Ski Independence Blog
Archive for ‘Japan’
2012/2013 Skiing
February 2nd, 2012I’m delighted to announce (fanfare please…) that we are now taking bookings for USA, Canada and Japan for the 2012/13 winter ski season!
It always amazes me that people can be so organised but I guess I don’t have a family/school holiday to think of – oh and I can imagine the reaction if I asked for two weeks off over Christmas! But we have been getting requests for quotes for the Christmas and New Year period in 2012/13 since the turn of the year (yes, 53 weeks before travel!) and we’re now at a stage where we have secured some of the best deals in our most popular hotels and we can now quote for many resorts and properties.
It’ll take us a little while to get back to everyone that has requested a quote for next season but we’re on to that just now (as well as booking lots of late bookings for 2011/12 as the snow is amazing all over the world!!) and will be back to you in the next week to 10 days.
Some reasons to book early:
- Up to 45% off the best hotels in Whistler. We make sure that these deals will be the cheapest rates available all season! But you MUST book before the end of this winter season to take advantage of these rates.
- The very best flight availability. It seems a little hard to believe but the cheapest flights on the busy dates, those around school holidays usually, will fill up very quickly. We can usually hold flights around 11 months before departure date with a small deposit to secure them.
- Get your pick of resort, property, hotel room – booking early gives you the very best choice.
Whistler Blackcomb - 26 January 2012. Total snowfall this season: 707cm. Photo: Patrick Hui
Remember we tailor make every single holiday we book for our clients so you tell us what you want and we’ll do it! If we think you’re doing too much or can think of a way to make your holiday better (or cheaper – although that’s not always possible!) we’ll tell you. We have skied the resorts, slept in the beds, taken the transfers, flown the flights and hired the cars – our experience in North American skiing is unrivalled. Go on – test us!
So let us know what you want to do by calling us on 0131 243 8097 or filling out an online form, we’ll get back to you shortly after with some suggestions and if you like what we get for you we’ll book it all with just a 15% deposit.
PS – Quoting and booking for Europe isn’t too far off either…watch this space.
Too much snow in Japan?
June 22nd, 2011Here in the office we’re currently working away on our 2011/12 ski brochure. Part of this job is making sure that all the resort statistics are up to date, which means contacting all the tourist offices checking if there are any new runs, lifts and most importantly the snowfall from the past season.
For the most part, this is a fairly simple job – certainly after the epic snow season in North America this year, with resorts boasting about the snowfall on the homepages of their websites. If the stats weren’t on the websites then our trusty friends in resort couldn’t answer quickly enough with emails boasting nearly 60ft of snow in Mammoth, over 51ft in Whistler and 46ft in Jackson Hole. However, after searching high and low on the websites for the Japanese ski resorts which we feature – Niseko, Furano, & Rusutsu – I couldn’t find any numbers anywhere.
This left me baffled. Why are there no statistics for resorts which average over 40 feet of snow year? Surely these are figures that they should be shouting about?
Just a little bit of snow in Niseko
Powder skiing in Japan
April 27th, 2011Japan has obviously featured heavily in the news over the last six weeks as a result of the devastating earthquake and Tsunami that struck Honshu, Japan’s main island, on 11th March 2011.
On that day I was fortunate enough to have just left Tokyo on a plane bound for Heathrow when the earthquake hit, and only became aware of events upon landing back in London. Although relieved to have left just before the quake, our hearts went out to the people of Japan – everyone we had met had been so friendly, warm and welcoming, and it was terrible to see the effect of the disaster unfold on their country.
Enjoying the powder and trees in Niseko
We had spent the previous seven days skiing the most amazing powder conditions at the resort of Niseko. Niseko, is on Hokkaido – Japan’s north island – along with the other Japanese resorts that Ski Independence feature: Rustusu and Furano. Hokkaido was comparatively unaffected by the earthquake and Tsunami, with the resorts sitting over 500kms away from the epicenter. Niseko’s Promotion Board recently issued the following information:
“We appreciate the outpouring of support that Japan and we here in Niseko have received in response to the disaster that struck Japan’s east coast one month ago. As you know, the earthquake and tsunami that followed have left entire towns missing in northern sections of Honshu, Japan’s main island. These areas continue to struggle to provide shelter, food, services, and other supplies to residents who have been uprooted, but the displays of support in the form of donations, kind words, and volunteers has been truly inspiring.”
Niseko’s hits the big 50!
