kutchan

Kutchan’s two-day winter festival Yukitopia kicks off in Kutchan Central Park on Saturday, February 18. We’ve listed the main events and bus times for you, but if you have more questions please contact Mayumi Kinoshita at the Tourism section of Kutchan town hall. Tel: 0136 56 8009.

Saturday, February 18:

10:20   Opening

YOSHITAKA and Yukiko Toge left Chiba nine years ago to move to the Niseko area.

“SUMO wrestlers don’t eat until noon,” Satoshi Okawa says. “They practice early in the morning until they have worked up an appetite and then eat lunch until their stomachs cannot take anymore.”

The Kutchan locals want to keep “Usagiya” a secret to prevent overcrowding, says owner Mie Uemura, but visitors from as far as Sapporo have discovered this authentic Soba restaurant and the word has spread.
 

Globe trotting TV chef Anthony Bourdain recently visited Niseko to sample the local delights. His show, which airs in some 80 countries world wide featured two iconic local restaurants, Kutchan's "Torimatsu" and Niseko's "Rakuichi". Anthony went away very impressed with the food in Hokkaido, saying that both the quality of the ingredients and also

BORN and raised in Kutchan, Katsumi Sasaki started his own salon above his parents hairdressing business 18 years ago, after living and training in Sapporo for 10 years.

KUTCHAN’S Yukitopia (yuki is Japanese for snow) is a community-orientated festival with great events.

THE Potato Festival is Kutchan’s biggest summer festival and a huge taste of Japanese culture.

ON Eki-mae-dori in Kutchan, this restaurant serves up authentic Osaka-style okonomiyaki that is both cheap and delicious.

MANY people are attracted to Niseko because of its year-round activities.Takeshi Yamamoto, owner of Charcoal Yakitori Dining Enya in Kutchan, is no different.