fukdane 2 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 I know it seems madly popular with Australians and quite a few people here. But what about Japanese? Is it one of the "major" most popular places? Link to post Share on other sites
sakebomb 0 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Probably not after this year! There seems to be alot of negativity directed towards Niseko, just wondering why. I have been there and yeah I thought it was overated but it wasn't as bad as most people make out. The reason why it is popular with Australians are the facts that this year you can fly directly to Sapporo from OZ, prior to this it has always been a highly publicised resort in OZ and it is easy to get a package tour to Niseko. Sure there are better places in Japan to ski/board but do you really want 30,000+ Aussies at your local resort? Most of my Japanese friends who live around here make an effort to get to Niseko and surrounding areas a couple of times a season! But it is only 3 hours from here. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 I'd like to go to Niseko, amongst other places in Japan, but I never make it further north than Nagano.The cost and time involved pretty much puts me off. Give me a spare week I might go. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Davo I doubt your steep loving ways will like it. To be honest for 90% of people niseko is prefect. The Avie danger is low. the Trees are open. You can get along without a car. English is used alot. etc. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Perhaps a Niseko backlash is on the cards? Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Add to that outside Hirafu never gets too busy, La ponte is practically empty but powderful, along with weiss, so I hear, relaxed laidback ambience, cabins for 10,000 yen peak season... wide open spaces (good break for city-folk... It's pretty popular with the Japanese, buut let's face it, it's on nobodies doorstep. If I were (as I will be) coming from Oz, I'd probably choose Niseko over Hakuba, but I'm not sure it was worth driving up there this winter...the conditions and ambience didn't quite make up for the cost and drive. (if i'd known about Laponte from the start, and got their one month pass, I might have felt differently ) Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Ah Niseko. I read some of reason why it's getting popular among Auzzies are # Cheaper compared with tours for Canada, Europe etc # Almost no time difference # Safe I guess Niseko local people are now busy to learn Auzzie accent, pronounciations! Link to post Share on other sites
I'm Sexy 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Many of my friend know about snow in Hokkaido, but not so crazy about going there. There is good snow in Honshu resorts Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Fukdane, getting back to your point, I think Niseko is located way too north for most people in Honshu. Nowadays it's getting easier to come there because of airplanes. From Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka etc probably around 2 hours flight to Sapporo. But if they have chances to go there, I guess probably they would like to stay there longer like 5-10 nights which is almost impossble for most workers in Japan. So, I guess resorts in Hokkaido are qualifed to be majors but dream seldom come true for most workers. Just my guessing though. Link to post Share on other sites
bong 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 While the snow is great, I think the place is way over-rated and there's just this huge Australian juggernaut of hype/publicity driving it right now. Watch out for the backlash either soon or when they sit back and see what they have created. Link to post Share on other sites
powda tele 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 I have never understood the attitude some Honshu westerners have to Niseko. It's not my favourite resort, and I spread myself around many resorts, but I do ski there and it's not as bad as some of you make out. I often read southerners bitching on here about Niseko, but the tourist skiers/boarders I've met (foreign and Japanese) have all loved it. Sure there are great resorts in Honshu, but there are great resorts here too. Some people seem to bag out Niseko just because it's famous. I even read someone on here say that the snow had pretty much all melted at Niseko. I think 3+ metres of consistent powder would argue against that. Link to post Share on other sites
Curt 1 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 You seem real sensitive about that somehow If you look back you'll see that the snow melting thing was a joke accompanied by about a large number of smilies. Joke, you know? I don't see much bitching at all actually. Just a sense of wonderment at why the place gets so much (what might well be seen as over the top) hype. Link to post Share on other sites
