Niseko (ニセコ町, Niseko-chō?) is a town located in Abuta District, Shiribeshi, Hokkaidō, Japan. Although in Japanese, Niseko principally refers to a municipal area, overseas, the name has come to refer to a wider area of ski resorts encompassing Hokkiado’s Mount Yōtei and Annupuri ranges. It is one of the most famous ski resorts in Japan known for it’s powder light snow and spectacular mountainous outback.

Niseko is comprised of seven ski areas, in order of size:

* Niseko Mt. Resort Grand Hirafu, centered around the village of Hirafu is perhaps the best known field but is actually part of the neighbouring Kutchan township.
* Niseko Higashiyama is the less popular neighbor of Hirafu but has the best front valley skiing.
* Niseko Annupuri is hit with the strongest winds and worst weather in the area, causing occasional closures.
* Niseko Hanazono
* Niseko Moiwa
* Niseko Weiss

Niseko also has back-country ski-courses that are unofficially on the maps. To the furthest right of Annupuri lies Sannozaka, an area prone to avalanche but with high quality snow. To the far right of Hirafu lies Higashi One, also prone to avalanche but with a challenging back-country terrain. Near the lower half of Hirafu is a forest route called Strawbery Fields, which is perhaps the most famous run in Hirafu. Climbing Mount Yōtei also provides back country skiing.

Hirafu is the perhaps the most foreigner-friendly resort thanks to the many Australian skiers and snowboarders who have been frequenting their slopes. The town is like a western town within Japan where all menus are in English and imported food items are in abundance.

Because of its northern location, Niseko is fed by weather streams that come from Siberia rather than from Eastern Japan. The resort experiences a consistently high and light snowfall. The snow is not as dry as other areas in Hokkaidō, but the volume is high, with the average snow depth in March reaching 351cm.

Niseko was named as the world’s second snowiest resort in December 2007 with annual average snow fall of 595 inches (15.11 metres)/ First place went to the Mt Baker Ski Area in Washington State with 641 inches.

Niseko resort

Facts about Mount Misen you should know about:

Mount Misen (弥山, Misen?) is the holy mountain on the holy island Itsukushima in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan.

Mount Misen is within the World Heritage Area of Itsukushima Shrine.

Mount Misen, around the island (Seto Inland Sea) and all of the island are within Setonaikai National Park.

There is the primeval forest in the foothills on the north side of the mountain.

There are many buildings and gates of the temple of Daishō-in in the foothills on the north side of the mountain.

There is Momijidani-Kōen (紅葉谷公園, Maple Valley Park?) behind Itsukushima Shrine.

Mount Misen is famous for the place that was visited by Kūkai in the year 806, the 1st year of the Daidō era.

From the ancient times, a lot of people visit this mountain because of their religious piety.

View from the top of Mount Misen:

Useful links on Mount Misen
Japan Guide
Miyajima Ropeway
Setonaikai National Park

Omicho Market has a history that dates back to the Edo Period. This open space market sells excellent fresh fish that is a must visit for anyone who is traveling to Kanazawa.

Kanazawa is well-known throughout Japan for its traditional cooking, which is called Kaga Cuisine. The seafood is a specialty, the jumbo shrimp in particular. Sushi and sashimi are also excellent. The Japanese sake produced in this region is of high quality, smooth and sweet. The quality of the local sake derives from the excellence of the rice grown in Ishikawa Prefecture as well as the considerable precipitation of the Hokuriku region, allowing for an ample supply of clean, fresh water. This is why in Omicho, most of the shops there sell seafood. The market is a favorite place to purchase the best that Kanazawa has to offer.

Yumoto is a town that have developed as a stage town, and the name means “hot is gushing”. Iwaki Yumoto onsen is one of the oldest onsens in Japan. There are many ryokans, Japanese traditional hotels, and Spa resort Hawaiians near the station. Yumoto is situated in Iwaki, a designated “core city”. Iwaki is also one of the growing number of hiragana cities in Japan. Iwaki is well-known as one of the most comfortable areas in Japan because it is situated in a temperate climate zone and has a moderate climate.

The hot spring in Yumoto is a tourist attraction that is known for their natural surroundings and nature induced hot springs. This is why every Ryokan in that area comes with a hot spring facility - accommodation in Yumoto is not a problem at all. The lake is a picturesque view out of a water painting. Up on the northern tip of the lake, the water is naturally warm. And as the lake flows, it falls down a steep cliff of 70 meters high called the Yudaki waterfall. Yudaki means hot waterfall but neither the waterfall or lake near it is warm. I suppose it’s just a name.

