Niseko Hirafu before ski season!

by Kazu

Can you see the sea of clouds in the valley ? I jogged down to the lower area of Niseko Town that had established a sister-town with San Moritz, Switzerland.

Actually, there is a bridge named "San Moritz" in Niseko Town. The newly built "The Maples Niseko" seemed to prepare for receiving guests from other regions on this globe.

New condominiums and lodges were for sale in Niseko Town. The price of the real estates shot up and the fluctuation of the price was harsh, different from other town in Japan including Hokkaido.

 

Developing hillside of Niseko!

by Kazu

Some new hotels and condominiums were being built in Niseko Hirafu area and others. The quality powder snow and the hot spring spa "Onsen" intrigued many visitors from the overseas as well. 

At first, Australian guys found them fabulous even for them and some investors watched around and stay there to check up the cutting edge of the area.

Watching the beautiful skyline of Mt. Yotei, the skiers from overseas prefer back country skiing to the normal downhill skiing. Sometimes it may be dangerous to enjoy skiing outside of the course but with a seasoned and skilled guide, they can experience exceptional skiing there.   

 

Niseko Hirafu area at the break of dawn!

by Kazu

I went up to the foot of the downhill ski course in Niseko Hirafu from the hotel we stayed. The lower area of the course was not covered with snow but some snow boarders carried  their boards to the middle of the course. 

Niseko Skye was closed for the maintenance of the building and the utility. The building is cooled down so much. It will take a little bit more to warm up the building to receive the guests after the maintenance than usual. 

Many skiers and snow boarders are now staying in this hotel and other facility to enjoy the powder snow they splash.  

 

Mt. Yotei from Niseko Hirafu!

by Kazu

Before sunrise, I jogged around Niseko Hirafu area and adjacent district of the town. It was so cold and the sea of clouds could be seen from the hotel we stayed.

Different from the scenery the day before, it was so fine and some clouds were getting closer to the peak of the mountain. The weather forcast said that it would be snowing on that day.

The ski season of this year had not started when we visited this area in last November but now, many skiers and snow boarders swamped to the area and raising glasses in the night.

 

Black Wood Grill in Niseko again!

by Kazu

Considering our dinner in Niseko Prince Hirafutei, we did not choose double "Double Patty and Double Cheese Hamburger" but only one "Double" Crispy Chicken Hamburger on that day.

The lobby of the hotel was decorated so nicely with the Christmas tree and the boxes like presents. The fire place was not lit but spendind time in front of the place seemed to be so relaxing and refreshing. The interior of the hotel looked sophisticated and interesting.

The logs for the fireplace were compiled to the roof of the floor. If the stove was made in Norway, Sweden or Finland, it must be so expensive, so, 20 thousand bucks or thirty. Please do not buy fake Scandinavian stove because it must be so dangerous to use.  

 

Mt. Yotei in white!

by Kazu

The peak of Mt. Yotei was hidden by the cloud and it seemed to be snowing in that area. I've never heard of skiing on the hillside of Mt. Yotei but back country skiing is "in" now, so somebody might have tried before.

We visited MIRU International Niseko again after the heavy snowfall to have lunch "Double Patty Double Cheese Hamburger " in Black Wood Grill in it.

We will try to stay in this international hotel facility in the not-so-distant future even though the spa is not hot spring. The view from the room of the hotel is so nice and the grilled steaak is also fabulous.

 

Gourmet in Sapporo and Niseko!

by Kazu

I tried "J.S.Hamburgers Cafe" in MIREDO Building run by DAIDO Life Insurance Company the other day.It's American Hamburgers cafe with nice beer. Thin crisp French fries were fabulous and fit to the pints of drought beer so much.

The fried chicen was also crisp and tasty. 

In Sapporo, please try "Shinshuan" buckwheat noodle soup eatries. I make a point of having "Kakuni Bento" shown on the right. The pork boiled with broth, sugar and soy sauce melted on my tongue. The recipe was established by a mom who ran the ORIGINAL "Shinshuan" near Hokkaido University. She closed the original buckwheat noodle soup restaurant and flew for travel. After traveng all over the world, she sold all the recipe to the restaurant chain that ran "Miyoshino Dumpling Diner". Much more people became to be able to savor the delicious buckwheat noodle soup here and there in Sapporo.   

This is another buckwheat noodle sooup restaurant in Niseko. The name of the restaurant is "Ichimura". Its very small restaurant. You may have to wait a little bit before savoring so delicious lunch. I chose "Tempura Soba on that day. My wife had Oyster Soba. 

 

Special lunch in Shakotan just before winter!

by Kazu

I do not think the roe of Atka mackerel is edible unless it has sushi-grade freshness. I was skeptical before having the Atka mackerel roe boiled with broth and soy sauce. Have you ever seen the raw Atka mackerel roe? 

It is green without envy. Other sliced fresh seafoods were also so nice. The staff of the eatery were the wives of the fishermen in the area and not so sophisticated in their manner to treat the guests but they are so pure. The top-grade fresh sea urchine in summer is their cutting edge in this business. But even in off season, the restaurant fills us up with the delicious seafood sourced locally  around the peninsula. To be honest, I love this soup made of seafood broth and seaweed. We did not expected such treat beforehand but the happy surprise made us so happy at the end of autumn in2021.

 

 

 

Lunch in the fisherman's restaurant at the edge of Shakotan Peninsula!

by Kazu

Have you ever tried the Parfeit in the cafe "Yotsuba White Koji" in Paseo Sapporo on the basement floor of Sapporo Railway Station ?

It was my first time to try the Parfeit but my wife said that she had used the cafe and had the Parfeit some times.

The next day, we headed to the edge of Shakotan Peninsula because the hot spring spa near the cape "Misaki no Yu" would be closed soon unless the caretaker of the facility and the users is found in the area. We used the spa many times in our young age but it may be gone forever. 

Before going to the spa, we had lunch in the eatery run by a fisherman in the town. In the season of fresh sea urchin, the small community is swamped by so many tourists who are crazy for horse dung sea urchin and purple ones.

As our visit was in off season just before the eatery is closed in winter, we did not expected so much for the lunch but a variety of sushi-grade seafood filled me up with happiness. The milt of cod was served to boil in the pot. The firepot in winter is the "MUST" to have in winter.   

 

Bye bye Hotel Hilton Niseko!

by Kazu

This is the main entrance of Hilton Niseko. Some mortorcades can use this entrance in case of the visits by high profiles. Motor pools are also available around the hotel. The downtown of Niseko Town is twenty ninutes from the hotel by car.         

Ritz Carlton Niseko is near Hilton Niseko. It is the only one Ritz Carlton Hotel that has hot spring spa in the world. The building of Ritz Carlton Niseko is not so huge and can not be seen from outside of the premises of Ritz Carlton.

The staff of Hilton Niseko seemed to be the same as the hotel was run as Prince Hotel Niseko. But the chefs of the restaurant seemed to be from India, Singapore and  other part on this globe. The egg Benedict made by the Indian Chef was so nice to have in the hotel.