Hello readers! Summer is upon us and it is festival season again. There is a lot more to Furano’s signature summer festival, the Belly Button festival, than its quirky dance. Unfortunately I could not find an official English version of the agenda, so I have roughly translated the Japanese schedule so you will have an idea of what, when, and where.

Source: http://www.furano.ne.jp/hesomatsuri/gaiyou/gaiyou.html (available in Japanese only)

We hope to see you there!

Interested in Hokkaido? I would highly recommend checking out Anthony Bourdain’s recent visit to Sapporo and environs. It not only explores unique aspects of Hokkaido’s cuisine and culture, but also touches on life in Japan during the post-quake recovery.

I think Bourdain sums up the unique Hokkaido experience perfectly:

“It’s cold here. It snows a lot. It looks different from the Japan you think you know. Settled around the same time as the US wild west, a similar kind of frontier mentality developed here. There is a certain freedom to mix influences; to depart from tradition… Hokkaido was Japan’s last frontier. It’s been called the ‘least Japanese’ of all the main islands, and in a way that’s true, especially when it comes to food.”

Note – the TV program contains some strong and/or objectionable language.

Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations Hokkaido

His encounter with Sapporo ramen reminds me of my first experiences with Hokkaido’s unique cuisine and freshest ingredients.

“You think you know ramen. I know I did.

I didn’t. I didn’t know Hokkaido ramen… Miso ramen is a Sapporo thing, invented in the ’30s. Freaky. They use butter, and corn? That’s not Japanese. Freakier still, it’s awesome!”

I know you are going to ask me which Niseko izakaya Bourdain says is better than Tokyo – that’s got to be Torimatsu, a little yakitori shop tucked away just behind Kutchan’s nightlife district. (It is not actually in Niseko-cho, but the neighboring Kutchan-cho.)

You think you know chicken skins?

Bourdain comments on the chicken skins (tori-kawa) — I agree you have got to try them if you go. Tori-kawa normally consists of skin folded onto the skewer – a tasty, if greasy way to use up excess skin. At Torimatsu, he selects the best parts of the skin and cuts a small amount of meat along with it – keeping the crispy decadence of roast chicken skin layered with the juiciness of the meat. It is truly a next-level yakitori maneuver.

The visit also covers Annupuri, Shiraoi, and Noboribetsu.

Hello readers,

This summer, Furano will host the 43rd Annual Belly Button Festival (Hokkai Heso Matsuri) on Tuesday 28th July and Wenesday 29th July. It is a common misconception that the festival is held on  weekends, so if you plan to participate or observe this unforgettable festival, please be sure to double check the dates to avoid disappointment!

Witness the humorous and charming dance or even join the parade yourself.

The official Heso Matsuri Website: http://www.furano.ne.jp/hesomatsuri/

Hello readers! Now that the season is winding down we have received a review from “Ned”.

We arrived in Niseko, six adults and three kids, to enjoy a week of fun in the snow.  After a long day of traveling we took the kids to the sushi train restaurant in Kutchan for dinner.  They loved it, watching the food move past and eating the best sushi they have probably ever tasted!  The next morning we took the kids up to NISS to start their first ski school lesson.  They were ticked off the list, dressed in a bright yellow vest and taken out to the magic carpet to begin.  A few hours later we checked up and saw two of them practicing their big pizza’s and little pizza’s and the other younger one making snowballs for her “snow egg shop” to sell to other unsuspecting students.

Geared Up and Good to Go

After three days of lessons, the kids could all ski down the hill (mostly straight down without turning) very competently.  The adults were thrilled over the course of the week with fresh powder dumps overnight followed by blue sky days to enjoy the slopes.  The days of endless continuous skiing are obviously over for us, with many hot chocolate breaks and long lunches breaking up our days in the many mountain top restaurants.

Making it Look Easy

Our pregnant traveler Pip had a great time in the quiet warmth of our apartment during the days, or out meandering through the quaint gift stores in the main street.  We used the services of a local babysitter a couple of evenings to mind the kids while the adults went out for dinner to enjoy some of the local cuisine.  Rin and Abucha were our favourite restaurants for great local food.  Before we knew it our week was over, with nine exhausted but inspired people ready to go home for a rest but already planning our trip in 2012!

The crew of moms & dads enjoying a well-earned night out

Hello readers! Just wanted to let those of you lucky enough (?) to have small kids about the new website for Kojima Academy Snow Kids, Furano’s first dedicated on-resort child care facility. Located at the Gondola Terminal just across the street from Fresh Powder, it is ideally located as a daycare option. Best of all the adjacent lot has been transformed into a snow slide park, allowing the kids to burn off any extra energy outdoors. Full details about the facilities and programs through the jump.

http://furanosnowsportschool.com/aboutus/index.html

Japan Times (Japan’s largest English-language newspaper) has published a review of the Furano and Central Hokkaido snow experience. For anyone thinking about viisting Furano or looking for some ideas of activities that can be easily accessed from this area, it’s worth a read.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20110213a1.html

A little powder at Furano, Feb 2011

CNN’s travel edition (CNN Go) has published a review of skiing in Furano as well as some news about the trends in the resort’s winter market. One visitor put it quite simply – “The powder is amazing here, and it’s much cheaper than skiing back home.” Jump to Why Skiers are Flocking to Furano on CNNGo.

