The Australian Takeover of Niseko Ski Resort

[Mulboyne]

WSJ: An Australian Gives Japan Tourism a Lift

HIRAFU, Japan -- Simon Robinson punctuated a Japanese ski holiday five years ago by taking photographs of land plots in this town in the rural north. The Canberra native bought one of them and then built some vacation condominiums on it. Today, he runs a $43 million-a-year real-estate business here. His houses and condominium blocks are dotted around the main town. Others have been building too, as tens of thousands of Australian snow lovers have flocked to Hirafu, turning it into a flourishing ski town in Japan's large northern island of Hokkaido. It's dotted with bars, restaurants and live music venues -- a contrast to many other Japanese winter resorts, where people often eat in their hotel and go to bed early.

Niseko, as this resort area is commonly known, is flouting the accepted rules of how Japan works, and providing one idea for how to survive a future with an aging, declining population. Japan was long known as one of the world's most expensive countries, so tourists stayed away. Most Japanese didn't sell their land, making it hard for foreign businesses to set up there. Japan's regions are mostly failing economically and losing population, and property prices are continuing a long slump. Here, though, land prices are soaring and the local economy is perking up. That's because of foreigner-driven property development, which is riding a boom of ski and snowboard tourists.

The area will be under the spotlight in July, when the Group of Eight summit takes place near Toyako, a lake about 20 milesaway. The Japanese government wants to use the summit to showcase the natural attraction of northern Japan. July will also see the first stage in Niseko's ambitions to become Japan's first major international destination resort, when Citigroup Inc. and Hilton Hotels Corp. open a resort village, trying to bring in summer visitors for golf and rafting. PCCW Ltd. of Hong Kong is also developing a resort that could bring in affluent Chinese tourists.

Some other rural parts of Japan are using Niseko as a case study. Myoko, in the mountainous prefecture of Niigata, also known for skiing, recently sent a delegation to Taipei to try to drum up interest in its local property among rich Taiwanese. Tourism is already increasing in the country as a whole, as word gets out that Japan is cheaper than it was in the past. Last year, 8.3 million tourists visited Japan, up from 6.1 million in 2004 -- though that's still only a handful compared with the nearly 80 million people each year who go to France. Skiing in Japan grew from the 1970s in step with middle-class incomes, as the young sought a pastime with a chic image. Resort developers quickly built lifts and hotels, but the ski boom faded. The number of skiers and snowboarders slipped from a peak of 16.5 million in 1995 to 11.5 million in 2005.

Niseko gets nearly 20 feet of snow a year, making it one of the snowiest resorts on earth, and Australians started coming after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when many avoided travel to North America and Europe. Australia's currency has risen with its booming mining industry, and Australian visitors to Niseko say it's a cheap way to go skiing. Grant McMurray, 24 years old, a plumber from Perth, first heard people talking about Niseko on a recent visit to Threadbo, a ski resort in New South Wales. This year, he spent A$2,800 on an 11-day snowboarding vacation, including flight, accommodation and lift pass. Going to Canada would have cost two-thirds that just for the flight, he said. And nearly everything, from drinks to lift passes, costs less than in Australian ski centers. "The drinks are cheap ... and the powder is dry," he said over a beer in a Hirafu bar. "I'll be back next season."

Property developer Mr. Robinson, 47 years old, was a restaurateur who first came to ski in Niseko with his wife, Joasia, 44, in 2002. They liked the snow and booked a month's vacation for 2003. Shortly before their departure, a bush fire hit their area of Canberra. Mr. Robinson's catering business was destroyed, and their house burned down. As the flames took hold, Mr. Robinson smashed a ground floor window, climbed in, and rescued two new pairs of skis he had just bought. They stayed in the nearest thing to a holiday apartment offered in the main town of Hirafu, but were unimpressed: a loft studio with a three-legged table, no chairs and a gas heater. It had "paper-thin walls," and the young guests next door came home drunk and rowdy late at night. Japanese resorts were designed for people who could spare only a couple of days off work. They had hotels, but little accommodation for people staying longer.

Many Niseko landowners had bought land to build pensions during the ski boom. The land then declined in value, their businesses shrunk and they got older. So, when Mr. Robinson and others offered better-than-expected prices, many landowners sold. The Robinsons decided their new company, called Hokkaido Tracks, should target well-heeled foreigners who could afford to come to ski in Japan. Mrs. Robinson calls their preferred style "contemporary Japanese" -- combinations of wood and concrete that are seen in the posher bits of Tokyo. The latest are designed for rich expatriates, and feature European kitchen equipment and a room with self-contained kitchen for the maid.

