Hokkaido's internationally renowned ski resort of Niseko is booming, with slopes, shops and streets crowded as tourists, especially from abroad, arrive for the ski season. The problems many businesses experienced last year, including finding sufficient staff, appear to not be as severe this year.
The return of so many people, however, is putting a strain on the local transportation infrastructure. Meanwhile, a shortage of readily available restaurants means a proliferation of food trucks that are drawing positive comments from hungry skiers and snowboarders. They are also creating local concerns about what they mean for Niseko’s future as a high-end destination.
In late 2022, not long after Japan relaxed restrictions on foreign tourists that had been put into place due to COVID-19, many Niseko resorts and businesses were happy that business was returning to normal, although they were disappointed that the Japanese government had waited until October 2022 to allow visa-free tourism and abolish a daily cap on the number of foreign tourists.
The concern was that the opening had come too late for a full recovery during the 2022-23 ski season, but there was also optimism that the 2023-24 season would be excellent. In the 2022 fiscal year, which ended in March 2023, Niseko saw a cumulative total of more than 1.4 million visitors, including day-trippers and those who spent at least one night — a 41% increase on the roughly 1 million total visitors who visited during the previous fiscal year.
Of these, 107,447 were from abroad. A vast increase on the mere 77 who headed to Niseko the previous fiscal year, but a long way from the peak of over 218,000 foreign visitors in 2017.
The government's decision to completely end border restrictions came in May 2023. This gave everyone in Niseko more time to prepare for greater numbers of visitors, and to secure sufficient staff. This year, resort owners say, things are going well, at least for now.
“Things have definitely improved, and we have managed to overcome a lot of the issues that we previously experienced, but more work needs to be done to ensure this is the case longer term,” says Scott Mountford, senior sales and marketing manager at the Setsu Niseko Resort.
“We’re seeing much stronger bookings and occupancies through January and February, which, in part, is driven by the Chinese New Year falling in mid-February. This creates another peak holiday period within Asia, making February much stronger compared to when it falls in January, like it did in 2022,” says Paul Wright, general manager of the Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono.
When the ski season opened in December, there was initial concern among some resorts due to the warm weather.
“During the first half of December, there was no snow and few customers. But we saw more guests in the second half of the month than in the same period prior to the pandemic. I think that we’ll continue to see more visitors this year,” says Isao Kurita, of the Niseko Tokyu Resort.
Wright and Kurita say staff shortages are not as severe as they were last year, and that salaries and hourly wages have been raised. Despite the unfavorable exchange rate for foreign workers' wages, however, Ioanna Morelli, CEO of Little Door, which runs Bar Gyu, a bar that caters to foreign visitors, says finding overseas staff is less of an issue due to climate change and its impact on workers in the ski industry elsewhere.
“Global warming has meant it's easier to get overseas applicants because of the bad ski season, especially in Europe. With Japan’s working holiday program, we’ve gotten inquiries from people, especially in the United Kingdom, who want to work in Niseko, even though the exchange rate isn’t that great,” she says.
Some problems predating the pandemic era, however, still remain, and if the numbers of Niseko area visitors increase, these could worsen. They include public transportation in and around Niseko, as well as to and from major cities like Otaru and Sapporo.
The express trains from Sapporo to Kutchan, the closest station to the Niseko area, take about two and a half hours with a connection in Otaru. But there are few express trains, especially in the evening. Bad weather can mean unexpected stops or slowdowns along the route, creating delays in scheduled departures or arrivals. By bus, the Sapporo to Niseko route takes over three hours.
Within Niseko, there are some free shuttle buses, but still few taxis. In December, in an effort to deal with this issue, especially at ski resorts, Niseko and neighboring Kutchan signed a deal with taxi companies based in Sapporo and Tokyo.
Twenty-five drivers and 11 taxis from eight firms were dispatched to Kutchan and Niseko in December and will remain there until March 19. Only 13 taxis belonging to the five firms based in the two towns were available before the deal.
But it's the food trucks that point to the reality that there are now lots of customers — and few dining options. On the one hand, the trucks get a thumbs-up from their patrons.
“A really great thing about coming to Niseko is experiencing the food trucks,” says Harry Scriven, an Australian who was visiting the area for the first time.
“I’ve been to Niseko before and enjoy the food trucks, as they’re pretty convenient,” adds Joey Low, a Malaysian tourist.
The food trucks have been especially active in promoting themselves to foreign visitors this year. Last year, it was estimated there were about 20 such trucks, but there are now around 50.
On the other hand, the increase in the number of food trucks has created concerns among resident business owners like Morelli about what they mean for Niseko's attempt to promote itself as a high-end resort.
“The proliferation of food trucks is a kind of Band-Aid solution and not great for Niseko’s image. But I think the balance between food trucks and restaurants is starting to shift, as there are more restaurant options now,” she says.
She adds that, while a lot of Westerners might go to the food trucks, Asian tourists, especially those from China who will come for the Chinese New Year holiday, may be less likely to stop by.
“Westerners often come to Niseko to ski, which is their top priority. Food is a secondary concern. Many Asian tourists are here partly to ski, but also to enjoy other aspects of Hokkaido and may be looking for a more culinary experience,” Morelli says.
Predictions made in late 2022 that the 2023-24 Niseko ski season would see the return of even more skiers, as well as fully staffed resorts and local businesses, now appear to be largely on target, even as questions about insufficient transportation and the need for more restaurants – which were somewhat muted during the COVID-19 years — remain a challenge for Niseko’s present and future growth.
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