After a particularly cold morning with the snowline moving down to about 300 meters overnight, we are definitely thinking about the upcoming ski season. It’s hard to believe there are only 9 days until the scheduled opening here at Furano. I happened to glance up from my desk at the right moment and noticed that the Kitanomine Gondolas are on the move. Perhaps they are moving equipment to the top station or doing maintenance (or maybe they’re just enjoying the first snowball fight of the season.) We may  never know… unless someone from the Furano Prince Resort might happen to be reading.

First snowfall at Furano Ski Resort, 2010-11 season.

The view of Furano’s first snow fall of 2010 on the Kitanomine zone after yesterday’s storm. Light flakes continued to fall all day long.

Good news for anyone looking to come early this year. Furano Ski Resort has announced their planned opening date of November 20th. The news is on their Japanese website so I thought I would let the rest of the world know

They have scheduled the season until May 5th so there is no rush!

Please bear in mind that like any ski resort, the operation dates are subject to weather conditions.

As you may have experienced if you visited Hokkaido recently, it has been a very late and hot summer. It seems that autumn is finally here in full force with a wicked edge to the evening wind tonight. I thought I could almost feel a little hint of snow in there, and checking the evening edition of Hokkaido Newspaper confirmed my hopes. First snow in our region has been reported in the Taisetsuzan mountain range, at Mt Asahi-dake and Mt Kuro-dake. Glad to see that my snow sense is still calibrated correctly after all that warm weather!

Asahi-dake is about 50 km northeast of Furano and the highest point on the island.  It is possible that the snow formed there is actually frost action. However we do have definite reports of falling snow from the nearby Kuro-dake ropeway, with 1 cm of accumulation reported and the weather station showing temps down to -3 C at 5:30 this morning.

This is good news for those of you about to visit in search of autumn leaves, as the frigid air moving downward should start the big turn for mid-level vegetation.

Update: Video Here. (In Japanese, courtesy NHK News)

Spring is just around the corner but there is still plenty going on in Niseko and the March calendar is filling up.  

Check your diary for these events and happenings.

6 March  SLOPE Style Contest at Hanazono

7 March  Namara Ippatsu Air Competition at Grand Hirafu

Fireworks weekends at Grand Hirafu on 6^th, 13^th, 20^th and 27^th of March

Niseko Annupuri Festival at Annupuri – 13^th, 14^th, 20 – 22^nd March

20 – 22^nd march – The North Face event at Niseko Village

Just wanted to let our loyal readers know about a couple of special dining events coming up over the next few weeks here in Kitanomine, Furano.

First is the Naturwald Restaurant’s all-you-can-eat Steak Lunch Buffet, featuring steaks cooked up teppan-yaki style right before your eyes. The buffet is rounded out with soups, salads, pizza, fresh baked bread, and a selection of desserts. At 1300 yen per person it is hard to beat this value. This restaurant can be found just two doors down from Fresh Powder Furano, and the special lunch will be run on the weekends of 20th & 21st Feb, and 27th & 28th Feb. 11:30 to 14:00.

Also on the upcoming dinner menu is Sri Lanka Curry Night at the Furano Brewery Yama no DOXON on Saturday 27th February. Kicking off at 6:00 pm, the curry will be prepared and served by a visiting exchange chef from Sri Lanka. Live entertainment will include local bands such as Coffee Beans Band and DOXMASU (actually thought to be a stage name for Mr Miyata, the owner of DOXON.) Advance tickets 1500 yen, at the door 1800 yen include all you can eat curries. Yama no Doxon is also home to a variety of microbrews and just 4 blocks from Fresh Powder.

Speaking of which, did you know that the 22nd of each month is “Furano Curry Day”? Special menus and discounts await at the many mouthwatering curry shops throughout town. If you ever needed an excuse to stretch your legs and go exploring, here it is!

Tempura lovers are in for a treat in March. Every weekend and holiday lunch at Naturwald will feature an all-you-can-eat Tempura Buffet, with each piece cooked right before your eyes and served sizzling hot. You can have yours with a little green tea powder and salt, as “ten-don” on a rice bowl with sweet sauce, or alongside a bowl of udon noodles. Also 1300 yen for all you can eat, what a way to take a lunch break from the slopes! 11:30 to 14:00.

