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Home » Powderlife Magazine » Issue 13

Powderlife Magazine - Issue 13

Sat, January 24th 2009 - Fri, February 6th 2009

Editor's note

  • Editor's note yotei shot Issue 13
    Editor's Note
    THE Chinese Year of the Ox is about to begin and this month Niseko welcomes thousands of visitors from Hong Kong, and hopefully some from mainland China, as they celebrate the most important holiday o...

Page Seven

  • Niseko snow report satellite weather image
    Niseko's micro-climate a weatherman's nightmare
    NISEKO is a hard place to predict snowfall. We remember well a day in January, 2007 when we woke to a good 40cm overnight and it was still coming down hard. It looked like it was going to be one of th...
  • Niseko Utari Festival
    Niseko Utari music festival is environmentally sound
    THE Niseko Utari Festival - a concert event that combines Japanese music culture and environmental awareness - returns on February 1 for a party that spans between Hirafu and Kutchan over more than 12...
  • Mick Nippard Sekka Dining wine
    Century-old wine top vintage
    SEKKA Dining has something for someone who has everything – an ¥80,000 half-bottle of 1898 Puig Parahy. Manager Mick Nippard says that for those who can afford it, it’s an experience n...
  • Marimokkori souvenir of rare algae balls
    Hokkaido's most popular souvenir
    IF you’ve been into a souvenir shop in Hokkaido you will no doubt have come across a wall full of Marimokkori souvenirs. Marimo are rare algae balls found in only several lakes in the world, one...
  • Car Danchi DVD giveaway winner
    Car Danchi DVD comp winners
    THE Powderlife office has been driven into a frenzy over the past few weeks after receiving great readers’ pics of cars coated in snow for our Car Danchi competition. We put up for grabs a compl...

Niseko News

  • Niseko Hirafu Welcome Centre bus arrival point
    Niseko welcomes the world
    WHILE there has been a noticeable drop-off in Australian visitors this year – caused by a strong yen and weak Aussie dollar – a more diverse array of international holidaymakers are findin...

Features

  • Niseko night skiing Annupuri Niseko Village Hirafu
    Night Riders: Niseko after dark
    NOCTURNAL skiers and snowboarders are arguably treated to some of the best flood-lit night terrain in the world in Niseko. After dark, three-of-four Niseko United resorts are still open for business...
  • Niseko town main street
    Introducing Niseko Town
    NISEKO Town itself is a village of about 5000 people about a 10-minute drive from the ski resorts. It has very little to do with the ski resorts yet attracts an estimated 1.5 million tourists througho...

Irasshaimase

  • Powder Company Tomoki Takaku
    Powder Company
    LEGENDARY local pro snowboarder Tomoki Takaku moved to Niseko from Tokyo 12 years ago after hearing word of the amazing powder snow. He started a mountain-guiding business 10 years ago, and three year...
  • manana cafe and bar kutchan
    Mañana Café and Bar
    KUTCHAN'S thriving dining and entertainment scene has a new addition in cool new Mexican-influenced café and bar, Mañana, run by local snowboarding hero Hiromasa Ihara. Hiromasa-san has...
  • Half Note Jazz Bar Hirafu
    Half Note Jazz Bar Hirafu
    HALF Note is one of Hirafu’s great local bars. It was created by jazz fan and amateur player Shouichi Shimatani in 1982 as an addition to his pension, Full Note. These days it’s great for...

Japanese Recipes

  • Teriyaki Chicken recipe
    Teriyaki Chicken recipe
    Tess Stomski and Sachiko Kageyama from Niseko Gourmet share their teriyaki chicken recipe YAKI, griddling or pan frying, is a technique of cooking used widely in Japanese cuisine. Teriyaki, sukiyaki a...

Restaurant Review

  • Bistro Le Cochon Restaurant Kutchan
    Le Cochon: pigging out on fine French cuisine
    By Katherine Bont and Kim Wejendorp, Sekka Dining chefs ROUGHLY 9325 kilometres. That’s the distance between Kutchan and Nice, France, but step out of the snow and into cute little 12-seat bistr...

Powder Tools

  • Gentemstick Speedmaster
    Gentemstick Speedmaster Ultimate Powder Board
    THE Speedmaster is the best snowboard in the world. All right, all right, if you weigh over 80kg, live for riding powder through trees, and are not into riding switch, it’s the best board in the...
  • Black Diamond Ascension Skins
    Black Diamond Ascension Skins
    THE Ascension skins have long been the gold standard in climbing skins. The new orange model (updated from the previous purple) now has a reversible tip-loop system, so they will fit on an even wider...
  • Vector Glide Mastiff powder skis
    Vector Glide Mastiff powder skis
    UNKNOWN to all except those that are really clued-up, Vector Glide is boutique Japanese ski and snowboard manufacturer that only makes restricted numbers of outstanding gear. The Mastiff is their fatt...
  • black diamond bandit avalung backpack
    Black Diamond Bandit Avalung Backpack
    FANCY hiking the peak, dropping Osawa (the back bowl) then hiking back up, dropping down to Goshiki and hiking Iwanopuri? If that sounds like a good day’s riding to you, you’ll want to be...

Niseko Survival Guide

  • Niseko driving upside down car crash
    On thin ice: a Niseko driver survivor
    DRIVING in Niseko’s snowy, icy, white-out conditions can be for many tourists like learning to drive again. When getting behind the wheel here, no matter your experience, it can feel a lot like...

Kutchan

Japanese for Powder People

  • Learning Japanese Fukuro ii desu
    Lesson 4: Shopping
    SOME mornings you jump out of bed, get fully dressed, stretched and waxed – only to find the gondola isn’t moving and most of the lifts are closed. It’s way too early for pre-dinner...

Real Estate Articles

  • A Project Odin development
    Hong Kong developers come for powder, stay to build
    IN literal terms, Niseko’s developments may be built on concrete slabs. But metaphorically speaking, they’re sitting atop powder, passion and a unique ski lifestyle enjoyed by Hong Kong en...
  • Nicolas Gontard and Bjorn Fjeddahl Odin Project
    Interview with Odin Project director Nicolas Gontard
    Powderlife had a chat with Odin Project director Nicolas Gontard What was your focus before Niseko? I started a telecommunication products company, where I designed and manufactured bluetooth headsets...
  • Building in Niseko
    By Michael Davenport Director of Niseko Consulting WITH many of the real estate purchases in Niseko being land, there are lots of investors holding plots perfectly suited for new construction. However...

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