of hubby's mates flew that route in Jan 07 to meet up with Hubby.

 

However from Perth a direct flight was never an option. It was either Perth - HK - Sapporo, Perth - Sing - Sapporo, Perth - Tokyo - Sapporo, or any other interesting options such as Hubby's January 07 trek of Perth - HK - Osaka - Sapporo.

 

When you think about it ... changing planes at Cairns, or changing planes in HK, or changing planes in Tokyo - it is much of a muchness really. And for my money - if I have to stop and change planes, I would rather go a different way each time so I can see different places in the stopover.

 

I don't think there has been any negative effect from the Cairns-Sapporo flights being canned this season. From what I saw this Jan - no sooner was a property listed - it was gone! I think the economy will have much more impact than flights, they are not that inconvenient.

[thursday 1]

yes, Quantas did stop their directs. And the effect?

 

Probably the busiest season so far in N. Aussies as far as the eye could see.

 

I went during the "low" season, tried 3 restaurants for dinner before finally getting a table. Pretty nuts.

[Kumapix 0]

i think JAL stepped in

[SerreChe 2]

I was wondering about that. Given how lucrative the Tokyo-Sapporo route is, I am sure ANA / JAL were not overly excited to see peeps flying directly to Sapporo.

[foreversnow 5]

We have just returned from Niseko and were wondering the same, why are there no direct flights into Chitose or Sapporo from Australia. Our flight was also full of Australian's heading to Niseko.

 

We were thinking about Hakaba next year but thought it is easier to get the connecting flight to Chitose rather than lugging all our gear on buses and trains.

 

I know even Air New Zealand and Qantas put on a direct flight from Australia to Queenstown during the ski season.

[Rag-Doll 0]

Some more info - mainly rumour and inuendo but what the hell.....Margaret Jackson (until recently a shaker and mover at QANTAS) is married to one of the main guys involved in Hanazono prior to its recent sale to the HK guy. With Margaret's departure from QANTAS there was some adjustment of the aircraft allocation and routes and it seems snow trips have been pushed lower down the list - I've also heard that QANTAS aren't flying into Mt Hotham this year either.

 

The lack of flights didn't seem to affect the number of visitors to Niskeo this year that I have seen. Although, a mate was caught in the snow storms that hit TY at the end of Jan and so it took him something like 28 hours to get from Melb to Sapporo via Narita and Haneda. My advice, if you're coming from outside Japan, try to go through Osaka or Nagoya (lots to see Nagoya , which is an added bonus)

[HelperElfMissy 42]

I heard the same Rag-doll, but was not sure of the accuracy.

 

I think direct flights might make a difference if you are trying to get people to choose to visit, but the reality with Niseko ATM is that people have to get thier accomodation booked FIRST coz that is the hard part! Then as long as you can get to Japan, JAL and ANA do a fabulous job at getting people up to Niseko. In fact I have not yet been on a full plane on the Tokyo-Sapporo route - they fly up so often!

 

However a direct flight with speedy transfers from airport to accomodation would be an excellent marketing ploy for any other resort wanting to tap the Niseko market. Unfortunately for me (being in Perth) the direct flights would be most likley to originate from Sydney!

[Rag-Doll 0]

You're right Mama, the direct flight thing was only a benefit to part of the crowd. And anyway, for those who want to mix culture with pleasure a stop over in Tokyo or Osaka might not be such a bad thing. Particularly for those going through Narita, you already need to get all the way into Tokyo in order to get to Haneda, might as well take it easy and spend a day or two in TY before heading up.

[SerreChe 2]

Interesting, so if correct, after the sale to the HK peeps, and the departure of that Quantas lady then direct flights stopped. I am sure there will be plenty of more directs from HK now though!

[thursday 1]

Not yet, still only flights on Weds, Thurs, Sat, Sun. And they are very hard to get on since at peak season, there are people transferring in HK from Aus, SG, MY, etc.

 

There were a few chartered flights this season which doubled the capacity on specific days, so that helped.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

 Originally Posted By: snowhunter

We were thinking about Hakaba next year but thought it is easier to get the connecting flight to Chitose rather than lugging all our gear on buses and trains.

There is no need to do that, when you get to Narita you can courier all your luggage to Hakuba and sit back on the super comfortable shinkansen and glide effortlessly around the Japanese countryside

[2pints-mate 0]

 Quote:

when you get to Narita you can courier all your luggage to Hakuba and sit back on the super comfortable shinkansen and glide effortlessly around the Japanese countryside

...and then you need to lug your gear on the bus to Hakuba.

Let's not mislead now, shall we?

[Kingofmyrrh 0]

Not that I have any particular desire to see more overseas visitors in Hakuba, grinch that I am, but you most definitely can courier airport -> hotel.

[Rag-Doll 0]

On balance though if you're getting off the plane at Narita it probably isn't that much more of a hassle doing the Narita Express/Nagano Shink/Hakuba Bus shuffle than it is Schlepping by bus over to Haneda, checking in and all that hassle and then getting on the bus at Chitose. Timing wise, if you're landing at Narita in the afternoon, making a dash to Hakuba might even be easier than arriving at Chitose and finding that the buses have finished for the day.

[BagOfCrisps 24]

After a long flight, an extra 1 or 2 hours at the Japan end does not make much of a difference. Sure doesn't for me anyway. I will go where I want to go to, not where I can get to in time for tea.

[Markie 0]

I actually quite enjoyed my commute from Narita to Hakuba and back this last trip during Easter. I enjoy the train rides on the Narita Express and Shinkansen because they are comfortable, relaxing and have nice views. Much better than airplane rides and bus rides. From Nagano I drove to Hakuba and back by rented van and that was fun too. However, I have to admit that having my ski gear stored in Hakuba was an important factor in my decision. Otherwise I might have just taken the Chuo Taxi from Narita direct to Hakuba which would have been cheaper. The norikaeru at Tokyo station with full ski gear is quite challenging when you're up against the Tokyo commuters.

[Rag-Doll 0]

Chuo Taxi...what's that?

[Markie 0]

That's really cool. It's a shared taxi and it only costs 11 000 yen per person. Picks you up at Narita at the time you request and groups you with other travellers at a similar time with similar destinations and drops off everyone at the exact address each person wants.

[Markie 0]

Sorry, I mean it costs 11 000 yen per person for Narita to Hakuba. The rates will depend on the destination of course!

[thursday 1]

so it's actually a big van then, not those black things.

[Rag-Doll 0]

not bad if there are a few of you. how long does the trip take?