Keen to put this to the test, I venture up the mountains. Large, fluffy snowflakes tumble endlessly from the sky - 9m of snow falls a year, apparently - prompting the local mantra: "It's the best powder in Hokkaido." And the snow simply doesn't stop falling. Twelve state-of-the-art ski lifts span the mountains overlooking Furano, accessing 25km of runs. Looming all around is the Taisetsu mountain range, known as the roof of Hokkaido. Home to around 16 000 people, there are wide streets with wooden houses painted in pastel colours and a string of low-key restaurants as well as the ubiquitous pachinko (a type of pinball machine) parlour, karaoke bar and konbini (convenience) stores. Memorably dubbed Heso no Machi (Belly Button Town) due to its location at the centre of the island, Furano bears all the hallmarks of a northern Japanese conurbation. This, I soon discover, only adds to its charms.
"Everyone always knows when new Westerners arrive in Furano," she adds, ominously. "Apart from the occasional Australian cowboys who come to snowboard, there have been very few Western visitors in the past," says Noriko, the friendly representative from the Furano Tourism Association, as we drive past snow-covered rice fields, mountains dissolving into clouds in the distance. The novelty of being Western in Furano is even more pronounced.
When I clarify that English is fine, they smile in relief before making a bilingual announcement - at which point, I notice that I'm the only non-Japanese passenger and I'm getting my own personal broadcasts. After take-off, my imagination runs riot as a huddle of Japan Airline's hostesses point and stare in my direction for a heart-stopping 10 minutes, before coming over merely to ask which language I speak. It is during the flight from Tokyo to the city of Asahikawa that I realise how unusual it is for Westerners to head to this part of the world. While most tourists head to fully fledged resorts such as Niseko, I was making my way to Furano, a quiet town in the heart of central Hokkaido celebrated for its lavender fields in summer and perfect powder snow in winter - and soon to become acquainted with British tourists for the first time following this season's UK launch of skiing holidays in the region. Blessed with endless cloud-brushing mountains, great snow and economic boom-fuelled state-of-the-art facilities, it is also dotted with more than 125 skiing resorts. But the icing on its snow-flecked cake is its northernmost island Hokkaido. With mountains accounting for 80 percent of its landscape, and having twice hosted the Winter Olympics, Japan has long enjoyed a love affair with skiing.
0 kommentar(er)
