Niseko Country Resort Rocks!
January 1st, 2010
Mt Yotei from our Window in Country Resort
Well, it has been 2 years since we last enjoyed our home in the snow and wow has it blossomed. We have new chalets, new neighbors, a new private kitchen/kids club, new concierge team, and tons of new powder. I didn’t expect this much snow so soon but we are not complaining! We fell in love with Country Resort when there was nothing here and now that we have a community, it rocks. We have made new friends during the Christmas and New Years parties we hosted at the private kitchen.
Winter wonderland in Niseko Country Resort
Everyone on the team has been fantastic. Geoffrey has made the wonderful dinners a reality with the help of Guy and the team. Stuart, Ben, the always smiling Kana, and the team made a fantastic ice bar that was huge hit. Our English roses Helen, Philippa, and Katie made sure the glasses were full and the spirits high. The highlight of the night was Santa’s appearance (Guy) with his trusty Rudolph (Kana) and Christmas tree (Katie) in tow. Good times had by all…
Santa, Rudolph and the tree
Chi and Eddie at Country Resort Xmas party
Helen Katie and Philippa
Master Chef Geoff and Chi
Stuart and Ben
As Christmas Eve drew to a close there were some worried guests at The Chalets. It seems they were a little worried as to whether Santa could find them under so much snow.
The long awaited cafe, The Private Kitchen is nearing completion. We’re releasing an early picture here complete with the Gazebo to get you thinking about the possibilities.
We are coming to the end of our first winter season in Niseko with guests enjoying the light, dry snow by day and the warm, peaceful nights in their comfortable Chalets. We’ve had a busy season. We almost doubled our number of Chalets for rent and are anticipating a busy Summer building season. There will be more than just building happening this summer. We have had a large number of inquiries about the summer season. As a fours season resort destination, there is plenty to do in Niseko in the summer. Hokkaido itself is the most popular tourist destination for Japanese. They 
The Grand Hotel Annupuri - This mixed onsen offers a therapeutic outdoor pool setting overlooking the tranquil, snow-covered surrounds. It’s particularly enjoyable after a hard day of skiing with friends at the nearby slopes of Annupuri and Moiwa. The onsen complex also has 2 men’s indoor pools and 5 pools for women to choose from (including a private outdoor pool for the ladies).
ng the festival, hundreds of snow and ice sculptures are created in three areas of Sapporo - Odori Koen, Satorando/Satoland and Susukino. They are lit up by a multitude of lights and accompanied by traditional shows and songs as well as contemporary events such as ski and snowboard jumping competitions. The magnitude of the festival is aided by the fact that the Japanese military builds most of the sculptures, some of which reach the height of 20 meters. So when you are planning your next winter visit to Niseko, be sure to think about squeezing in a trip to the festival. We highly recommend it for kids and adults alike. As always, you can contact Hayley (
We bid farewell to the Year of the Rat and embraced the Year of the Ox. The Ox is the second sign of the Chinese zodiac. Like its predecessor and complement, the Rat, the Ox signifies new beginnings. With our most recent development phase (IIIa) completed prior to the Chinese New Year, guests could experience some new beginnings of their own.
ink there is some Aussie pride in there) and it led Dexter, a guest during this period, to comment on the service saying “
Fine dining in Hirafu village exists in the form of restaurant Kamimura offering a nine course degustation menu. Chef Yuichi Kamimura brings a fusion of Japanese seasonal ingredients and flavors enhanced by a classic French cooking technique. Kamimura-san cooked under famous chef Tetsuya Wakuda at what has been called one of the top five restaurants in the world Sydney’s Tetsuya’s. Dishes like grilled scallop with black truffle cream and roasted Wagyu with Niseko potato puree utilize the abundance of Hokkaido’s local products on offer. Accompanying the food are the matching wines Kamimura has carefully selected for his guests. The wine list currently features the best of Italy, France, and Australia. If you need warming up or just a break from the slopes, Kamimura serves coffee to go with his almond and white chocolate cookies both eat-in and take-away. It’s not always easy to get in this fine establishment so be sure to ask our concierge team to get you a table today.
As you know, the Lunar New Year is fast approaching. When the clock moves past midnight on Sunday the 25th, we will moving into the Year of the Ox. We’re not sure what that means for the burning issues of the day, but we do know what it means for The Chalets at Country Resort - 100% occupancy again!
As Christmas Eve dawned, there was a rumour on the mountain that St. Nick himself was in Niseko for some killer boarding before his big night. True to form, our favourite man in the Red Suit made an appearance. Those guests who were deemed to have been “good” were among the first to receive their gifts which ranged from Toboggans and Japanese games for the children to Japanese Royce chocolates for the adults. While Santa appeared to be his normal portly self on the Chirstmas Eve visit, he must have burned off a few calories in his adventurous night as he was caught on the slopes the next day looking a bit thin. He assured us in an exclusive interview (see below) that he did indeed sample all the cakes and biscuits that were left out for him and he thanked everyone for their epicurean generousity.
We had a great turnout with more than 30 in attendance. We ate and drank from both the local produce and some old international favorites (the French still make great Champagne). Anna, Hayley, Joel and Alex provided music, skiing and snowboarding movie screenings, good cheer and bad dancing for entertainment. A few of our guests bowed to tradition and created their own fireworks display before the staff shuttled the party goers into town for the torch run and officially sanctioned, professionaly fireworks display on the Grand Hirafu slopes.
This issue we were able to secure a Niseko exclusive with the Jolly Old Soul himself, Santa Claus. While he didn’t stay with us, we were able to sit down for a quick snack and a glass of Hokkaido’s World Famous Milk before he set off on his journey. As you can see from the picture, he enjoyed our little village so much, he came back for a ski after finishing his big day.
(that’s why it’s the beginning), but now it is in full swing. We already mentioned the 50 centimetres between Christmas and New Year and it just keeps coming. Here’s what Olle, a recent guest at the Chalets from Sweden had to say. “We work in Norway on the ski slopes and the snow doesn’t compare to what we’ve been getting in Niseko. Definitely worth the trip!”
Those are just a few of the great comments we get from the guests at The Chalets. We’ll be back next issue with more great adventures from Niseko. Until then, we wanted to leave you with a great shot of our Niseko Resorts Group vehicle fleet. Whether it’s an airport pickup, a delivery of you and your family to the mountain or maybe just an SOS after a few too many in the village. Our team are there to help.