Niseko refers to the area encompassing Niseko Town, Kutchan Town, and Rankoshi Town. Located in western Hokkaido, the Niseko Area is home to iconic mountains such as Mt. Yotei, Niseko Annupuri, and Niseko Chisenupuri. It is globally renowned as a ski resort famous for its powder snow. While most ski areas in Hokkaido benefit from powder snow due to the region’s freezing winters, Niseko stands out for its exceptionally fine and high-quality snow, which persists well into late spring, even through early May.
Niseko’s powder snow has become globally famous, but it’s not the only place. In Hokkaido, ski resorts located north of Niseko also offer excellent powder snow. During the coldest part of winter, from January to mid-February, if you wake up to fresh snow at any ski resort, you can be sure it’s powder snow.
I love skiing so much that I often found myself wearing skis without even realizing it. As a child, I would spend every weekend skiing at the citizen ski resorts in Iwamizawa City and Banki Ski Resort. Mornings after heavy snowfall were especially sought after. Everyone knows it’s powder snow, so if you don’t go early, you won’t have the slopes of fresh, untouched snow all to yourself.
However, Niseko is famous for powder snow because of its high mountains. Even in Niseko, the lower parts of the mountains rarely have powder snow, even in the depths of winter. You have to go up into the middle to upper sections of the mountains to truly experience the real powder snow.
In that sense, Niseko has all the conditions for powder snow!
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