The town's emergence as an international tourist resort was not planned by the local authorities, who were at first wary of the newcomers. The Hokkaido government didn't understand the idea of a vacation condominium, and sprung hard-to-understand regulations on them. At first, Mr. Robinson thought he was in the condominium business, building properties whose owners would rent them out like apartments. That's how apartment operators work in big cities like Tokyo, when they are renting out apartments to, say, visiting foreign executives. But Hokkaido told them that in fact what they were building were hotels, which require provisions for emergencies, such as fire alarms and escape ladders, costing about 200,000 yen per unit. The company also took out a hotel license. "We are just getting as many licenses as possible in order to show that we are a wholesome business," says Minoru Okubo, who looks after legal and government business for Hokkaido Tracks. We even got a travel agent's license, even though we don't actually do travel business."

Both the town and Hokkaido governments have become friendlier recently as they realize the benefits brought by the newcomers. The plot of land the Robinsons bought in 2003 has increased in value 20 times, Mr. Robinson says. A government survey of land prices in another part of Niseko shows a two-year rise of 80% in 2005 and 2006, compared with a national average rise of 10%. In the business year to March 31, 2007, 14,400 foreign tourists visited the Hirafu part of Niseko, of whom 9,400 were Australians, up from just 910 foreigners including 290 Australians in the year ended March 1998.

[Mulboyne]

Reuters: G'day Niseko! Australian skiers flock to Japan

Every winter, the northern ski resort of Niseko in Japan turns distinctly Down Under. Niseko, in Hokkaido, is one of the most popular ski destinations for Australians, attracting the bulk of the estimated 30,000 skiers who visit Japan for an affordable, overseas winter break that's got some of the comforts of home. Unlike other places in Japan, English is widely spoken in the resort town by everyone from restaurant staff to tour operators. Maps and gourmet guide book in English are also available, as well as restaurants serving Australian food. A mere two-hour time difference between Niseko and Sydney and a strong Australian dollar against the Japanese yen are also boosting the number of visitors, tour operators say. "I really enjoyed Niseko and will travel there again soon," Keiran Williams, a skier from Melbourne who was in Niseko recently, told Reuters. "It's a clean and isolated snow village. The absence of the hustle and bustle of big cities and a large Australian contingent were notable attributes of the town." Ian Farrow, chairman of the Australian Alpine Club (AAC), said the organization liked Niseko so much that it set up its first overseas lodge there last year. "It is highly cost competitive, it has the best deep powder snow in the world and it includes a fabulous cultural experience, quite unlike anything in North America or Europe," he said. "There may be other exotic locations, but they don't have anything like the standards for snow sports tourism in Japan."

SKIING WITHOUT THE JET LAG
Australians make up the sixth biggest tourist contingent to Japan, and are their number is the second largest after Americans hailing from a country where English is the main language. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of Australian holidaymakers to Japan during the last ski season, which ran from December 2007 to March 2008, was just over 40,000, almost five times more than three years ago. The AAC's Farrow listed his main reasons for favoring Niseko: "excellent snow, no jet lag, well-organized resort, cheap compared to Europe, U.S. and Canada, good food." Last year, Japan's national tourism agency launched a media campaign to promote skiing in Japan entitled "Affordable Japan." It included television shows featuring Japanese ski resorts as well as a adverts that showed that the price of a one-day ski-lift pass in Japan were much lower than passes in Australia, which the AAC said were now the highest in the world. Jotaro Horiuchi, executive director of the Japan National Tourist Organization's Sydney office, said the agency plans to build on Niseko's popularity with a campaign in Australia to promote it, and all of Hokkaido, as a summer destination as well. Japanese waitress Tomomi Mishima wishes the JNTO success. Mishima, who lived in Australia for six years before moving to Niseko, said she enjoys living in the town because it is Japanese, and Australian, as well. "Niseko is a very unique place. I can't compare it to any other places in the world," she said. "I hope Niseko can do well throughout the year to maintain the quality of services."

