Niseko

ニセコ町にせこちょうNiseko-chō

Powder snow, Mount Yotei and hot springs in south-western Hokkaido

Niseko is a farming town in south-western Hokkaido at the foot of Mount Yōtei and the Niseko Annupuri range, and the name of Japan's best-known powder-snow ski area; the resort straddles the town boundary, with Grand Hirafu and Hanazono in neighbouring Kutchan and Niseko Village, Annupuri and Moiwa in Niseko itself.

Overview

Niseko is two things at once. Administratively it is a small town of farms and forests in the Shiribetsu River valley, between the volcanic cone of Mount Yōtei (1,898 m) to the east and the Niseko Annupuri range (1,308 m) to the west. In common usage, and especially abroad, 'Niseko' means the ski area on the slopes of Niseko Annupuri, which is divided between two municipalities: Niseko town and the neighbouring town of Kutchan.

The largest resort base, Grand Hirafu, with most of the hotels, restaurants and apartments, and the Hanazono area lie in Kutchan; Niseko Village, Niseko Annupuri and Niseko Moiwa lie in Niseko town. The four big areas on the mountain are linked at the top and marketed together as Niseko United. The combination of cold north-westerly winter winds over the Sea of Japan and the mountain's position gives the area abundant, very dry snow, which drew growing numbers of skiers from Australia from the late 1990s and turned Niseko into Japan's most international resort.

Outside the ski season Niseko is a landscape of potato and dairy farms, with rafting and canoeing on the Shiribetsu River, hiking on Yōtei and Annupuri, and a string of hot springs on the mountain's flanks. The town is known in Japan for its participatory local government: its 2001 basic ordinance on community-building was the first of its kind in the country.

Landmarks

Mount Yōtei
羊蹄山Yōtei-zan
Symmetrical stratovolcano of 1,898 m, called the 'Fuji of Ezo', dominating every view from the town.
Niseko Annupuri
ニセコアンヌプリNiseko Annupuri
The 1,308-metre volcano whose slopes carry the ski areas of Niseko and Kutchan.
Arishima Memorial Museum
有島記念館Arishima Kinenkan
Museum on the site of Arishima Takeo's former farm, on the writer's life and his gift of the land to its farmers.
Shiribetsu River
尻別川Shiribetsu-gawa
Clear river flowing between Yōtei and Annupuri, used for rafting and canoeing from spring to autumn.
Ōyunuma
大湯沼Ōyunuma
Volcanic pond with bubbling hot water near the Niseko Yumoto onsen, below the Niseko Panorama Line.
Niseko Panorama Line
ニセコパノラマラインNiseko Panorama Rain
Mountain road across the Niseko range with views to Yōtei and the Sea of Japan, closed in winter.
Goshiki Onsen and Konbu Onsen
五色温泉Goshiki Onsen
Mountain hot springs on the flanks of the Niseko range, both designated National Health Resort Hot Springs.

Districts

Niseko town centre
ニセコ駅前Niseko Ekimae
The small centre around JR Niseko Station, with the town office and the Niseko View Plaza roadside station.
Niseko Village and Annupuri
東山・アンヌプリHigashiyama, Annupuri
Resort bases on the Niseko town side of the mountain, with hotels and onsen.
Moiwa
モイワMoiwa
Small, quiet ski area at the western end of the range.
Hirafu (in Kutchan)
ひらふHirafu
The largest resort village, with most accommodation and nightlife, across the border in Kutchan town.
Hanazono (in Kutchan)
花園Hanazono
The north-eastern part of the ski area, in Kutchan town.

History

The area was Ainu land; the name Niseko is derived from an Ainu phrase usually explained as 'a cliff jutting over the river' and first referred to the mountain Niseko Annupuri. Japanese settlement began in the 1890s with agricultural colonisation. The writer Arishima Takeo inherited a large farm here and in 1922 gave it to his tenant farmers as a jointly owned cooperative, an episode commemorated by the Arishima Memorial Museum. The village of Kaributo became a town and in 1964 took the name Niseko.

Skiing began on Niseko Annupuri in the early twentieth century, and lifts were built from the 1960s at Hirafu and in the Niseko Higashiyama area. From the late 1990s Australian skiers discovered the snow, followed by investors from across Asia; Hirafu in Kutchan changed from a Japanese ski village into an international resort, while Niseko town sought to balance tourism with agriculture and landscape protection.

