Posts Tagged ‘niseko’
Ski Holidays 2019 with Ski Independence
Best Ski Holidays in 2019
The 2018/19 winter season is upon us, so what better time to let us plan your 2019 ski holiday?
As the UK’s leading tailor-made ski specialist, our experienced team will take the time to fine-tune every element of your ski holiday, from flights and accommodation to ski schools and restaurant reservations. Choose from hand-picked ski destinations around the world and make 2019 your best year on the slopes yet. We’ve carefully chosen an outstanding mix of world-class ski resorts to appeal to British skiers in:
- France: home to some of the most extensive ski areas in the world, it’s no surprise that France is Europe’s number one ski destination.
- Canada: superb skiing, an enviable snow record, staggering scenery and ski resorts with something for everyone.
- The USA: uncrowded slopes, amazing powder snow, first-class lodging and unparalleled customer service, wherever you ski.
- Switzerland: Switzerland exudes charm and our clients love the laid-back yet refined atmosphere of our featured resorts.
- Austria: excellent hospitality, a warm and friendly welcome, lively après-ski and luxurious spa centres.
- Italy: extensive terrain, good snow records, fabulous food & drink and some of the most stunning scenery in Europe
- Japan: Japan’s outstanding success as a ski destination can be summed up in one simple word – snow. You really have to ski it to believe it!
“The booking of our ski holiday for 2019 was handled very efficiently by the Ski Independence staff and we look forward to our winter break. The staff were very friendly, welcoming and obviously knew their ski centres!” Steven, November 2018.
La Clusaz (image: David Machet)
Featured Ski Destinations for 2019
Too much snow in Japan?
Here 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? Read the rest of this entry »
Powder skiing in Japan
Japan 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!
A 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. Read the rest of this entry »
Heavy Snowfalls in Japan for Niseko Opening Day
Heavy snowfalls over the past couple of days in Japan primed Niseko’s powdery slopes for the much-anticipated season opening today.