April 11th, 2011A month after the catastrophic Japanese earthquake, Niseko, one of some 600 ski areas in the country and arguably the best known internationally, has commented on the event, how it has affected the resort which is located on the separate northern island of Hokkaido and 500km from the epicenter.
“We appreciate the outpouring of support that Japan and we here in Niseko have received in response to the disaster that struck Japan’s east coast one month ago. As you surely know, the earthquake and tsunami that followed have left entire towns missing in northern sections of Honshu, Japan’s main island. These areas continue to struggle to provide shelter, food, services, and other supplies to residents who have been uprooted, but the displays of support in the form of donations, kind words, and volunteers has been truly inspiring.” said a statement from The Niseko Promotion Board.
On the direct impact of the earthquake on Niseko the resort says, “There was almost no direct impact from the event. Despite concerns about food shortages in affected areas, Niseko neither expected nor experienced supply issues. Additionally, our power grid is completely separate from Tokyo Electric, so the rolling blackouts affecting large chunks of the main island do not extend toward Niseko and Hokkaido is not included in travel advisories in Japan.” “We know many people are concerned about the impact of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant on Niseko’s developments and operations, so we’d like to quell as many fears as possible. Radiation levels in Hokkaido have remained at typical background levels for the last month and radiation at sites across Japan has been dropping steadily.”
The resort itself has raised two million yen to help with earthquake relief.
Niseko Resort
The resort notes that in light of the continued stability of Niseko, many development projects in the area are scheduled to proceed from this spring as planned including on mountain improvements for the 2011-12 season, which will be the resort’s 50th.
The biggest news is that the Hirafu gondola will be converted to a high-speed, eight-passenger-cabin lift, increasing speed and capacity on the route. The whole trip will now be only five minutes.
More new accommodation will also be built including Shiki, next to the Mountain Side Palace; The Rocks development on the site of the demolished Hotel Scot and the construction of the M Hotel on Momiji-zaka Street. Most of this work is already underway.
Additionally, a new ski centre will be built next door, complete with restaurant, ski school, rentals, and ski shop. A new kid’s space will be constructed, as well. “When the first ski guests arrive late this year, there will certainly be new and exciting changes to see.” said the resort statement.
If you’re interested in a ski holiday to Japan visit our website to find out more or call 0131 243 8097 and speak to one of the team.
Warren Smith Powder Camps in Japan
February 25th, 2010Over the past week Warren Smith has been holding his Powder Ski Camp in Japan in the resorts of Niseko & Furano.
The powder skiing in Japan is unlike anywhere else, with waist deep powder being commonplace. The Powder Ski Camp consisted of 9 days skiing split between Niseko & Furano and is designed to build and develop skill and confidence, to enable people to ski all terrains with a specific emphasis on powder skiing.
Here are the video blogs which show the amazing powder & skiing that can be found in Japan:
Heavy Snowfalls in Japan for Niseko Opening Day
November 25th, 2009
Niseko Opening Day
The Grand Hirafu lifts were switched on at the weekend with hundreds of skiers and boarders turning out and hitting the mountain throughout the day to get their first taste of the 09-10 powder. Those keen enough were up waiting in line for the familiar opening bells and sirens to sound, and a steady stream of people continued to flow through the gates all day to sample the upper half of Hirafu.
A solid one metre base up top allowed plenty of powder for all to share. And although there was only one official run open for business, everyone had a smile on their dial, happy to be up there on Day 1.
At around mid-morning, many were treated to a brief bluebird moment which beautifully lit up the piste, trees and surrounding mountain ranges. The ‘official’ upper runs off the Ace #3 chair were pretty well tracked out by around 10am, but some skiers and boarders may have accidentally missed their download lift, sampling the goods all the way from top to bottom.
Niseko Resort's Opening Ceremony
Meanwhile, a group of Japanese and a handful of ‘gaijin’ (foreign) locals gathered outside the Welcome Centre on Saturday morning for the official resort opening ceremony. The cultural opening saw local identities, business owners and resort staff pay their respects, laying wreaths and blessing the area in anticipation of another great season.
Niseko, on the island of Hokkaido, is Japan’s most famous ski resort and is becoming known for having some of the lightest, driest powder snow in the world.
Information thanks to www.skiinfo.com
Launch Day
September 18th, 2009
Well it feels like it’s been a while in coming, but we’re happy to finally welcome you to the new look Ski Independence website and the first post on our brand new blog!
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