RobBright 35 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 First of all, please excuse the massive report that is about to follow. I hope you are sitting comfortably, good, then I'll begin. thanks to SJ, the Vale (Paul and Andrew especially) and everyone else for giving us info on this area. So in Oct/Nov the weekly comps were up, and I though, what the heck, let's enter. A few weeks later, I get an email from SJF saying you've won the competition for the vale. My first response was, "competition, what competition?", then it kicked in. Wow! So after a few phone calls around to see who wants to come, well one that is, the wife and I decided on this weekend, being my birthday, an anniversary for us, and needing a break. Saturday 27th Feb Happy birthday to me.... Woke up bright and early, wow going to Niseko. Been a long time coming as the one and only other time I was supposed to go, I overslept and missed the flight, thus missing out on the Sapporo Snow Festival. We had booked flights with Skymark airways (Haneda to Shin Chitose @ 8,500yen one way, so 17,000yen return) and arrived at Shin Chitose about midday or so. With me bouncing around like a loony. Eventually found Skybus (the opposite end of the lounge from the Skymark arrival lobby BE WARNED!), and managed to find it, even though there weren't any signs in the air port. What a shitty way to start the holiday. On the way, stopped at Kinoko no tengoku (Mushroom heaven) and was overwhelmed by mushrooms. Then coming out of here, drove along a road and saw this in front of us: And then arrived here: And let's get this out of the way now - it's a sweet place to stay, but it's a serviced apartment, and NOT a hotel. A very strange experience, as usual I stay in ryokans, or minshokus, but this place meant doing everything for yourself. No brekkie, lunch nor dinner. But they had nice rooms: I managed to get some evening boarding in before heading off to dinner at J-sekka, just opposite the vale's entrance. A great little restaurant with some interesting food. We ate the Gorgonzola cheese gnochi (freshly made too!) and also some lamb ragu gnocchi, whilst this bread was amazing. the vale at night: Sunday 28th Feb breakfast time and time to try out the big buffet at the vale. Have to admit was let down by this, the only real selection was either a full English, but WITHOUT baked beans. (GO FIGURE!) or one choice of cereal. Also had to wait 15mins for a coffee, and all I wanted was a regular drip coffee. The let down of the weekend. Not much I hear you saw, but a man needs his coffee!. Missus was on short skis and went down the baby runs so she could get some confidence. But when you have to look at "the Fuji of the north" it ain't that bad. that day was much better than Saturday due to the slight dusting overnight. We just mucked about, making sure the wife could use the short skis and get some confidence in her own ability. I did dive up to the top, only to find the gates I wanted to go in closed, so ducked in between trees. We did stop for a liquid lunch, which would have made my old man happy. Unfortunately, and the story of our weekend, with me being on camera duty, didn't get much chance to take photos. That night, we went to abucha 2 for dinner - ishikari nabe, negi daikon goma salad, beer, beer and some more beer. Monday 1st March what a night can make. had about 20cms overnight at hotel level - that tree was bare the night before, so managed to get up for first tracks, only to find out that the lifts opened at 8:30 and not 8pm. Oh ****. So what would any self-respecting snowboarder do? I hiked up to the top of the the main slope, pissing off a few people as they "wanted" first tracks. Came down and fell in love with Niseko. Yes, . Love them both. Also love Yuzawa too, but finally understood why people love Niseko. All day long, there was powder if you were willing to look for it. Missus and I spent all day up the top, diving in out of the powder, me diving in and out standing up, wife diving in and out head first. Literally. Should have listened. Sorry for lack of photos but wife didn't take any. For the last run of the day, I went to the very top and came down Large meeting the wife at Shirakaba, and doing a long run together, collapsing at the bottom, sheer tiredness. that evening, managed to find Raku, a Japanese Izakaya, but slightly disappointing as most of the food on the menu came straight from the freezer and either deep fried or grilled. But some great sake at that place, and when I spoke Japanese to them, managed to get MORE sake. Tuesday 2nd March Went to kutchan to get the train back to Sapporo, something I have seen on tv, and at 2500yen or so, cheaper than the bus back. This is something that everyone has to do when they return back. The train is tiny. One car and that's it. Perfect for this. As the train trundled along some spectacular views, Otaru came in the shot, and again, validated this slow, basic choice: The rest of the day was spent in Sapporo, shall spare everyone the pics, but a great holiday was had by both of us. have lots more pics to sift through, about another 400, but wanted to get this report done as it has been sitting waiting to be written. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Nice Rob! More pics (and ones of Sapporo) most welcome. