THIS fortnight I was a little worried about finding the time to complete my work. Between snowboarding, Japanese lessons, watching rail jams, playing darts in the local competition, celebrating birthdays, Chinese New Year and seeing French band NoJazz, I thought how will the Powderlife team find, write and report back to our readers about what’s been happening in Niseko? To sum it up – a lot has been happening. And there’s more to come for the tail end of this season.
First off the mark, is MTV’s Japan Jam event featuring Australian rock group Art vs. Science and DJ Anna Lunoe from Sydney, which starts tomorrow. The event will be held over four days at the Hilton Niseko Village – see our events page for more details.
Along with MTV, various other media organizations have shined their light on Niseko; from the New York Times to BBC online, Niseko is receiving welcome accolades from the press. No stranger to media is Black Diamond Lodge (BDL) in Higashiyama. Having been featured in a number of snowboard and ski movies BDL, run by Clayton Kernaghan and his dedicated team (interview p. 19), have quietly made the world aware of the beautiful powder snow in Hokkaido by hosting various film crews over the years.
For our travel story, we venture to Japan’s southern islands of Okinawa. Steeped in both Japanese and Chinese history, Okinawa is a beautiful location where many go to swim and dive in the island’s crystal clear, tropical waters.
This is our second last issue for the season – we hope you like it.
Lizzy Hoo, Powderlife, Managing Editor, email [email protected]
Photo by Aaron Jamieson — Niseko Photography