[Mulboyne]

Hokkaido Shimbun: Remote interpretation service to be examined

The Hokkaido Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced plans to conduct research this fiscal year on measures to attract more overseas tourists to the area, including those with a higher level of affluence. As part of the research, experiments involving remote interpreter demonstrations at hospitals, pharmacies and restaurants are also planned. The demonstration experiments are scheduled to take place from December to February in the Niseko area, which attracts large numbers of tourists from Australia and other countries. Computers will be installed in hospitals, pharmacies, stores and restaurants, and interpreters will facilitate communication between overseas tourists and staff through Internet phones. In addition to the plans for the Niseko region, research will also be conducted in the Toyako area, which is now well known for having hosted the Hokkaido Toyako Summit, and in the Yubari area, which has recently attracted more overseas tourists such as skiers. The bureau plans to compile a report by March after examining the correlation between the advancement of foreign capital and increased tourist numbers, the status of infrastructure elements such as financial services for overseas visitors, and the satisfaction levels of tourists from other countries.

[Greji]

Hokkaido Shimbun: Remote interpretation service to be examined

Wasn't there some group that claimed they wanted to keep the FGs out of there?

Take, you're falling down on the job!

[kusai Jijii]

[IkemenTommy]

[kusai Jijii]

I bet you and Charles get along as drinking buddies.

Charles is a fuckwit. Like I said, as a scientific fact, Ozzies who ski are wankers.

[kurohinge1]

. . . The Ozzies that 'love skiing' are, as an undisputed scientific fact, complete and utter wankers who should be put down. All gear, no idea. Way too many of 'em went to single sex grammar schools with 'prefects' and all that jazz. 97.452% also support Melbourne in the A.F.L. . .

Are you STILL mad about what those "Mexicans" did to you on the school ski camp 40 years ago???

[amdg]

Simple fact is, with the exception of Mt Buller & Thredbo, there are basically no (skiable) snowfields on the whole continent.

I'm a Falls Creek man myself (Buller is for pussies). Back in '84 I think it was we had at least 3 meters of snow. Very skiable. Don't know what it's like these days, but it was good enough in the past. Australia is not a place for powder skiers of course, but for ungraded slopes with challenging moguls, you could do a lot worse. I have yet to see in Japan the kind of moguls that demand the same physicality as the ones I used to ski on.

Oh, and before you start, I'm a wanker.

[kusai Jijii]

Oh, and before you start, I'm a wanker.

See. Case in point.

[Greji]

Oh, and before you start, I'm a wanker.

So's Gomi, but she doesn't ski. She just dresses up in all the ski gear, goes to Hokkaido and hangs around the lodge looking to bag some of the hot dudes that that are too slow to get away...

[kusai Jijii]

By the way, which one of you guttless cunts 'red-dotted me' about my scientifically proven remarks concerning the "Ownerus Operatorus Australiarus" (to you and me friends, that's your common Aussie ski wanker)?

[amdg]

Not me - I may be a wanker but I'm not an arsehole.


OK, well maybe I am, but I didn't do it.

[Greji]

Not me. I'm still hiding from Gomi and didn't have time, although I do also qualify for the arsehole title....

[Behan]

Not me. I'm still hiding from Gomi and didn't have time, although I do also qualify for the arsehole title....

Looking at your avatar I had a little grin reading your comment.

[GomiGirl]

Charles is a fuckwit. Like I said, as a scientific fact, Ozzies who ski are wankers.

Oi!! I am an Aussie that skis. People may think I am wanker but I don't think that is related to the fact that I ski.

Admittedly I learned to ski in Japan as there is not that much snow around Brisbane at anytime of the year.

[GomiGirl]

So's Gomi, but she doesn't ski. She just dresses up in all the ski gear, goes to Hokkaido and hangs around the lodge looking to bag some of the hot dudes that that are too slow to get away...

Nah - it is much easier to accidentally on purpose run into them on the slopes or off piste for some hijinks in the trees.

Then again, there is always the old trick of accidentally going into the wrong onsen bath apres ski. Smorgasbord!!!

[Greji]

Nah - it is much easier to accidentally on purpose run into them on the slopes or off piste for some hijinks in the trees.

Then again, there is always the old trick of accidentally going into the wrong onsen bath apres ski. Smorgasbord!!!

I'm impressed and taking copious notes!

[Charles]

So's Gomi, but she doesn't ski. She just dresses up in all the ski gear, goes to Hokkaido and hangs around the lodge looking to bag some of the hot dudes that that are too slow to get away...

I thought that was the Japanese way, you buy all the gear, you subscribe to all the skiing magazines, you live a skiing lifestyle, you go to the slopes but you never actually ski.

