Niseko Ski Village

With having a rental car, comes freedom! We both love getting in the car and exploring unfamiliar roads and the countryside - and that is what we've done for the past two days.
Two days ago, we found our way to the Otura Canal. Otura is a small port town that converted the old warehouses that lined the canal into restaurants and shops. This is where we found the Otura Brewery (founded by a German in 1995) and our first robot waiter. I love it! So efficient, clean, polite and best of all, doesn't require a shift drink...ha! And the dunkel craft brew was delicious.
Yesterday, we drove Route 229 along the western Oshima Peninsula. This route runs along the coast and is known for its high concentration of tunnels - almost 27 miles of tunnels. And what's a road trip without wondering if you should have taken that last left turn? We found ourselves on high mountain snow covered roads (aka the "Quickest Route" on Google Maps). The nice part was that there was NO traffic. For many miles. And that we had 4WD and 1/4 tank of gas. Luckily, the ski mountain came into view so we knew we were close...just taking the back way.
Another wave of winter storms are predicted to drop a few more feet of snow over the next 3 days, so now it's all about skiing the fresh powder and trying out the local hot springs.Read more