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Just read in another post about " prison space now for sale" in reference to Niseko being for sale and it got me thinking.

 

I`ve lived here for a few years now and esp in winter, barely leave. So I am curious to know what kind of impression Niseko gives off to the outside world beyond "powder heaven".

 

Opportunistic Realty boom town? Punks on a lark party town? Undiscovered secret? overhyped letdown? Coolest place on the planet? what?

 

Newbies responses especially interesting...

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I haven't been but my impression is of a mountain with fantastic and reliable snow conditions, very cold, lots of new stuff built in the village over the last however many years and a lot of resident foreigners and foreign-owned businesses.

 

I really need to check it out and take some pics there.

Perhaps next season.

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having just got back from Niseko my impressions were very positive. Fantastic snow, great terrain, modern western style resort, a slice of Australia in Japan. It has been said countless times, but the amount of Antipodeans up there is phenomenal. I didn't see any trouble, even went to Wild Bills, wasn't very wild (it was a Thursday though). In the restaurants on hill its very noticeable that there aren't a lot of Japanese. I would say that 90% of the people in the restaurants were foreign, with probably 90% of those being Aussie.

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Honestly it reminds me of Glengarry Glenross.

 

People I have not spoken to for years ring me up and say "Hey mate you used to live in Japan, right ? I have been shown a great investment opportunity in "Nersiko" in Japan. Some place called "Heraffuu". Whadya think ?"

 

So far, they have all been right (or lucky ?) though.....

 

My memories of the place are thigh deep powder and thick aussie accents.....but not as many as thought I would hear.

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thats a part too the marketing of the place?

 

is it (was it) that bad? i could imagine- those kinds of booms Niseko had 02-08 will bring out the best of snake oilers.

 

how common is the name niseko known in general conversation? i know mazda made a niseko car and a pair of shoes - but whats nisekos cache? I know for us ( i work for the NPB) signatures put us on the north american map for sure, ski industry wise.

 

is niseko marketed in OZ? like i mean "drink coke for a chance to win a trip to Niseko powder heaven etc"?

 

the aussieness will continue to peter but never die. last week lots of aussie mates, this week HK, next week dead.

 

March is gonna be sick btw. This place is so sick for spring riding when its had a big season.

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Most of the Aus marketing for Niseko is done by the big wholesale travel agents there rather than by the companies from over here. Aus has quite a few big wholesale travel agents who specialise purely in ski holidays. I know for a couple of them Niseko is now their most popular destination, overtaking US and Canadian destinations. Most of them make 20% commission on each booking which is actually more than the property managers get! It's good business for them and they invest quite a lot in marketing.

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This Aussie thing hyperbole - we Aussies really love to beat up on ourselves for some reason, I spoke to a couple of locals who could not speak highly enough of the Aussie contingent.

 

How many incidents of note (and I mean significant) have occured this year?

 

I have a friend who waxed lyrical about never going to Niseko because of all the Aussies and would only do the more "unknown" "real" Japanese ski areas because there were too many Aussies in Niseko, yet he had never been there. Everyone seems to want to make themselves significant and unique... is this a self esteem issue. Really does anyone but Aussies subscribe to these mind sets?

 

I wonder if the Chinese are discussing topics like this on some forum about all the damn Chinese at Niseko this last week. Perhaps the Japanese are bitching about all the damn Japanese tourists in Surfers Paradise

 

We are a country of a mere 22 million or so and yet EVERYWHERE I have ever traveled you seem to bump into more Aussies than other countries - or maybe we just stand out more, though we all do seem well traveled. We have a significant inferiority/isolation complex, I have discussed this at length with a few foreign mates who have commented on how we seem to care more about how we are perceived externally than any other country and yet do little to positively effect it.

 

Niseko is great, in fact the building types and general village urban area reminds me a lot of places like Falls Creek - just the way it looks.

 

It lacks the gloss and glamor you get at more western resorts in USA and Canada etc (well Hanazono has a small taste of it now, and somehow it did make me feel like it was 'better' even though it offered little except better visual appeal.)

 

Maybe it was just me and having a slight aversion to the Aussie contingent BASED SOLELY ON WHAT I HAD READ AND HEARD (*sucker for hyperbole*) if I was to be involved in marketing Niseko I would nip that in the bud real fast and start a "NICE IN NISEKO" campaign or something and try and develop a "friendliest ski Resort in the world" rep - personally and in snow quality eg. reverse the hype.

 

I'll be back and by all accounts a lot of people I have told about it will be coming too.

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I def wanna head back up there....won't be till next year though. But for all the people saying that Aussie numbers are down.....they were still the biggest presence up there. Yes there were a fair bit of chinese around but by and far the biggest group were Aussies.

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I won't go back to Niseko again and it has nothing to do with the amount of Gaijins/ foreigners or their behaviour, (off the mountain that is).

Aussies are powder pigs. On the last few trips I've been there, the aussies are salivating at the bottom of the lift line 30 mins. before it opens. Theres probably just as much chance of a brawl breaking out there than in the pub that night!

When the lifts do start it's a stampede to get the first runs in, by 10 am the mountain is smashed to bits.

Now I know what you locals are going to say. "you can get freshies all day Mantas if you know where to look". But why would I bother when I can go to any of the other 300 odd resorts in Japan and not have to deal with any of that?

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Originally Posted By: Mantas
I won't go back to Niseko again and it has nothing to do with the amount of Gaijins/ foreigners or their behaviour, (off the mountain that is).
Aussies are powder pigs. On the last few trips I've been there, the aussies are salivating at the bottom of the lift line 30 mins. before it opens. Theres probably just as much chance of a brawl breaking out there than in the pub that night!
When the lifts do start it's a stampede to get the first runs in, by 10 am the mountain is smashed to bits.
Now I know what you locals are going to say. "you can get freshies all day Mantas if you know where to look". But why would I bother when I can go to any of the other 300 odd resorts in Japan and not have to deal with any of that?


Because those 300 odd other resorts don't get powder day after day like here? wink Remember Niseko has the bestsnow lol
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and because it does snow a shedload up there. i spent an "average" season there and it snowed ridicutons. crazy amounts of snow. and it was light and dry and stayed that way right until spring. i know it isn't always like that, but really. wow. i'm saying this and i think i'm fairly impartial, as and i have no intention of going back either.

too many powder pig aussies...

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lol Aussie Powder Pigs! That is a funny expression.

 

I must have been really lucky while I was there - no problem with pushy people, or fighting for lines - nothing. I have heard of it, a friend who likes to do virgin first tracks and then call it a day had a few experiences like that. He never talked nationalities.

 

I actually found it strange that more people were not off piste... especially when the groomers were packed - but the majority seemed happy to ride the busy highways rather than duck through the tree's or out a gate.

 

Two years ago I experienced some pushy people in a lift queue, but they were not Aussies.

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Impressions....... great continual snowfall, rowdy nightlife, good standard of hotels, not as steep as some of the mainland resorts, cold. (I have never been only impression)

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Impressions, from a Japanese point of view.

Hokkaido - Place to go when you have stuffed up at anywhere else. Last chance. Like Alaska

脱サラ

 

Niseko - real powder !

 

maybe now I'd add Gaijin ghetto lol thumbsup

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Maybe you should qualify that with Japanese person who has spent a fair portion of their life outside of Japan and possibly has some fairly antiquated views of what Japan is like today thumbsup razz

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