Niseko in Autumn

I had guessed Autumn might not better season to visit to Niseko before I actually went there, but my concerning was wrong! There are some advantages to visit Niseko in autumn against winter even though we cannot enjoy skiing before snow falls.

1. Cheep accommodation fee
Winter is the peak season for most hotels in Niseko, so the accommodation fees are increased accordingly. In other words, you have opportunities to stay luxury hotels with cheaper price as long as avoiding to stay in winter. I actually could make a reservation at a top-end condominium at the price of approximately a fifth of that in winter.

2. Fresh vegetables and seafood
Autumn is the season for harvest. Most Hokkaido local people expect to enjoy fresh seafood such as salmon, Ikura (salmon roes) and pacific saury etc. in this season. At the same time, you can also enjoy fresh vegetables as well as rice in Autumn. Hokkaido is called as “Food kingdom” in Japan and the most food is harvested from August to October. If you stay in Niseko during Autumn, you could eat these fresh food at local restaurants and hotels.

3. Quiet and beautiful scenery
As I mentioned above, the peak season in Niseko is winter, so the number of guest who visited to Niseko in autumn is not so many. Although people who go skiing may totally not interested in Niseko’s autumn, if you like beautiful scenery and would like to be relaxed in small quiet town, autumn would be the best season.

4. Best season for “Onsen”
In my opinion, summer is too hot to enjoy hot spring, and on the other hand, it is too cold to take outside bath in winter. As a result, we could say the season you can feel most comfortable at “Onsen” is Autumn. If there are outside bathes(“Roten Buro in Japanese”) in your hotel, you should definitely enjoy it! Taking a bath outside during looking at autumn leaves is one of the favorite activities for most Japanese.