[IkemenTommy]

I thought that was the Japanese way, you buy all the gear, you subscribe to all the skiing magazines, you live a skiing lifestyle, you go to the slopes but you never actually ski.

Nothing wrong with chilling with some coldies and hanging with the snow bunnies.

[kusai Jijii]

People may think I am wanker but I don't think that is related to the fact that I ski.

It might have something to do with your location reading "roaming with my fave 12""!!!;)

[Behan]

I thought that was the Japanese way, you buy all the gear, you subscribe to all the skiing magazines, you live a skiing lifestyle, you go to the slopes but you never actually ski.

You could change the words 'ski' and 'skiing' to 'surf' and 'surfing' and this quote would accurately describe a lot of the surfers at Kujukuri Beach.

[Mulboyne]

Hilton Niseko Village Ski Resort to Cater to English-Speaking Clientele

Hilton launched the Hokkaido region's newest premium mountain ski resort in July, taking on established ski and snowboard destinations in Europe and the Americas, but this time with a Japanese twist including palate-pleasing local cuisine and deeply therapeutic thermal spring baths...General Manager Daniel Welk believes it's only a matter of time before Niseko, relatively unknown outside the ski fraternity, and Hilton Niseko Village become the buzz word for the international traveler, and particularly the expatriate and local holiday makers from Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Russia and Singapore..."The Niseko region has everything to lure the international traveler: big nature, vibrant villages and an intoxicating combination of historic culture and cuisine," Welk says. "On top of that, we are surrounded by some of the purest snow in the world and an enduring ski season that starts in November and lasts well into April. "There is somewhere in the vicinity of a billion people living within a radius of four hours' travel time of Hokkaido's major airport," Welk added, referencing Chitose International Airport, 62 miles from the resort, "and with an infrastructure that runs on time, every time, coupled with champagne snow conditions, this has got to be the one of the best ski areas around. Niskeko is on par with the best of the European and American ski resorts, complete with a unique Japanese mystique"...more...

[GomiGirl]

This is just the remodelled Prince Hotel. Good thing though - it was needing a face lift. Great location - kinda. OK - well not too bad. Do prefer the Hirafu side of things at present unless there is some more development (eg infrastructure, restaurants, shops etc) around the base of the mountain - now THAT would be cool!!

At the moment, the only thing in this part of the mountain is that hotel. Fine for some but if you want to stumble around apres ski it is not very convenient.

[Bucky]

Seems that Whistler in British Columbia is seeing a drop in Australian skiers. They are heading to Niseko rather than B.C.

. . . Colin Hackworth, president of Nihon Harmony Resorts, which runs and is expanding several Niseko properties, said that it is "notoriously difficult to estimate the numbers. If you call Intrawest, they will say that nothing has changed. But the reality is that you could say there are now 100,000 skier visits to Niseko from Hong Kong that a few years ago were going to Whistler."

Hackworth estimates that the total number of Australian skiers to Canada has dropped from 45,000 to about 20,000. If each average a seven-night stay, said Hackworth, it means a drop from 300,000 skier visits to 140,000. He believes that about 60 per cent of these Australian ski visitors to Canada go to Whistler.

http://kutchannel.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=409&forum=39

[Mike Oxlong]

[SIZE="5"]Citigroup sells Japan ski resort to Malaysia's YTL[/SIZE]

Niseko Village, sold for 6 billion yen ($67 million), is popular with Chinese and Australian skiers and a mecca for domestic snowboarders due to its quality powder snow.

Located on the northern island of Hokkaido, the resort features two hotels, including a 506-room Hilton Hotel, two golf courses, ski trails and natural hot springs.

YTL said in a statement it plans to expand residential areas and ski-in ski-out estates, as well as restaurant and retail facilities.

Citigroup, which bought Niseko and other properties for 6.2 billion yen in 2006, has been selling assets in Japan to restore its balance sheet.

[IkemenTommy]

[SIZE="5"]Citigroup sells Japan ski resort to Malaysia's YTL[/SIZE]

What do Malaysians know anything about snow?

[Mulboyne]

It seems there are plans to set up an international school in Niseko. That's quite something for a place with a population of 4,700.

[AML]

Last time I was in Niseko I was pretty surprised at all the Aussies. And it actually felt kinda nice to not stand out as the only foreigner there.

Only problem is that all the locals treated me as though I was Australian.

So now I stick to less foreign infested slopes.

[IkemenTommy]

So now I stick to less foreign infested slopes.

Foreign infested or not, I hate crowded slopes.