irasshaimase

IT seems like destiny that Guzuguzu Bakery came to be. Owner Satoshi Shimizu is from Yokohama but came to Hokkaido to go to uni.

WHILE most foreigners come to Niseko to ski in winter, many Japanese people come for the green season.

ONLY in the past five or 10 years has Niseko become a crossroads of cultures from around the world.

This section of the magazine is called Irasshaimase because that's the friendly welcome local businesses yell when you enter their shop. At Teuchi Soba Ichimura, if it's your second visit or you're a regular, they'll also say 'okaeri!'

WITH some dishes, it can be the case that less is more. The very same can be understood about Hirafu’s yakitori restaurant and bar, Yosaku. It’s the simplistic nature of the yakitori food style – which is essentially meat and vegetables on a skewer – that charms and delights my senses every time I dine here.

One of the most popular sections of Powderlife this season was ‘Irasshaimase’, the catch cry meaning ‘welcome’ that staff in Japanese businesses greet their customers with. In each issue of Powderlife, Irasshaimase took a look behind the scenes of great little local businesses – the origins of its owners, the motivations

Junko Watanabe is the owner of Graubünden café in Izumikyo 2. She’s had a long association with the area - when she was little her family moved to Niseko because of her dad’s work as an employee of a chair lift building company. She always loved skiing and spent most of her childhood on the mountain. The ski business was

Grove is a quaint little café in Annupuri. Owner Kumi Harima 38, is from Osaka and came here on a skiing holiday several years ago. She didn’t think about moving here until returning to Osaka and felt that on reflection, Niseko was a great place to live. Her husband’s job can be done on computers and they realised they could

Bonbori is a charming little souvenir shop just down the hill from Australia House, opposite the Seciomart. It’s jointly owned by three ladies – Mukai-san, Takahashi-san (pictured) and Nagahama-san who met while working as reflexologists at Makkari Onsen. The inspiration for their shop came from Takahashi-san who had always wanted to

Manager Matsura Shougo (pictured) and owner Outa Mitsuaki are good friends who met in Niseko about 11 years ago. Matsu was born in Tomamu – near the famous ski resort of the same name and moved to Furano when he was 18, before making the move to Niseko. A few years ago they decided to open Mina Mina as a place to hang out and spend time with