But Yumoto is easily one of the nicest place to visit in Japan.

More info: Japan Guide

Check out this article I found:

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan exceeded the number of Americans for the first time in 2007, data published on Monday showed, highlighting a boom in regional tourism fuelled by Asia’s growing wealth.

The Japan National Tourist Organisation, a government-supported body, said the total number of tourists entering Asia’s wealthiest and most expensive destination climbed 14 per cent to a record 8.35m.

The number of mainland Chinese visitors surged 16 per cent to more than 943,000, while the number of Americans fell slightly to just under 816,000.

The JNTO attributed the growth in Chinese visitors to Japan to the increase in the disposable income of China’s growing middle class, improved air links between the countries and events last year to mark the 35th anniversary of the normalisation of Sino-Japanese relations.

Chinese have flocked to Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland, to shop in the city’s Akihabara gadget district and to ski in the Japanese Alps. Some Tokyo electronics shops offer Mandarin-speaking guides to help shoppers fill their carts.

South Koreans remained the most numerous visitors at 2.6m, up 22 per cent from 2006, followed by Taiwanese at 1.39m. Mainland Chinese were third, followed by visitors from the US, Hong Kong and Australia.

Read the rest here…

Are the chinese getting richer or are the americans getting poorer? After all, if you look at the exchange rate between Canada and US, the CDN is beating the USD flat out for weeks already. And the Chinese Renminbi too is steadily stronger than the USD.

I can’t wait till the sakura flowers bloom :)

It is one of the things I would like to do before I die, do a full hanami viewing with my loved ones. SIGH, Hirosaki is my #1 choice for Hanami spot btw.

Through much of Japan’s history, the Kiso Valley was used to connect the former Mino and Shinano provinces. However, it came to be known as a difficult route because of its steep climbs. The Shoku Nihongi recorded that the Kiso no Yamamichi (岐蘇山道) was opened in 702. The same route was again mentioned in a 713 article, but it was then called the Kisoji no Michi (吉蘇路). The Kisoji (木曽路) would eventually follow the same path. However the official Tōsandō did not run through the Kiso Valley; instead, it ran from Mino Province towards the Kamisaka Pass and into the Ina Valley. During Japan’s middle ages, the Nakasendō, an old trade route, ran through the valley, which led to the creation of eleven post stations along the route. Since the Meiji period, the Chūō Main Line (for trains) and Route 19 (for vehicles) have been cutting through the valley.

Today, Kiso Valley is a historical site where a beautifully preserved post town lies.

I would liken this place to the Alcatraz Island in San Francisco where it’s main attraction is a prison museum. The Abashiri Prison a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the city’s new maximum security prison is still in use. It is an important local port city and railroad terminal. This little city has some mini attractions that will make the trip worth your while. Since the area is a fishing port, you can expect to find some of the freshest catch, in particular crab. Gastronomically, Abashiri would be a great place to have seafood.

Also, like every city in Hokkaido, Abashiri has it’s own brewery that churns out bottles of Abashiri Beer. You can take a tour in the brewery and do some beer sampling.

There are two other museums around the city to check out Museum of Northern Peoples (北方民族博物館 Hoppō minzoku hakubutsukan) and Museum of Northern Peoples (北方民族博物館 Hoppō minzoku hakubutsukan). The latter is a museum devoted to pack ice, a strangely devoted skill which is oddly a subject of fascination for the Japanese.

To get to Abashiri, here are some options:

By plane
The nearest airport is Memanbetsu, 16 km south of Abashiri. Buses connect to/from the JR station before and after flights (25 minutes, ¥720).

By train
Abashiri is the terminus/junction of the JR Sekihoku Line (石北本線) from Asahikawa and the Senmo Line (釧網本線) to Kushiro via the Akan National Park.
Okhotsk Limited Express trains run from Sapporo to Abashiri. There are four daily departures, reaching Abashiri in 5 1/2 hours at a cost of ¥9440 each way. There is no charge for the service with the Japan Rail Pass.

By bus
Night buses from Sapporo (around ¥8000) are the cheapest way to get to Abashiri. Buses arrive and depart from Abashiri Bus Terminal, a short walk east from the JR Abashiri station.