Greetings from Niseko,
It happened quietly, the way it always does. On the morning of 2 October, Mt. Yotei woke up white.
Kutchan Town recorded the first snow of the season on Yotei's summit, a week earlier than last year and two days ahead of normal. The same day, 200 kilometres to the east, snow settled around the ropeway station on Mt. Asahidake, Hokkaido's highest peak, at about 1,600 metres.
Below the snowline it is still autumn. The birch and maple forests around Niseko are turning red and gold, the onsens are steaming in the cool mornings, and the town is in that short, calm pause before the winter begins. Up top, it already has.
Yotei turning white is the signal everyone here waits for. From now on, every cold front from Siberia brings the season a little closer.
What comes next
Late October: first flakes usually reach Asahikawa and Sapporo.
28 November: Niseko United (Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and Annupuri) is scheduled to open, snow permitting.
11 December: United's new nonstop from San Francisco to Sapporo begins, three times a week. For guests from the US, Hokkaido is now one flight away.
Late December to February: the deepest, driest snow of the year, and the busiest weeks in the valley.
Why now is the time to plan
The best of a Niseko winter is not the snow. The snow arrives for everyone. What sells out is everything around it: the ski-in, ski-out residences with room for the whole family, the private chefs, the counter seats at the restaurants that only take a handful of guests, and the instructors and guides worth skiing with.
Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year are the first to go. If you are thinking about any of those weeks, now is the last moment to talk.
How I can help
I live and ski here, and I look after a small number of guests each winter: private clients, families and businesses. One point of contact, from your arrival at New Chitose airport to your last run.
A residence chosen and inspected on your behalf
Private guiding and instruction, matched to every skier in your group
Arrivals by private jet and chauffeured transfers throughout
In-residence chefs and the hard-to-get tables
Backcountry, cat-skiing and heli days with licensed local partners, conditions permitting
Onsen, wellness and culture, arranged around your pace
There are no packages. Tell me who is coming, when, and how you like to spend your days, and I will take care of the rest.
Or simply reply to this email. It comes straight to me, and I read every one.
Until the next snowfall,
Miha Grilj
Founder, H.S.C. Japan
[email protected] · hscjapan.ski
P.S. If you would like a short note from me each time a big storm arrives this winter, there is nothing to do. You are already on the list.