Picture is just missing Mich, who is taking the photo, and Dre who was in his Kiddy class.
I must admit, this Japan trip was one of the highlights of 2010. Sigh, wish I could afford to go snowboarding every year!
There are 3 ways to get to the top. Gondola, Ski lifts, trekking and the morning tractors.
The gondola takes you pretty high up, probably half way up the slopes. It’s sheltered from the elements, so it’s quite a comfortable ride up.
Then comes the ski lifts which are usually used to get to small sections of the slopes. Make sure you’re bundled up, because it gets pretty cold on those things! And be forewarned, you thought getting on was easy? Getting off was terrifying!!
If you want to get to the very top and experience the barren and almost solo decent, you got to earn it. The last bit of Hirafu requires a 30min trek to the last “checkpoint”.
And last but not least, for the more advanced skiers and boarders – the morning tractors. As the night brings about a fresh coat of powder, the dedicated few wake up before dawn to get the morning tractor up to the top. There you will be rewarded with deep untouched snow which was dumped during the night.
“Kimmy, it looks like snow goat poo!”
Snows every day, every night.
Can’t help taking so many photos in Niseko. It’s just so beautiful!
Back to the Japan Niseko posts, by the third day, we were feeling more confident and decided to venture higher up the peak.
Morning ritual: I’d be the first one to get out of bed. So I’ll sneak out quietly to wash up without waking drea, and prepare some brekkie and hot water for the rest. I make myself a hot cup of coffee and that’s when the rest of the chalet starts to stir.
Over the kitchen island, Chris and Mich will start planning the day’s routes and runs.
Soon we all start to get ready and gear up, and make the long trek up to the ski lifts. And for the rest of the day till dark, we’re on the boards or on our bums.
But I must admit, was really proud of first-timers Kimmy, Drea and myself for tackling the blue and black runs. And we had blue and black bruised bums to prove it. Even if we were doing the “Falling Leaf” most of the way down, at least we gave it a solid attempt to stay up!
I really really enjoyed snowboarding, and hope I’m able to do it again sometime soon. Korea? China? Kashmir? Canada?
Hirafu Village is where all the action is…accommodation, restaurants and night life. All locations are accessible via free shuttle buses and menus are in English and Japanese to cater for the influx of foreigners to the Niseko Resort Area.
The streets of Hirafu becomes a whole different place at night. After a long day of skiing and snowboarding, the town is filled with people rewarding themselves with a good hot meal or a drink at the bar.
Evening is spent recounting the days thrills and spills, and how amazing the powder is.
If you’d rather stay in, you can buy food back from the restaurants, get delivery or get cook your own meal. You can buy your food ingredients from the two convenience stores in the village. One of which is open 24 hours a day.
So before going to Japan, I wasn’t too sure what to wear. In Tokyo it wasn’t much on an issue because we were only there for a night. For Niseko, I wasn’t sure what I had to wear to snowboard or the kind of footwear to cover my trotters and handle the snow and iced walkways. Thankfully the very kind Marisa loaned me some of her gear for the trip.
Layer-by-layer detail below:
For Snowboarding
Out and about in town
By the way, that blue beanie on the right was made by Kimmy’s mum! Thanks Auntie! 
Love it.
Was a beautiful day in Hirafu, and after our half day class in the morning, we were ready to tackle the ski lifts and blue runs. From then on, it’s all a matter of practice. Less time on the bum this day, and more time doing the skills below:
Credit: Snowboarding abc
Photos from left to right: Michelle gracefully takes a break. Kim and I just before we headed out the door. View from the bottom of the slopes. And a shot from the ski lift!
Chris and Kim looking all so pro!
I know how to wakeboard, so does that mean I know how to snowboard? Most definitely NOT.
When me and Kim signed up at the ski school, we had the choice to learn skiing or snowboarding. With our background in wakeboarding, we chose snowboarding. Also for another superficial reason – Snowboarding looks way cooler than skiing.
Snowboarding seemed like it had the same sports attitude as mountain biking. Cool, relaxed, chilled, and at times, extreme. We decided to sign ourselves up for 1.5 days of ski school and see how it goes.
First morning in Niseko, board in hand, we walked up to the slopes, dropped Andre at kids ski school and went for the adult classes. Veterans Michelle and Chris went ahead and did their own runs on the slopes while me and Kim spent most of the time on our arses!!
Snowboarding is not as easy as it looks. Be prepared to fall down ALOT on your bum and your knees. I was in pieces by the end of the day but chuffed.
Here’s a summary of what we learnt which I managed to find online.
Credit: Snowboarding abc
First picture below was taken by Chris and Michelle from the cable car while me and Kim were having our lessons on the slopes. So glad I had a buddy for ski school, am so proud of Kimmy and I. We really learnt a lot in 1 day.
Another item off my bucket. Snowboarding.
We arrived at Niseko in the late afternoon, quickly got settled into our chalet and off we went to Inski to get our snowboarding gear sorted for the next 5 days.
I need to mention this again, but it was snowing. Alot. Non-stop. 
Check out this view from outside our window.
Niseko is a well known for its ski resorts, because of its consistent snowfall producing impressive amount of power. Niseko Hirafu ski resort is particularly popular with foreigners because of the bilingual signs and English speaking ski instructors. They also have fast and efficient chairs taking you up to many different runs from blues to double black diamonds.
The Niseko Ski Season is long, usually starting in the last week of November till March/April, varying slightly from year to year. The Niseko All Mountain Pass gives access to all three resorts for 4900 yen per day.
Niseko’s resorts are all located on Niseko-Annupuri Mountain. The three major resorts are Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village (formerly known as Higashiyama) and Annupuri. They are connected with each other at the top of the mountain, while shuttle buses connect them at the base.
Grand Hirafu is the largest of the resorts and the only one with a sizable town at its base. Hirafu Town has many hotels, holiday homes and an interesting range of restaurants and bars with an active nightlife. An evening stroll about town will take you past many places packed with foreigners.
Just to recap on how we got there
Singapore – Tokyo Narita International Airport
Tokyo Haneda domestic airport – New Chitose Airport (Sapporo)
New Chitose Airport – Niseko
There are several bus services that provide the transfer to Niseko including the Skybus, which takes you to your hotel.
Next Stop: Mexican in Japan?!
