Oct.
2004, Xene #42
Niseko: The Next
Aspen ?
By Vanessa Fortyn
ニセコ − 世界屈指のスキーリゾート
取材・文 バネッサ・フォーティン
It was in a bar in Hirafu that I heard the prediction.
Damon, the Australian bartender, said he was looking
forward to a time ten years in the future when he'd
be able to say he was at Niseko when it was still
a little town - before it had become a huge resort
like Banff or Aspen.
If this sounds fanciful, consider what's going on
here. Last year Niseko drew 700,000 ski visitors,
many from China and South Korea. Also in the mix were
about 4,000 Australian visitors on skiing packages.
Things are about to get even bigger. The number of
visitors from Australia is expected to more than double
in winter of 2004/2005. By November 2004, sale of
the Niseko Hanazono ski field to Harmony Resorts Niseko
(HRN) will be complete. The Australian company has
ambitious plans for the area. In the next ten years
HRN intends to invest between AUD$300 million and
AUD$400 million to create a ski resort of international
calibre that is geared to Australians, ex-pats throughout
Asia, and the local Japanese market.
ニセコは昨年、中国・香港・韓国をはじめオーストラリアからの
4千人を含む70万人ものスキーヤーを迎えた。これが更に増え続け、
オーストラリアからの観光客はこの冬倍になるという。
Perhaps Niseko's greatest attraction is the snow.
Its scant water content (8%) ranks it with the best
powder in the world. But it's also a beautiful area.
Situated within close view of Mt. Yotei, Hokkaido's
spectacular answer to Mt. Fuji, Niseko has funky restaurants
and bars, steamy hot springs, and warm-weather outdoor
activities that give it an allure in every season.
I visited for a weekend getaway in September. A two-hour
drive from Sapporo to the Niseko Hirafu district took
me through open country and farmland and past the
majestic Yotei. Niseko is an easy drive from Sapporo,
but if you don't have a car and don't want to rent
one, then you can get the train to Kutchan and a bus
onward to Hirafu.
ニセコ最大の魅力は雪、世界的にも最高のパウダースノーだ。
さらに周辺のレストランやバー、温泉、アウトドアアクティビティも
1年を通し、観光客を惹きつけている。この秋、私も北海道の富士山と
も喩えられる羊蹄山のふもと、広大な土地が広がるニセコひらふを訪れた。
Our first stop in Hirafu was Niseko Adventure Center
(NAC), where we spoke to the founder, Ross Findlay.
The most striking thing about Findlay is the energy
he radiates. From the way he bounds up stairs to the
passionate way he speaks about his work and new ideas
for the area, there's no doubt he has spirit. In the
early '90s when he first started coming to Niseko
as a skier, he realized it was "more of a ski
ground than a ski resort," and that to be a true
resort, it would need other activities beyond the
winter. He launched NAC as a rafting Company with
two rafts. Over the years it has expanded to offer
adventure sports of every kind.
From spring to autumn NAC runs tours of white water
rafting, duckying, kayaking, mountain-biking and outdoor
education. In winter they'll take you skiing, snowshoeing
and on backcountry trips through lesser-known ski
terrain. NAC is all about having fun in the great
outdoors, and Findlay and his team have worked hard
to establish a reputable company that obviously embraces
the nature of the area.
You can't miss the NAC building as you come into Hirafu.
It's a gymnasium from Otaki Town that was dismantled
and reconstructed here about six years ago. Its raw
timber, big windows and large terraces blend with
the natural surrounds. Downstairs is a shop selling
outdoor clothing and gear, which also has indoor climbing
and bouldering walls.
Upstairs is the restaurant Jojo's, which serves hamburgers
and smoothies and has a magnificent view of Mt. Yotei.
NAC has led by example, and since its conception many
other adventure companies have set up business in
the area. Findlay says he welcomes the competition,
positive effects and new ideas that the other businesses
bring.
はじめにリゾートの創始者を尋ねた。90年代初期、スキーヤーとして
ニセコに訪れていた彼はニセコはスキーリゾートとしてだけでなく、
冬以外のアクティビティも楽しめる真のリゾートになり得ると確信する。
わずか２艘のゴムボートで立ち上げたラフティングの会社"ＮＡＣ"は、
今ではあらゆるアウトドアアクティビティに定評のある会社へと成長した。
ＮＡＣは大滝村の体育館を改造し建てられ、周りの自然と程よく調和している。
ＮＡＣに続きアドベンチャーを提供する会社がニセコエリアで増えてきたが、
彼はそういった会社がもたらす新しいアイディアや好影響を快く迎えている。
In Hirafu, we stayed at an apartment owned by Hokkaido
Tracks. From the outside the building is unexceptional,
but the interiors are beautiful - Australian-designed
and distinctly Western, from the contrasting wall
colors and high ceilings to the tiled and practical
kitchens (including full-sized oven!). These stylish
apartments were built by West Canada Homes. The furnishings
are tasteful: a comfortable sofa, a chaise lounge,
subtle lighting and a table for eight fill the living
area. The beds in the sleeping quarters are singles
that can be zippered together to create luxurious
king-sized beds.
その日私たちはHokkaido Tracksが営むコンドミニアムに宿泊した。
外観はごく普通だが、オーストラリア人に設計された内装やインテリア
のセンスはまさに欧米風でスタイリッシュ。スキーシーズンになると
このコンドミニアムはオーストラリアから来るスキーヤーに貸し出されているが
今シーズンはすでに満室で、需要に対応するため他の棟の建設も進められている。
That night we ate dinner at the izakaya Slwif across
the road from Hokkaido Tracks. The menu is bilingual,
the staff are welcoming to foreigners, and the food
is typical izakaya fare, with sensational fried pumpkin
chips. We chatted with Matt and Satsuki Denning from
Hokkaido Tracks, who are looking forward to Niseko's
development. The company has been renting its apartments
to Australian visitors for only one ski season, but
they're already booked out for the coming winter.
