Here we are in Niseko for a few days during my daughters’ Easter vacation!
We hesitated for a long time between Hakuba (nice village located west of Tokyo in Nagano prefecture) and Niseko, on the island of Hokkaido north of Tokyo and a 2-hour drive from Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido.
Niseko is wellknown to have the best snow in the world during the winter so we went!
It was wonderful
The montain has 4 small areas for skiing. We enjoy going down the slopes and discovering all the areas..
A very nice view !
We were facing Mount Yotei, which is a volcano whose summit has a very regular conical shape reminiscent of Mount Fuji.
The snow was fine for the end of the season, especially in height (it is not very high 1000m maximum). But we really enjoyed ourselves because it was not crowed at all and I must say is a luxury!
I also took the opportunity to relax at the end of the day in the hotel’s onsen, and I can assure you that after a day of skiing it is worth it!
The onsen (literally hot spring) is a Japanese thermal bath. These are hot baths, generally common, outdoor or indoor, whose water comes from volcanic sources sometimes known for their therapeutic properties.
the last day
after skiing and before the onsen J we walked around the village of Niseko. We discovered a nice Milk-Kobo dairy there.
Before taking the plane we had time to do some shopphing at  the airport and admire the crafts of the Ainu (inhabitants of Hokkaido).
To my great happiness I found hand-dyed cotton thread and miscellaneous items embroidered with different patterns. Each motif has a precise meaning. I’ll have to go back there to learn more about this symbolism …
Hokkaido is also famous for these great dairy products! so we bought cheese, shortbread cookies and financiers, a treat!
