AFTER my fourth visit to Tokyo three years ago, I thought to myself that I was “done” with Japan. Having made the rounds of the “must see” places in the city and its outskirts, and having made a trip to the legendary Mt. Fuji as well as to faraway Kyoto, I didn’t think there was much more to discover in Japan.
A trip to the island of Hokkaido at the northernmost portion of Japan proved me very wrong. There, in the expansive island near the Russian border, was a different face of the country. It showed Nature at its most appealing - refreshing, unspoiled and picture pretty. The place was blazing with autumn colors when we arrived. From the New Chitose airport, we passed through vast tracts of vegetable farms to our first destination - the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, named after the two famous caldera lakes in the area, Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya. We were billeted in the Lake Toya area.
Lake Toya is an almost round caldera lake about 10 kilometers in diameter from east to west, and nine kilometers from north to south. It was formed by the eruption of a volcano about a thousand years ago and has four islands in its midst. The lake doesn’t freeze in winter.
Our hotel was perched on a slope by the lake and afforded us a magnificent view of the seemingly floating islands set against the backdrop of the majestic Mt. Yotei.
Towering Mt. Yotei is a symmetrical volcano that is Hokkaido’s answer to the iconic Mt. Fuji. Later that evening there was a fireworks display along the lakeshore... another stunning sight from our hotel window.
Also major tourist attractions in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park are Mt. Usu, an active stratovolcano that has erupted four times in the last 100 years (the latest was in 2000); and Showa Shinzan, a volcanic lava “mountain” created from the Mt. Usu eruption in 1944-45. We had a good look at the two volcanoes from the tourist stop near the foot of Showa Shinzan. It was there in a stall selling corn where we had a taste of raw corn eaten straight out of its cob. And you know what? It was very sweet, very soft and very digestible!
The next day was spent exploring nearby Niseko, the most famous ski resort in Japan and voted one of the top 10 ski resorts in the world with its tons of powder snow in winter. For those of us here who want to experience a winter wonderland, I believe Niseko in Japan is the answer. Snowfall is from November to April, and the good news is, there’s a Holy Week package (Mar. 31 - April 5) organized by select travel agents in coordination with Korean Air which has a good connection from Cebu to Hokkaido.
Korean Air’s Ann Momongan says that Hokkaido is one of the airline’s new destinations.
Niseko has a hometown charm and feel but it boasts of world-class facilities for its visitors. The largest resort in the area is the Rusutsu Resort which is situated at the base of Mt. Yotei. It has indoor/outdoor facilities which include winter sports (skiing and snowboarding), golf, an amusement park, onsen (a natural hot spring), among others. The resort also has complete convention facilities and different types of accommodations, including log cabins and cottages. We took a tram ride around the complex and saw the slopes which would soon be covered with powder snow for the skiers to frolic in.
Staying in a house instead of a hotel at Kutchan Town next door to Niseko was a novel experience for us. In charge of our land arrangements were Destination Specialists’ Marget Villarica and David Leung of the Hong Kong-based JJ Explorer Tours.
We were billeted in a compact four-level, four-bedroom house with an elevator. Having our own living room and a well-equipped kitchen made us feel so at home. To complete the unique experience, we cooked our own nabe dinner (Japanese style shabu-shabu) after buying the ingredients at the supermarket. Good thing expert cook Baby Dy was in the group. She efficiently took charge with Paul Haggart, Niseko’s Tourism Strategy and Promotions Section manager and his Japanese wife Jun as consultants. It was an advanced Halloween dinner for us. Breakfast the next day was catered by a group who specializes in preparing food for those staying in houses/condos and don’t feel like cooking or going out.
Hot springs
Among the hotels we visited, we found the 25-bedroom Moku No Sho boutique hotel most fascinating. It sits prettily beside a murmuring brook and somehow connects to the Konbu Onsen (hot spring). Made of wood and stone, the place exudes a special welcoming feel. Its lobby features a fireplace and is lit by traditional paper lanterns. There are Japanese-style rooms as well as Western-style suites with private open-air hot spring baths.
On the third day, we visited the Hilton Niseko Village, Japan’s premier mountain resort. Located at the base of Mt.Annupuri, the hotel complex is surrounded by graceful ski slopes and offers luxurious rooms which all have stunning mountain views.
It has a stylish ballroom which can accommodate up to 900 guests as well as a selection of meeting rooms, restaurants and bars. Like all the hotels and resorts in the area, it has spa and onsen (natural hot spring) facilities.
Outdoor activities at Niseko Village include tree trekking (a challenging treetop to treetop walk using hanging bridges and ropes which some in our group did), nature walks, cart touring, golf, tennis, hot air balloon rides, kite flying, horseback riding, among others. The hotel is adjacent to the gondola (cable car) base station which brings guests to the peak in only seven minutes. Oh yes, we took the gondola ride and had a good view of the mountain slopes from the peak!
Dinner that night was a networking affair with players in Niseko’s tourism industry at a hip place called Niseko Pizza. We met with businessmen, hotel/condominium/bed and breakfast operators who spoke about Niseko’s exceptional winters and its winter sports. They completed the picture of their beloved town by talking about the spring, summer and autumn activities which ultimately painted Niseko as a destination for all seasons.
We said our goodbyes to Niseko the next day after an excellent breakfast at the quaint Gaubunden Café, a German-inspired cake and coffee shop.
(Next week: Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, and Otaru, the canal city.)