Niseko
The tourism promotion body at Niseko, the best known Japanese ski area for most international guests, has published a statement regarding the impact of the earthquake and radiation leak that occurred a month ago.
The resort has attempted to balance sensitivity about the horrific human toll as ca result of the disaster with the need to move forward for the good of the local and greater Japanese economy and thus the immediate survivors of the earthquake and tsunami.
It's an attitude echoed in the UK by tour operators who have said they want to do all they can to help the Japanese economy by continuing to offer ski holidays to anyone wanting to go. Crystal say they have already taken bookings to ski Japan for 2011-12 and Ski Independence are planning to offer trips.
Niseko, which is located 500km north of the epicentre of the earthquake on the separate northern island of Hokkaido suffered little direct physical impact from the quake itself. The resort says it has a separate power supply to the grid affected by the nuclear power plant, that Hokkaido is not included in travel advisories to Japan, and that radiation levels never reached dangerous levels and are now falling.
The resort has however been part of the effort to help the region that has been devastated by the disaster and has raised over two million yen locally to help with the massive effort to combat its ongoing affects.
Those who do travel to Niseko next winter will find several new hotels – work on which is already underway, and an enhanced experience on the mountain as a new high speed gondola with eight passenger cabin will open at Hirafu, cutting journey times to five minutes. Such new lifts have been a rarity in Japan for decades, regardless of the current issues. The resort is also building a new base building with childcare and other state-of-the-art facilities.