OUR BLOG

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, many of the usual events and festivals have been cancelled in the Niseko area as well as Japan as a whole (including the very famous Sapporo Snow Festival). There are however several Niseko area events which will still be going ahead, albeit perhaps a little differently this year. Here is a list of what will still be going ahead for the month of January 2021:

The annual photography competition will be taking place from the 7th - 10th January 2021. A 2-person team of skier / snowboarder and photographer is to submit one photo for a chance to win one of two cash prizes. No doubt a lot of incredible Niseko powder shots and Niseko ski resort shots will come out of this competition and we are looking forward to seeing them all!  More information is available on the Niseko Tourism Page.

The Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival is held at Lake Shikotsu, a beautiful setting in the Shikotsu-Toya National park, about 90 minutes from Niseko. This unique ice festival showcases statues created by water sprinklers funneling water directly from Lake Shikotsu (noted to be the clearest lake water in Japan). In the evening the statues are lit up, setting a beautiful backdrop to the ice rink and slide which offer some family-friendly non-ski related activities. The festival opens on the 29th of January and runs through to the 23rd of February.

Most of our Niseko guests will need to wait until the 2021/22 ski season to visit such a wonderful Hokkaido winter attraction, but be sure to check back to our Japan Ski Experience blog for updates on when the 2022 festival will take place to incorporate that into your Niseko ski holiday.

For the month of January, Ichiseko Annupuri will house a Kikoz Restaurant pop-up.  Kikoz restaurant serves international-inspired dishes and is quickly becoming one of Niseko's favourite restaurants.  The dates for the Annupuri restaurant pop-up will be the 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 10th, 16th, 23rd & 30th of January 2021.  More information is available on the Ichiseko Cafe Facebook page.