A dreamy skiing adventure in Niseko

With its “waist-high powder” and “slick” infrastructure, it’s little surprise Japan's Niseko ski region has become so “popular”, said Annabel Grossman in The Independent.

Skiers and snowboarders around the world have “felt the lure of Japan’s mountains”, and are increasingly “swapping European and North American resorts” for “the peaks of east Asia”. Niseko, on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, is a “far cry from the charming chalets of the French resorts” but it has its own “very special appeal”.

The region spreads between four resorts dotted around the Annupuri mountain: Hanazono, Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Annupuri. All are linked by a convenient shuttle bus and “well connected, modern lifts”. There are far fewer crowds here than at most European resorts, so you’re unlikely to have to queue for the gondolas.

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On-piste, the “thick, fluffy” snow is a “dream to ski” and “the off-piste by the slopes” has “shorter sections, allowing less experienced skiers to take advantage of the legendary powder”. There is also “plenty of challenging back country for advanced skiers”.

Perhaps one of the biggest draws is night skiing. While most pistes in Europe close relatively early, a few long pistes in Niseko are open “long into the evening”. There is something “magical” about skiing on “near-deserted” slopes “below the soft glow of the piste lights”.

Niseko’s four resorts aren’t as big as those in France or Switzerland, said Damien Gabet in The Telegraph. “But a lack of acreage is offset by a skiing experience entirely novel to the European veteran”: less peaks and ravines; more “shallow valleys and sweeping tree-runs”. The sprawling Strawberry Fields powder run in Hanazono has breathtaking views of Mount Yōtei between “comfortably spaced conifers”.

And the après-ski is “incomparable”. Instead of “shots at the bar”, expect “seated sake and real-deal dining experiences”, including yakitori and sushi joints, and Michelin-starred restaurants. As for accommodation, if you really want to push the boat out, consider checking into the five-bed Tsubasa Chalet. “Few properties merit the Bond-villain-lair cliché more.”

After a long day on the slopes, Niseko’s onsens – steaming indoor and outdoor pools filled with water from geothermal springs – are “perfect for an after-ski dip”, said Aja Ng on Culture Trip. Relaxing in the “therapeutic waters” will soothe away any post-piste aches and pains: it is an experience “not to be missed”.