Goosie 0 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 We have been going to Niseko for 6 years now. At first, it was surprising to hear the odd "G'day, MATE" and "Mate, mate, mate...." but we quickly realized there was a large Australian contingent all over the place. And we got used to it. The following year we heard a lot of Cantonese being shouted across the mountain and across te streetS. "HAVE YOU EATEN YET?" shouted across the street on dark icey nights. "OF COURSE WE HAVEN'T. ALL THE FRIGGIN RESTAURANTS ARE FULL THAT'S WHY WE'RE WALKING UP AND DOWN THIS STREET!!!" A few years back, we started to hear "let's go up lah...", "isn't it cold lah.....", "yeah, let's get some laksa lah...." etc. Sings and Malaysians. OMG, things are not looking good for this place. Last winter while standing at the Ace lift queue trying to recover from heavy binge drinking the night before, I caught a waft of curry as some guys walked by. I almost barfed. I like munching curry as much as any other fellow, but first thing in the morning? Looking round, I saw a bunch of guys with funny looking helmets and balaclavas. I thought cool, but then realized they were beards and rags on their heads. OMG, it has gotten to this. Fear swept through me that my hotel onsen may have been shared with people who do not wach their hair for religious reasons. It dawned on me that the sulphurous smell may be coming from other sources than the hotspring. We have decided enough is enough. If we wanted to see the United Nations, we could go to a refugee camp. So, this coming winter, no more Niseko. Any alternatives worthy a looksie? Link to post Share on other sites
griller 9 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 None, I'm afraid. Japan = Niseko Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Hi I really think you need to make a cup of coffee, sit down and read about things. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/start-here.html http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/index.html And those big buttons up top will be some starting points. Link to post Share on other sites
Goosie 0 Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 that's a lot of information. Too much for my small brain. Surely there must be places in Hokkaido that are more Japanese than foreign. When I go to Japan, I don't want to visit the UN. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Does it need to be Hokkaido for any particular reason? If you ask a big general question, the answer is not going to be a few words. Perhaps not post about octopussies and read on about what there is out there... which is a lot and much more than just Niseko and much more than just Hokkaido. Fine places as they are. Link to post Share on other sites
Goosie 0 Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 oh no, here comes the post police. Scarper lads. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 In reference to the original post: WOW! Just WOW! If you don't like it, no problem - don't go. If you want to find somewhere more Japanese and less 'united nations' then what is wrong with asking: "I am looking for recommendations for good Japanese ski resorts that are less popular with foreign tourists". I'd recommend Rusutsu, but we horrid foreigners have found that too. I believe some of us have discovered Tommamu... And on Honshu we have infiltrated Happo, 47, Iwatake, Cortina, Naeba, Nozawa Onsen... Need I go on? Niseko is the most 'commercial' and 'international' of the ski resorts in Japan, followed fairly closely by Hakuba resorts. Outside of these you should hear less UN accents. Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Originally Posted By: Goosie Last winter while standing at the Ace lift queue trying to recover from heavy binge drinking the night before. Seems you may have been contributing to making Niseko what it is ...... Spend the time, read and learn. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Killington...you'll like it! Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Hmm, this Indian curry at Niseko, is it non-Japan prices? Link to post Share on other sites
mitchpee 10 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Yeah that came off as misanthropist... There are so many ski resorts in Japan. Rusutsu like MB said is perfect. You could also stay in Sapporo and ski Kokusai Kiroro or Teine. So many options. Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Originally Posted By: Mr Wiggles Hmm, this Indian curry at Niseko, is it non-Japan prices? There's an Indian restaurant similarly priced to the other restaurants in the group. They have 4 other restaurants in Hokkaido and it is one of the few restaurants in the village to remain open year round. In winter there's also Indian, Nepali and Thai curries available from mobile vans and mongolian yurts in the village which are well priced. Food is pretty awesome in the area. I reckon outside of major cities you'd be hard pressed to find another village/town in Japan that has as much food variety as Niseko. The original post is surely taking the piss? If you're not then yes Rusutsu is pretty good but nowhere near as large a ski area as Niseko. Same goes for Kiroro. In fact there is no other ski area in Hokkaido that really comes close to Niseko in total skiable area when you take into account all of the off-piste within the resort boundary and the easily accessible terrain out through the gates. No other resorts in Hokkaido really have a gate system like Niseko except Tomamu (in a similar but more limited way). You could do a bit of road trip hitting up some of the Sapporo resorts then heading up the centre to Asahikawa doing places like Kamui and Asahidake and then head down to Furano and possibly Tomamu. Or try somewhere really different on Honshu. There's so many ski resorts in Japan it's not like it's hard to get away from Niseko! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 nah....don't think Honshu is up your street...crappy snow, best stick to Hokkaido Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 pie-eater, funny. Go somewhere that no-one has ever heard of, I'm sure that won't be busy with gaijin. Link to post Share on other sites
TJ OZ 0 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Originally Posted By: pie-eater It's taken 4767 attempts at humour but that's the first time I have laughed at one of pie-eaters posts. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 My posts are not attempts at humour. However, even if that were the case, Click to reveal.. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Love the facial expression! Link to post Share on other sites
Tex 3 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Samuel L Jackson Llama Link to post Share on other sites
TJ OZ 0 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Originally Posted By: pie-eater My posts are not attempts at humour. However, even if that were the case, Click to reveal.. Seen that one before so I didn't laugh a second time. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Originally Posted By: pie-eater My posts are not attempts at humour. However, even if that were the case, Click to reveal.. Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 An alternative to Niseko, well I found places in Japan where we never saw another non Japanese skier, many resorts were small local hills where we had a good afternoon skiing with the locals. Just get out there and find them. For example on the other side of the mountain is Niseko Iowana, it had a single lift running operated by a couple of old guys that looked like they lovingly kept it operating. Over the Northern areas of Hokkaido we found hotels with two or three lifts and a hand full of people skiing. Tommamu is nice, as is Sahoro but you better not stay at club mad (French People might be there). I am not overly sold on Furano but love Rusutsu. Shiga Kogen, now there is a place that I love or you could stay at Hukaba but there is just as many Aussies as there are in Niseko. Six trips to Niseko, seriously, you need to get away from there, Japan has so much more to offer. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 or even Hakuba Link to post Share on other sites
Nisoko 6 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Try Nisoko. Much better. Link to post Share on other sites
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