Vegetation of all shapes and sizes take hold and grow everywhere in Niseko making the green season truly green. Sun, warm temps and the occasional rain shower combine to make for great growing conditions. Indeed keeping up with weed trimming and lawn mowing is a big task in Niseko’s green season.
This past month has been quite warm in Niseko, some days being downright hot. What do you do when you are out and about visiting with the cows and others? Grab an ice cream bar from Seicomart 🙂
When you are out and about this time of year in Japan it is only a matter of time before you come across a local festival procession in progress. Coming out of the post office today I was delighted to see these katsugite ‘carriers’ doing the good deed of carrying the Kutchan Shrine around town.[…]
Skateboarding gives people in the Niseko area a way to ride sideways during the green season. Shops like Boom Sports in Kutchan (www.boom-snow.com), and Rhythm in Hirafu (www.skihirejapan.com) stock a selection of skate gear for skating all kinds of surfaces. Cruisy skate set ups with a longer board and larger softer wheels that let you[…]
The battle continues with another round of ruthless shoot-out action at Paintball Field Niseko. Two teams, 10 guns, 3000 paintballs, and nearly two hours of no-holds-barred commando style guerrilla warfare in an all out take-no-prisoners show-no-mercy gun fight where the weak are quickly annihilated and the strong are pitted against one another to face the[…]
The second annual Niseko Classic road bike race was held yesterday (Sunday, July 12th) and included nearly 350 riders from all over Japan and overseas. Women and men from junior high school age to 60 years old competed in either of the 140 km or 70 km courses. Spanning the 4 townships of Kutchan, Niseko,[…]
Visitors and residents alike enjoy an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hot spring baths in the Niseko area. Known as ‘onsen’ in Japanese, natural hot spring water comes bubbling to the surface in certain areas, which become the natural choice for onsen facilities. In the early days of settlement and development in the[…]
No stranger to construction booms in its vibrant history, Hirafu is seeing a number of sites under construction this year as crews take advantage of the green season to get development projects underway. Some of the accommodation being constructed this summer will be on line in time for the coming winter, but it looks like[…]
The 81st Cow Parade has officially begun in Niseko. Cows designed and decorated with all kinds of colors and patterns and other materials have been placed in many locations across the Izumikyo-Hirafu-Kabayama area. Indeed they are bringing a unique vibe to the area, and it is an exciting time for Niseko to be on the[…]
Google is throwing elbows with recent Street View additions such as El Capitan in California (Google blog post), and Mount Etna in Sicily (Google blog post). Now the world can tour Niseko’s famous slopes without leaving the living room by using Google’ fresh addition of Niseko Tourism Zone.