If you haven't been, why not?
Written by Gary a Skier from Au8stralia
30/3/2010
OK - if you''ve done any research at all you will have heard stories about Niseko. Some people love it, some hate it, some wish it was like it was 15 years ago etc etc. Like Whistler (that attracts the same kind of passionate responses), the best thing to do is go yourself and make up your own mind. Yes, its full of Aussies (what surprised us was the high number of Europeans and Americans compared to 5 years ago - maybe people were avoiding Canada during the winter olympics?). Yes, the village is very ''westernized'' (don''t go for a Japanese cultural experience). And yes, it is very busy on the slopes. However, it gets great snow on a regular basis (we had 4 out of 6 days of freshies), and the off-piste gates are awesome and this makes the resort. They have opened up more terrain than 5 years ago, trees, peaks, bowls etc - all gated and some reached by hiking. Off-piste you can escape the crowds for a bit - but its so accessible now that its still very busy. Best thing - get up early - be the first on the gondola (8am I was first in line) and beat the crowds to the powder (4-5 runs down the Hanazono bowl/peak before everything was tracked out - hike further and you can get more powder). Plan your day, expect it to be busy, enjoy the powder when you can and you will enjoy Niseko.