Happy skiing, boarding, and dining! – Blog Boy

22nd KUTCHAN YUKITOPIA FESTIVAL
20 – 21 FEBRUARY 2010

The annual Yukitopia Festival is held at the Kutchan Chuo Park (just behind the Kutchan Public Hall).
Various events include the wedding at the snow chapel, Nabe cooking contest, treasure hunt in the snow, snowball fighting, flea market, food stand and best of all the snow slide with lots of fun and laughter for all ages. Here is the event schedule for Yukitopia 2010.

２月２０日（土） Saturday 20th Feb 2010
10:00 to 18:00　巨大雪ダルマ・子ども滑り台・小雪像 — Giant Snow Man / Kids Slide / Miniature Snow Sculptures
10:20 to 10:30　羊蹄太鼓演奏 — Yohtei Taiko Drumming Performance
10:30 to 11:00　開祭式、もちまき — Opening Ceremony, Rice Cake Giveaway
10:30 to 17:30　屋台村 — Festival Food and Game Stalls
10:30 to 17:00　フリーマーケット（文化福祉センター内） — Flea Market (At Kutchan Culture and Welfare Center)
11:30 onwards　鍋大賞コンクール — Nabe Hot Pot Competition – Lunch Event
11:00 to 11:15　ダンスパフォーマンス — Dance Performance
12:00 to 13:30　雪合戦（高校生以上） — Snowball Fighting Competition (High School and Adults)
13:00 to 14:00　雪中ボブスレーゲーム — Bobsleigh Games
13:00 to 17:00　雪中キャンプデモンストレーション — Snow Camping Demonstration
13:00 to 15:00　芸能鑑賞と文化の体験（文化福祉センター内） — Live Performance Cultural Experience (At Kutchan Culture and Welfare Center)
14:00 to 15:30　雪合戦（小・中学生） — Snowball Fighting Competition (Elementary and Junior High)
15:30 to 16:30　ストラックアウトin雪トピア — Struck Out in Yukitopia
16:00 onwards　鍋大賞コンクール — Nabe Hot Pot Competition – Dinner Event
16:30 to 18:00　シーニックナイトライブ＆キャンドル点灯 — Scenic Night Live & Candle Lights
16:30 to （予定） 雪上ウェディングin Yukitopia♪　 — Snow Wedding in Yukitopia

２月２１日（日） Sunday 21st Feb 2010
10:00 to 16:00　巨大雪ダルマ・子ども滑り台・小雪像 — Giant Snow Man / Kids Slide / Miniature Snow Sculptures
10:00 to 15:30　屋台村、フリーマーケット — Festival Stalls
10:00 to 11:30　どこまでとばせるでShow — Gumboot Kick Competition
10:00 to 14:00　ペイントボール大会 — Paintball Tournament
11:30 to 12:00　ウルトラマンゼロ　ショー　 — Ultraman Zero Stage Show
12:30 to 13:15　雪中宝さがし — Snow Treasure Hunt
13:15 to 14:30　激走！水面滑走トライアル — “Ski Across Water” Trials
14:30 to 15:00　ウルトラマンゼロ　ショー — Ultraman Zero Stage Show
15:15 to 16:00　抽選会 — Lucky Dip

It is official, the Flake Film Fest will be back in Niseko for its ninth year. Exact screening dates are still up in the air but look for these unique grassroots films to hit town in the first week of March. Like culture but have no attention span? No problem, these short films of all genres weigh in at under 8 minutes a piece.

http://snowymountains.org.au/flakefilmfestival.html

Visitors to Furano in Jan and Feb will be glad to hear that the Saturday Night Live Cultural Performances are back! Here is the schedule:

23rd Jan: Poetry & Calligraphy, Hyottoko Dance, Japanese Folk Tales

6th Feb: Shakuhachi (Flute) and Guitar, Shishimai (Lion Dance), Traditional Dance

13 Feb: Traditional Dance, Koto (Japanese Harp), Heso Odori (Belly Button Dance)

20 Feb: Traditional Dance, Poetry & Calligraphy, Yosakoi Dance

27 Feb: Traditional Music, Traditional Dance, Japanese Folk Tales

This year the cultural performances will be held inside the Kitanomine Gondola terminal, just across the street from Fresh Powder! Hope to see you there…

The next morning: we are reminded of Furano’s characteristic blue sky mornings. Pretty hard to resist hiking up. Kei from Furano Snow School is talking a walk to look at the accumulation by the top of the quad station.

The 10 cm is sticking to the hill, showing that earth temperatures have reached freezing.

This goes under the “only in Japan” department.

The "Segway Ski" enables skiing on flat dry surfaces like concrete.

This fancy set of kicks features auto-balancing technology similar to the Segway. Hopefully they will have it perfected by May in time for the snow melt!

Check out Engaget’s article on the technology at work.