onsen

GOSHIKI Onsen is a fantastic sulphurous onsen with water that changes colour from milky white to deep green.

MANY parts of Japan are considered to be ‘geothermal hotspots’. And one of these hotspots is Niseko.

This snowy little village may be chilly above-ground in winter, but below the earth’s surface it is blessed with shallow, easily harvestable resources. This means sustainable energies systems like geothermal heating

One of Japan’s most spectacularly beautiful and admired landscapes is just an hour’s drive from Niseko on the far side of Mt Yotei. Lake Toya is an almost-circular volcanic caldera lake, 10km across at its widest point. At its centre three densely vegetated lava domes rise from the lake’s transparent waters – from space

Par is a well known Swedish skier and snowboarder who has been riding Mt Annupuri for more than 19 years, but still retains a zest for the sport like it was his first season. His long, blonde dreadlocks streaming out from under his rasta-style helmet are a familiar sight for those who frequent Moiwa, Annupuri and Higashiyama. One of the most highly

Watching the contemplative, human-like faces of snow monkeys soaking in an onsen is an experience unique to the snow-covered mountains of Japan, but most people will tell you that you can’t see them in Hokkaido.

While the snow monkey, or Japanese macaque, is not native to the northern island, a troupe of 70 inhabits an onsen

Fortunately for us here at Niseko Physio, skiing and snowboarding are relatively dangerous activities. Recently, lower leg injuries have been on the rise with increased risk-taking behavior being cited as the major reason. If you are unfortunate enough to sustain an injury on the slopes (or on the street!), remember the RICED and HARM rules for

There are probably lots of very technical ways to measure the maturity of holiday resort areas. But in the case of ski resorts, the simplest - and most accurate - test is to look at how many visitors they attract in the period between winters. Whistler, it is now said, has more visitors in the summer than in the winter.

In Niseko,

This issue we meet the creator of the local course map and the painstakingly created and immensely popular village map, both contained in every issue of Powderlife.  For everyone who has marvelled at the intricate details in the village map, we meet its designer Tatsuo Hayashida. Tatsuo-san also develops the Niseko United course map and we

So highly regarded is Shiretoko as a unique wilderness area that in 2006 it was formally designated a World Heritage site - only the third one in Japan to be so recognised by UNESCO.

Shiretoko in the language of the native Ainu inhabitants of Hokkaido means ‘the end of the earth’. And once experienced, it is easy to imagine