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Cheers for the report Rob. Looks fun. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 That's a good trip. You found yourself somewhere to go back to. What was the Vale onsen like? And the bars and restaurants? Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 Onsen was small but well kitted - had a sauna, an inside bath, about 4m by 2m, and an outside bath about 3m by 1.5m or so. Didn't have anything in the restaurant except the breakfast, whilst the bar was pretty quiet, but good drinks. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Anyone know - what would be 'the norm' or perhaps the average length of time people stay in those places? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 if it were Aussies, perhaps 2 weeks. If Honkers, perhaps 3 days to 1 week. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Outside bath ! That train looks weird! That mushroom place. I'm intrigued! Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 I obviously don't know how these things work, but would someone asking for 2 weeks be given some sort of 'priority' over someone wanting 3-4 days. I presume they are more attractive customers. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 PS Would be interested in seeing more of Mushroom heaven! Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 I'm intrigued to know if it's worth paying to stay there. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 In Europe, usually the self-serving apartments are weekly basis and they charge a cleaning up fee. Since tea and coffee is high priority that we bring our own especially when we drive up, and there are good bakeries around, breakfast is not something we like to pay extra for. So, It really boils down to if there's a nice place to eat around since we cook better than most chefs. I would be disappointed to eat something out of frozen food except pizza. Depending on the kitchen they have, it might be a good idea to stock up on food in Sapporo and drive up and stay there and cook. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Interesting Rob. Would also be interested to see other pics of other places as well. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Thanks for sharing Rob!.....But no baked beans!! Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 A place will never be successful if they don't serve baked beans. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 Indeed - and even the seicomart had them in stock too. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 A great write up! Quite pithy, but that's British people for you. "Gimme me beans!" Can you see your missus in the shower from the bed? Is the toilet in there too? They've gone for the typical modern interior look (muted monotone plus stacked textures), but it looks a bit drab in grey. Not so welcoming after a day outside in minus 15C. Great to hear you got some good snow. That's what its all about! The train to Hakuba is similar. Its freaky when your on it and you can't see the tracks because of the snow. Its been on the news recently because the oldest carriages have just been retired. That bread is foccacia. If you have a bread maker and an oven (a big "if" for many in Japan), its pretty easy to make. Just make a pizza dough in the maker and bake it in the oven brushed with olive oil, rosemary, and coarse salt. What was the dip? Looks like nuts and fried onions. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 ?? Olive Oil and chunky Dukkah? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Originally Posted By: Jynxx Outside bath ! That train looks weird! That mushroom place. I'm intrigued! It serves all sorts of nice food....the slices of pizza are awesome. Had a couple of them on the way there. Did you go into the zoo thats there Rob? Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 It sure sounds good. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Howzzat compare to Suiboku? Link to post Share on other sites
quattro 1 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 The mushroom place I believe is in Kimabetsu. About 20 minutes or so from Niseko Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 yeah, its on the road from the airport. The buses stop there for 20 mins or so Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Originally Posted By: quattro The mushroom place I believe is in Kimabetsu. About 20 minutes or so from Niseko It's actually in a place called Otaki. Kimobetsu town is about another 20-30mins drive on. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver It serves all sorts of nice food....the slices of pizza are awesome. Had a couple of them on the way there. Did you go into the zoo thats there Rob? na, didn't go there as only had 20mins and the missus couldn't believe all the mushrooms, had to stop her from going crazy. :S . Did pick up some cheese from that place though as it was half price. Originally Posted By: Mr Wiggles What was the dip? Looks like nuts and fried onions. The dip was some weird concoction, think it was mixed nuts, some curry spices but was very moorish. thursday.... I don't know how much it costs so can't say if it is worth staying there or not. Link to post Share on other sites
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