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The 5 best souvenirs to bring home from Niseko

By 16th February 2014March 22nd, 2021

At some point during your Niseko visit, perhaps in those moments of respite on the gondola, or maybe while you’re soaking in a blissful onsen, your mind may turn to gifts for the loved ones you’ve left at home.

So that you can concentrate on more important things like skiing – or maybe switching from skiing to snowboarding haha – I have compiled a list of my five favourite Niseko souvenirs. Remember, if all else fails just load up on weird Japanese lollies, but in the meantime; happy shopping!

1. Potatoes
Yep, that’s right, good old spuds. Hokkaido is famous for its taters, and once you’ve tasted them it is easier to understand why. Whether they’re boiled in soup curry, roasted as wedges to accompany a giant burger, or pureed to make a creamy potato soup, Niseko’s locally grown potatoes are delicious and very satisfying after a day on the slopes. Kutchan’s mascots are actually two skiing potatoes… enough said.

While customs might not be wild about you bringing home a box of potatoes, there are a wide variety of packaged kinds, as well as all kinds of soups and snacks that are more suitcase friendly.

Souvenirs Niseko

The humble potato, a speciality of Hokkaido

2. Marimokkori
This little green man mystified me for months. When I finally asked one of my Japanese friends what on earth he was meant to be, she laughed and told me that he symbolized marimo, the rare green algae balls that grow in Hokkaido. They also sell these actual algae balls in little jars of water, but again, customs might make this difficult for you.

The word marimokkori is a combination of the word marimo and mokkori, which means, well… bulge. This is why you will notice each and every Marimokkori sports a rather astonishing mound in his pants. Only in Japan, eh?

Niseko souvenirs

Here’s the little guy in person! Note the bulge…

3. Animal hat
This may seem more of a Japan-wide souvenir suggestion, but Niseko especially abounds in cute animal beanies, helmet-covers, and caps. Young kids and women of all ages can’t help but squeal with delight at the sight of these fluffy head coverings, and that’s a free tip.

The animal onesies available in Kutchan supermarket Co-op are also a big hit, but in the interests of packing space it’s probably safest to stick with a hat.

bearhat

4. Shiroi Koibito cookie
These delicious cookies are actually a sandwich of two wafer-thin butter cookies enclosing a layer of white chocolate. I am not a big white chocolate fan, but I gobbled down four of these bad boys in quick succession just the other night. They melt in your mouth, and go fabulously with a cup of tea. There is actually a Shiroi Koibito Park in Sapporo, where you can see the chocolate being made and participate in cookie-making workshops.

Niseko Souvenirs

Yum… delicious wafer thin cookies which hug a layer or melt-in-your-mouth white chocolate

5. A kuma shirt
I brought my teenage brother one of these last year and it was a huge hit. The Ezo brown bear that roams around Hokkaido is thought to be the ancestor of the commonly known grizzly, and this profile fits in well with the wild and adventurous spirit that Hokkaido likes to exude. Kuma simply means bear, but whack it in the same format as the Puma logo, and it becomes a groovy souvenir. If you’ve got a male relative and your’re stuck for ideas, this is the gift for you!

Souvenirs Niseko

Like a boss? Please. Like a bear!

So there’s my top five, although I had to stop myself from including personal Japanese favourites like chocolate filled marshmallows, toilet seat covers (the kind you sit on while you’re doing your business) and erasers in the shape of ice creams.

My favourite souvenir shop in Hirafu is the one above ramen restaurant Tozanken on Hirafu’s main drag, where I do all my shopping – it’s worth a visit, even if you just buy one of the A4 sized pieces of gum.

I hope the folks at home will appreciate this one too!

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