Soft Focus – Deep Niseko Powder From The Past Two Winters. Video

October 4th, 2022

Mountainwatch | Video

When Japan announced it was reopening it borders for international visitors with minimal restrictions on October 11th the bookings for this winter went through the roof. It is great news for everyone, not the least, local businesses that have endured a couple of lean winters without tourists.

Many expats who were lucky enough to be in Japan for the past two winters have mixed feelings about the reopening – they know Japan and its ski resorts need international visitors, but will miss the uncrowded slopes and bountiful untracked powder for the past two winters.  It was a once (twice) in a lifetime opportunity that will hopefully never happen again.

 

This film featuring snowboarder Jimi Oertli was shot in Niseko over the past two winters and as he says, “it was an unreal experience to have the mountains to ourselves and allowed us to fully enjoy what the Niseko mountains have to offer on a daily basis. Untracked snow by 2pm and just a constant refill has made those years very special for a lot of people.”