Tim Humphrey’s Hokkaido Transworld cover shot

Last season East coast USA Flow snowboards+Sessions+Skullcandy rider Tim Humphreys and photographer Rami Hanafi got some great days in Niseko that scored the cover of the Transworld Snowboarding December 2010 issue with a beauty photo dropping in on the avalanche barriers of Nakayama pass. Tim raps a bit about his thoughts on Hokkaido and getting camera lucky. What a rad cover! Holiday Niseko

Nimbus free ski crew in the Niseko hoods

Check the Free Ski Nimbus crew floating mad-powder lines Niseko, Nakayama pass and baciscally all over this Hokkaido Island last season. No soundtrack to this- so it’s just as quiet and muffled as when you are rippin through the deep. …with out headphones that is. Enjoi! HolidayNiseko

Over before it began

In winter many international guests often ask us what we do over the summer months. “Do we remain open?” and “Who visits Niseko in summer?” are also common questions. Yes, we do stay open, and we are kept relatively busy providing accommodation for the domestic market.

Hokkaido's Nature is a big tourist drawcard.

A study by the Japan External Trade Organization estimated the annual number of tourists in Hokkaido is around 50 million. Of which 87% are from within Hokkaido while the remaining 13% (6.5 million) come from outside Hokkaido. Summer is by far the most popular season for tourists from outside Hokkaido with roughly 2 and a half times as many visitors than winter.

Hokkaido drivers average 10 km/h faster than the rest of Japan. It's easy to see why.

The majority of tourists visiting Hokkaido in summer typically stay for 2 or 3 nights. Family tours account for 60% of the visitors and 80% of visitors in summer used private cars for transportation. Hokkaido is well known in Japan for its wide uncrowded roads and fast speeds at which the locals drive. On the flip-side Hokkaido sadly has one of the highest road fatality rates in Japan.

A common summer sight, school bus groups

The Niseko area is very popular with school trips and college sports teams during the summer months. Over 190 schools visit the area, with rafting high on the priority list of things to do. In Hirafu it is not uncommon to see sports teams jogging around the streets as part of their summer sports camp.

Niseko Yukon Apartments & BBQ area

Holiday Niseko remains open over summer with the Yukon apartments being a popular place to stay as the guests have free use of the outdoor barbecue area. Although we do get some foreign guests over the summer, most are unsurprisingly Japanese family groups traveling by private car.

Throw another ebi on the barbie!

What is the most common question we get asked in summer?

“Where can I find Kabutomushi?” (Japanese rhinoceros beetle and the most popular insect in Japan. Many Japanese children will buy or catch these and stag beetles to keep as pets.)

How did you guess I was a big beetles fan?