1890s
Agricultural settlement of the Shiribetsu valley begins.
1922
Arishima Takeo releases his farm to the tenant farmers as a cooperative.
1964
The town of Kaributo is renamed Niseko.
1960s
Ski lifts are built on the slopes of Niseko Annupuri.
Late 1990s
Skiers from Australia begin arriving in large numbers, the start of international tourism.
2001
Niseko's basic ordinance on community-building, the first of its kind in Japan, comes into force.

Culture

Niseko combines a Hokkaido farming community with one of Japan's most international resort areas: in winter many signs, menus and staff in the resort bases are English-speaking, while in the town centre life follows the agricultural year. The town is known for promoting residents' participation, landscape rules and renewable energy. Avalanche risk off-piste is managed under the Niseko Rules, a set of local guidelines on gates to the backcountry that all visitors are expected to follow.

Festivals

Niseko Yama-biraki
ニセコ山開きNiseko Yama-biraki
In June, a ceremony opens the summer mountain season on the Niseko range with prayers for safe climbing.
Kaributo Shrine Festival
狩太神社祭Kaributo Jinja-sai
The August festival of the town's guardian shrine, which keeps the town's former name.
Tanabata fireworks
七夕の夕べTanabata no Yūbe
A small-town summer evening with fireworks in August, held for the Tanabata star festival, which Hokkaido celebrates a month later than much of Honshu.

Food

Potatoes
じゃがいもjagaimo
The fertile volcanic soils around Yōtei are among Hokkaido's leading potato areas.
Dairy
乳製品nyūseihin
Milk, cheese, yoghurt and soft-serve ice cream from the town's dairy farms.
Yōtei spring water
湧水yūsui
Snowmelt from Mount Yōtei emerges as springs around its foot, such as Fukidashi in neighbouring Kyōgoku, and is prized for drinking and brewing.
Summer vegetables
野菜yasai
Asparagus, corn and melon in summer, sold at roadside stations and farm stands.

Getting around

JR Niseko Station and Kutchan Station lie on the Hakodate Main Line between Otaru and Oshamanbe; Kutchan is the nearest station to Hirafu.
Airport buses run from New Chitose Airport to the resort bases in winter, a journey of roughly two and a half to three hours by road.
Local shuttle buses link the ski bases, Kutchan and the town centre in winter; a car is useful in summer.

Day trips

Mount Yōtei
A full-day climb in summer from trailheads in Kutchan, Kyōgoku, Makkari and Niseko.
Otaru
The canal port town, about an hour and a half away by train or car.
Lake Tōya
Caldera lake with an active volcano, about an hour south by road.
Sapporo
Hokkaido's capital, about two hours by road over Nakayama Pass.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalSapporoSapporo-shiHokkaido's planned capital on the Ishikari Plain Core cityAsahikawaAsahikawa-shiRiver city of the Kamikawa Basin and gateway to Daisetsuzan CityFuranoFurano-shiLavender, patchwork hills and powder snow at the heart of Hokkaido Core cityHakodateHakodate-shiTreaty port between two bays at the foot of Mount Hakodate CityKushiroKushiro-shiFog, cranes and fish: the Pacific gateway to eastern Hokkaido CityNoboribetsuNoboribetsu-shiHell Valley, sulphur springs and the demons of Hokkaido's great onsen CityOtaruOtaru-shiHerring, coal and banks: the port that built Hokkaido's economy

Frequently asked questions

Is Hirafu in Niseko?

Not administratively. Grand Hirafu and Hanazono are in Kutchan, the neighbouring town; Niseko Village, Annupuri and Moiwa are in Niseko town. Together they form the ski area known internationally as Niseko.

Why is Niseko's snow so good?

Cold air from Siberia picks up moisture over the Sea of Japan and falls as heavy, very dry snow on the first mountains it meets, which include the Niseko range.

When is the ski season in Niseko?

Generally from late November or December until early May, depending on snowfall; January and February bring the most reliable powder.

Is Niseko worth visiting in summer?

Yes. Summer brings rafting on the Shiribetsu River, hikes on Yōtei and Annupuri, hot springs, cycling and farm produce.

Are there onsen in Niseko?

Yes. Numerous hot springs lie on the slopes of Niseko Annupuri and around the resort bases, from rustic mountain baths to hotel onsen.

Sources

1.ニセコ町 (opens in a new tab) — ニセコ町 (Niseko Town)
2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — 総務省統計局 (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
3.倶知安町 (opens in a new tab) — 倶知安町 (Kutchan Town)
4.支笏洞爺国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省 (Ministry of the Environment)
5.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO