After a short fuel stop in town I continued on around the south side of Lake Toya, stopping only to take photos of active volcanic vents steaming from the top of Showa-Shinzan and other views of Lake Toya. The Eastern side of Toya has one of my favourite campsites in Hokkaido. The Nakatoya campground is a wonderful place to relax by the lakeside with a very convenient onsen located on site, and well stocked camp store.

March 10th, 2020 -  Was the first day this year that was a balmy 9C and warm enough for all of the ice and snow on the roads to melt giving me my first opportunity to go for a cruise. My first thought was to take a short ride close to home to make sure everything on the bike was still in working order. A quick 40 minute ride around the base of Mt. Yotei was all I had in mind...

You’re here. It’s happening. Of course, it takes a while to get familiar with your surroundings and learn the lay of the new lands. Niseko is no different, with four resorts spread out on Mt. Niseko An’nupuri, the possibilities are as endless as the snow is deep. The hardest part is choosing a destination and spoiler—there’s no wrong answer.

February and March have been challenging months across the globe and here in Niseko we have been experiencing one of the quietest March's in years. Here in Hirafu daily life has continued mostly as usual and we've been lucky enough to enjoy one of the best March's we've had snow wise for a couple of years. We've been getting consistent top ups of fresh snow through out the month plus plenty of the beautiful sunny days the spring time brings.

If you are reading this you have probably heard of our good friend Trevor Ponting's situation. Trev has just had brain surgery and is about to undergo intensive chemo and radiation therapy. This is going to be a huge challenge for him and his family physically, mentally and financially. We're behind Trev 100% and hope that if you are too we can make Trev's battle a little easier wherever we can. So who is Trevor Ponting?

Kids ski free in March! Sound good? Sounds awesome! So what's the deal? With every adult All Mountaiin Lift Pass purchased in advance through Holiday NIseko you will get 1 free equivalent kids pass (for kids 12 or under) and if that wasn't enough the same deal with rental equipment applies with Rhythm or Niseko Sports! 

Ever wondered who takes those incredible photos and videos of Niseko that make you want to drop everything and start planning your next trip here ? More often than not they are from groups of sponsored skiiers and snowboarders that spend days upon days in the back country, working hard to get the shot. Holiday Niseko recently hosted such a group from Atomic that managed to get some incredible photos and video during their time with us.

The conditions here in Niseko are almost back to normal with some big falls this month on top of a base that had seen consistent top ups over the last few weeks, big days and big smiles all around. We are now sitting on a solid 5 meter base. Don't get me wrong the tide is out a bit it but there is a surprising amount of snow on the mountain, most of the vegetation is covered and the skiing and riding have been great!

Holiday Niseko has grown from year to year in terms of its staff, it's customer base and its quality of service. We are proud to have staff from across the globe from Taiwan to Ireland making for a diverse and well rounded team.

Have you been wondering how the season is progressing over here? The slow start has been a surprise for for many but even on one of what I would have thought was one of the worst days, a customer I spoke to told me " it's not quite the same as last year but still a whole lot better than skiing back home!"