powda tele 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Sensitive? Not really. It's not my fav, and while I like skiing resorts, they're not where I'd prefer to be. I have just read quite a bit of negative spray over the years concerning Niseko and I simply don't understand why. I should say that the spray probably comes from a few people. It's just so tiringly repetative. Fair call on the snow melt thing. I don't remember smiley faces, but I'll believe you. Things can be read so out of context on the net. Bad example. The main spray against Niseko seems to be that it's flat, it lacks nightlife, and it's hyped. Perhaps it averages less gradient than Hakuba (or whatever) but if you think it doesn't have the steeps, you simply don't know Niseko. I was talking to a local ski guide in Kutchan the other day, who showed me photos of some seriously bad stuff. I'd never heard of this place (somewhere in Niseko), but it was steep! So, it doesn't have a nightlife. So what? It's a ski resort. It's not Susukino, and it's not billed as Susukino. I agree that Fatty's (truck where so many Aussies go to drink in Hirafu) is one of the lamest places to spend a night on earth, but you are there to ski/board right? And hype? Excluding the music and film industries, it would be hard to find another industry that is so built around hype. If you can't ignore hype, you're in the wrong sport. It's the 'in' place for Aussies on hols now, but wouldn't you want to ski/board something better than Aus snow? Already this year I've seen the overflow spread as these tourists are leaving (or skipping) Niseko to try other resorts in both Hokkaido and Honshu. None of the tourists I've talked to seem to be under the impression that it's the only place to ski here. I'm quite confused by references to a possible backlash. Why would there be a backlash? Are people leaving Niseko in droves and complaining that there wasn't any snow? Are there hordes of powder farmers claiming that the snow is wet and slushy? Are there tours of Aussies demanding to go home early so they can ski/board slush and wait in line half the day for much more money? I haven't seen them. I'm not some Hirafu puppy with all the bling bling hanging off me and a huge desire to defend Niseko. I've only skied there 1 day in my 20+ so far this season. I think Fatty's is one of the lamest 'bars' on earth, and Strawberry Feilds provides some of the freshest chop around, but all ski resorts have that sort of thing. I just don't understand why some people diss it to the extent they do, and I don't understand why people go on about hype and backlash. Certainly not trying to start any arguments. I'm just attempting to provide some balance. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by powda tele: I don't understand why people go on about hype and backlash. I think they are always there when some people try to advertise / develope something (hype) while competitions / competitors exist at the same time (backlash). Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 YOu Can tell me its steep but a topo shows a flat mountain. Some stuff that you can hike to is better but thats it. I think Niseko is fine for most people. most people fit into the range of beg/int skiers so its fine. Good open trees that everyone can access. Nightlife is better than most J resorts and cheaper accom is easy to find. For me I dont believe I can improve at Niseko so I dont want to go at this time. I would love to get my hands on a sled though and put some time in there. Anything that gets hyped will take some flak though that is a given Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 It may not be as steep as some other places, but I've seen some pictures of it and it seems steep enough. Certainly gets the snow in extreme amounts as well. Almost any resort has good steep lines and fun terrain if you go and hunt it out. I'm sure I could get satisfied in Niseko, the only thing is it's a lot easier and cheaper for me to get my kicks elsewhere. How come you're not up the Mtn today Fattwins? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 This weekend the wife and i are doing a day trip to gifu tomorrow. either 1hr past takasu or takasu/dyna depends on the snow or rain. I agree about the hiking but 1 hour hiking at niseko or 1 hr at happo or 47 hiking.... which one will blow your socks off. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 True enough I guess but most people don't hike, myself included this winter. I gave up on today cause I guess it's raining...maybe tomorrow. And I guess that's one big advantage of Hokkaido, it doesn't rain up there as often as it does down here. Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 I'm not keen on rain, so not doing anything. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Where can we find those steeps in Niseko ya all talk about? Link to post Share on other sites
js 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Niseko is being driven in Australia because: 1. It has lots of REAL powder - something we just don't get. 2. Bugger-all crowds. (Besides the fact that it is cold there when it is damn hot here.) Most Aussies believe that Honshu resorts are generally over-crowded and expensive (to some extent this is true). So, the tour companies here push the solitude and bargains that are easily available in Hokkaido. Niseko is simply a starting point to explore elsewhere on the north island. Being a total of (8) hours Sydney - Sapporo/Niseko is a pretty good lure too - beats the drag to Canada, USA or Europe. Remember also, most people are holidaying with limited time and money and looking for the most convenient ski experience available - i.e. they don't have the luxury of residing in Japan and getting to know all the resorts on a personal basis. Link to post Share on other sites
dale#1 1 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Quote: Bugger-all crowds. That sure ain't the Niseko I saw. Link to post Share on other sites
boardbaka 3 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 the place where we stayed the owner said he wants to relocate to Gifu....Far too many Skippys up there for his liking!... The crowds were only there on the weekends. Also the night skiing has to be up there with the best in the country! Link to post Share on other sites
sanjo 2 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Crowds here only on weekends too - thats nothing special. In fact, not that many crowds on weekends either! Link to post Share on other sites
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