Indeed, they're building more apartments to meet the
demand. The apartments are open to local guests the
rest of the year, and Japanese patrons have said that
staying in these rooms makes them feel as if they
aren't even in Japan. Satsuki Denning says she's noticed
how when couples stay there, wives tend to leave with
bigger smiles than when they arrived (possibly the
effect of all that soft lighting and those king sized
beds).
After dinner we walked to Pow Pow's, a local bar,
where we were immediately drawn into friendly conversation
with Australians who were living and working in Niseko.
They all told us about how they enjoyed living in
Niseko because the people are so friendly and the
area is beautiful. Rita, who photographs people on
rafting trips, told us about one of her favorite attractions.
"Instead of talking about the weather, people
talk about what Yotei's doing," she said.
I knew just what she meant. We'd been in Niseko for
only a day, and our eyes had constantly been drawn
to the huge volcano and the changing formations of
clouds gathered at its peak.
夕食は居酒屋でとることにしたが、ここには二ヶ国語のメニューがあり、
スタッフも外国人を暖かく迎えてくれる。食後に訪れた地元のバーでは
ニセコで働くオーストラリア人たちとの話が弾んだ。彼らはニセコの良さを
口々に語り、その中のひとりからおもしろい話を聞いた。「天気の話をする
代わりに、ここでは羊蹄山の話をするのよ。」と。確かにたった１日滞在した私でも、
雄大な火山とその頂で刻々と変化する雲の景色に常に目を奪われていることに気づいた程だ。
The
next day I decided to try duckying with my friend
Kerri. A ducky is an inflatable canoe, and on the
Sunday morning we met up with the very friendly Marty
Young and Par Dahlin, who have recently created their
own rafting company, Blue Sky. Between them they have
more than twenty years rafting experience, and Dahlin
has been living and rafting in Niseko for more than
a decade. They took us each in our own ducky for a
couple of hours of paddling down the river. Under
the tutelage and encouragement of our guides, Kerri
negotiated the rapids like a natural, and the experience
was even more fun than we expected. The rafting season
goes from April to early November, and if you don't
have a chance to catch the last few weeks this year,
then don't miss it next year.
翌日、友人とダッキーに挑戦してみることにした。ラフティング会社Blue Skyの
２０年以上ものラフティング経験者の指導と励ましのもと急流を乗りこなし、
２〜３時間かけて川くだりを楽しんだ。
After any exertion, a soak in a hot spring is the
perfect way to relax and recover. The area is famous
for its hot springs and the best way to find one is
to ask a local or get an onsen map from any business
in the area. We went to the Niseko Grand Hotel, about
ten minutes' drive from Hirafu, which has large single-sex
baths and a huge outdoor tub that's mixed-sex, making
it perfect for couples. If you're coy about being
naked in a bath with strangers of the opposite sex,
bring a big towel to protect your modesty.
思いきり動いた後は、熱い温泉につかってリラックスするのがいい。
ニセコは昆布温泉でも有名で、良い温泉は、地元の人に尋ねるかお店で
手に入れられる温泉マップで見つけられる。私たちは大浴場と混浴の
大露天風呂のあるニセコグランドホテルを選んだ。
To fuel us up for the journey back to Sapporo, we
stopped at Cafe Gentem for an afternoon sugar fix.
Just out of Hirafu, Gentem is a funky cafe in a round
tent. The tent is Mongolian in design, and the circular
space is intended to give an atmosphere of relaxation
and comfort. The interior is warm, with a central
Asian theme, and patrons sit on cushions around low
tables. In the winter the cafe is open for dinner
and serves Asian fusion cuisine. (The menu is bilingual,
as are some of the staff.) Sometimes they have live
drumming, and if you ring they'll come and pick you
up locally. The rest of the year, they keep daytime
hours and offer homemade cakes and delicious teas
and coffees. We settled on masala chai, pancakes,
and chocolate cake. To the side of Gentem is a small
shop selling Gentemstick snowboards. Designed in Hokkaido
and perfect for powder, they just might be the perfect
souvenir of a trip to Niseko.
On
the way home we stopped to buy fresh eggs from a smiling
farmer, while his daughter sped around us on her hot
pink bicycle chanting "Hello-howa-you? Hello-howa-you?"
At a roadside stall down the road, we picked up some
pumpkin and potatoes, famous local products. (The
Niseko Town symbol is a smiling potato man on skis.)
The friendly stall owner was keen to chat and even
threw in some corn for free.
札幌に戻る途中、カフェGentemで休憩をとることにした。モンゴル風の丸いテントと
中央アジアの暖かなインテリアで、とてもリラックスできる落ち着いた雰囲気のカフェだ。
ここのメニューとスタッフの一部もバイリンガルで自家製のケーキとおいしいお茶が楽しめる。
隣の店ではパウダースノーに合うようにデザインされたスノーボードを販売していて、
ニセコのよいお土産になりそうだ。その後は新鮮な卵や、ニセコ特産のカボチャやジャガイモを
買うため道沿いの売店に立ち寄ったが、ここでも話好きな店主のフレンドリーな対応が印象的だった。
The weekend was wonderful. The area and the people
living there are really special. Niseko is definitely
worth a visit.
ニセコでのすばらしい休日。その土地もそこに住む人々も格別だ。ニセコは一度は訪れてみたいところである。
