train to niseko

An alternative to air travel to Niseko (via New Chitose airport and two hour bus transfer) is to use the excellent Japanese railway system.  The bonus is the experience of using the shinkanzen [bullet train] from Tokyo to Hachinhoe in northern Honshu and seeing plenty of Japan along the way.  From Hachinhoe there is a connecting limited express train service that travels through the 53 km Seikan Tunnel beneath the Tsugaru Channel that separates Honshu and Hokkaido.  The limited express train service travels to Oshamanbe, from where a single carriage train, similar in some ways to a Melbourne tram, travels the final few kilometres to Kutchan station (take care not to disembark at the stations called 'Niseko' and 'Hirafu' which are actually some distance from the the Niseko resort).  An example route departs from Tokyo station at 8:56am, arriving in Kutchan at 7:19pm.  Trip planning can be done through the excellent Hyperdia website (switch off air travel options).

booking status 3 (09/10)

Current booking status at the lodge for 2009/10 winter season at the date of posting is charted here. This is intended as a rough guide and is subject to change due to new bookings or cancellations.

Please e-mail the booking agents at Outdoor Travel Japan for the exact booking situation.  Commercial booking enquiries can also be made through SnowJapan.com.

hanazono tv

Samara Tanton (often seen at Falls Creek in company with Pete the Snow Dragon) and Haruka Ito deliver a clever bilingual Hanazono TV Daily Powder Report on conditions in that part of the Niseko resort.

exchange matters

The best Yen exchange rates for the Australian dollar currently appear to be through the firm KVB Kunlun which has local offices in Melbourne and Sydney.  On 14 December they were retailing JPY at the rate of 80 per AUD, compared with a rate of around 77.5 at the major banks and other foreign exchange vendors. You should contact them directly in order to obtain an over-the-counter quote and the simplest transactions are cash-for-cash. More details here.

business as usual

Niseko is back to what it does best; delivering mountains of fresh powder snow.  Some reports suggest that as much as 70cm has fallen in the past day or so, with plenty predicted for the rest of this week.

Link here to the Japan Meteorological Agency website showing precipitation in Hokkaido.

things not to bring

A timely reminder from NisekoWebzine that visitors should not bring Australian UHF-CB radios to Japan. 

Australian UHF-CB radios may interfere with radio communications related to disaster prevention (avalanches etc).  Regrettably, there is still a problem with visitors using illegal UHF-CB radios in Niseko, either through ignorance of the law or ignoring the official warnings. 

In this case ignorance of the law is not a defence.  If you possess non-conforming radio equipment in a condition where a signal can be emitted, you will be considered to have established an 'illegal radio station,' regardless of whether you are aware of the illegality or even whether you have used the radio equipment.

Japanese authorities are offering up to five years accommodation if illegal signals interfere with fire-fighting, police or disaster prevention communications.

We gave similar advice about leaving UHF radios at home last season.

The official Japanese advice on this issue is here.

the daily flake

from Christie Dowling on Vimeo.

booking status 2 (09/10)

Current booking status at the lodge for 2009/10 winter season at the date of posting is charted here. This is intended as a rough guide and is subject to change due to new bookings or cancellations.

Please e-mail the booking agents at Outdoor Travel Japan for the exact booking situation.  Commercial booking enquiries can also be made through www.snowjapan.com.

Yen too strong?

The Australian dollar has risen substantially against the US dollar over the past year (and there is renewed media speculation about impending parity) but its relative performance against the Yen has not been as impressive.

A recent report on Australian radio suggested that the Japanese Government is considering intervention to weaken the Yen after the US dollar hit a 14 year low against the Japanese currency.  A link to the transcript and audio download is here.

Update: Bank of Japan acts to combat deflation and weaken the Yen (from 'The Economist').