This summer many local companies and individuals came together to try and make a difference in the lives of people living in the earthquake and tsunami affected regions on the main island of Honshu. Groups were invited to stay in the Niseko Hirafu, property owners and management companies generously donated accommodation, the Japanese government offered subsidized travel assistance, local business donated services and local people volunteered time to help out.

The Niseko Tsunami Relief Program looked after the group and offered a large range of activities for participants from English lessons, games, all kinds to sports including hiking and much more – the weekly BBQ’s were also held drawing large numbers.

It was really good meeting some of participants and I went hiking a few times with different groups.
A lot to the kids from down south haven’t been able to get outdoors as much as usual so they were having lot’s of fun running around which was good to see.

Locals helping out with BBQ duties !

Near the BBQ venue I had never really taken much notice of the mini waterfall and pond in the park just below the J First hotel and it was nice to see the kids catching tadpoles and cooling down there during the hot weather.

Wishing all the participants the best back home.

After a doubtful start to the day with a heavy downpour threatening the festival the sun returned stalls were relocated to drier ground and the festival went on.
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Young and old turned out in large numbers making this years festival a huge success.

One of the activities that really united the festival goers was the Bon Odori Dance – in this Bon Odori Panorama you can see the dancers making their way around the festival tower in unison.

There were a huge number of food stalls providing an amazing array of international foods from traditional Japanese festival BBQ to Indian and french flavors.

One of the more spectacular events of the festival was the Mochi and Candy toss where people scrambled to grab as much as they could.

There was a brief spell of rain which sent everyone in search for cover but this didn’t last long before the fire was raging.

The Yotei Taiko Drumming group fired up the crowd with a typically energetic performance and i did my best to get down the front and stay low to shoot this Yotei Taiko Panorama unfortunately i didn’t have space to move my big head out of the way !!

I put my camera away for the final fireworks display and enjoyed the moment with my wife and friends.
Thanks to everyone who contributed towards producing the event – no doubt a great time had by all.

Last night Sunday Monday Cinema held its opening night party and screening
of 180˚ South a film about adventure and environmentalism.
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Sunday Monday Cinema is held every Sunday and Monday in Kutchan at the summer perennial summer favorite Pelican Burger

The set up in the shop is pretty cool with good image quality and sound so check it out when you get the chance – Kutchan now has a mini cinema YESSSSSS !

Last night Downtown cafe held its opening party for the 2011 summer season.
This year there has been a change in management team and Mexican is now on the menu.
I was lucky enough to get a taste of the the Nachos earlier in the day HOLA’
Sooooo good.

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Anyone who has spent time sitting on the deck at Downtown in summer knows that this is THE spot in Hirafu to sit and watch the world go by. The cafe will be open for lunch and dinner so drop on by and check it out.
Gracias !

Over the last few weeks in Niseko Hirafu the landscape in the upper village has been undergoing a major transformation with the demolition of the Hotel Niseko Scot.

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The Hotel Niseko Scot has looked down over Hirafu village for the last 30 years or so but it is now in the final stages of demolition making way for THE ROCKS niseko resort

Back in 2006 i had the chance to shoot the onsen and dining area for a company i was working for at the time Niseko Ground Service
this one one of my first professional photography jobs in Niseko.

It has been with mixed feelings that i have been watching the building come down – on one hand a bit sad to see the much loved onsen popolo go but on the other hand amazing to see the mountain reclaiming the area and the new views that are appearing.

I have also been in awe of the skill and precision that the demolition crew.
The vast amount of debris that this one hotel has created has also reminded me of the mind boggling scale of the destruction the earthquake and tsunami was inflicted on Japan and the enormity of the rebuilding task at hand.
頑張れ日本　頑張って東北　

One thing is for certain the new development here in Hirafu will change the look of the village and i am really looking forward to seeing results.

Yesterday after a meandering morning cycle i dropped in at Niseko Green Farm to see how Dennis and the guys were doing.
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I am usually completely unaware of what vegetables are in season but found out that here in Hokkaido Asparagus is now in season as Jenn was quietly harvesting in the distance.

Dennis kindly gave me a bag cast offs or a selection of pieces that were slightly marked and no good for sale but 100 % edible. I jumped back on my bike and when i got home fried up my bounty with a few bits and pieces and BAM a delicious hearty breakfast with freshly picked asparagus.
Thanks NGF !! !

Today HAJET Outreach Project in association with Groove Cycles held its third Niseko/Kutchan BBQ Bike Ride Bonanza! The event raised 80,000 yen for the people of Iwate prefecture still living in relief shelters.

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Each participant paid 3,000 yen which included a BBQ after the ride with the remainder of the cash going to the relief fund.

The group of 20 + riders set off from Hirafu just after 10 and cruised up past Hanazono to the Weiss Hotel about 14km’s away.

The support team were EVERYWHERE ! cheers

The return leg of the ride back to Hirafu was a bit easier – mainly downhill.

Alistair really out did himself by garnering the support of some friends to make the event happen, motivating some participants and the end of the day turning on a treat of an event for a great cause …oh’ and the food was delicious.

Way to go !!!

The weather is finally starting to improve here in Hokkaido and with the warmer temperatures early morning road cycling is on.

Went for a ride last Sunday with a cool group – although everyone was in much better condition than me – Bevan, Vanessa and Jess being as fit as serious tri-athletes, and Scott and Paul both experienced road cyclists.
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The ride was basically a 45 km “cruise” to Toyako south from Hirafu.

Bevan and Vanessa then locked up there bikes changed cloths and joined in the marathon fun…no big deal.

Lots of runners…..little did we know.

Unfortunately the marathon was shut down because there was landslide across the course and the runners were shipped back to the start in a fleet of buses.

Jess Scott and I followed the race on our bikes more that halfway around the lake from where we started and then had to turn around and ride back around the lake again to get home. Not sure how Bevan and Vanessa took the news – probably ran back and rode home.

If you take a look at this pano you can get a good idea of how far we rode. You can see Mt Annupuri in the distance.

All in all a great day, but long – 145km, 7 hours on the bike – glad the crew took it easy on me.

I’d forgotten how much fun Cricket can be. After a few weeks away it was cool to catch up with some friends jump in the car and take a road trip up to Jozankei just out side of Sapporo.
Great weather welcomed us and 2 teams ready to do battle – it was basically India and Pakistan v’s the World, the World being a rag tag collection of expats from all over and 1 Japanese guy.
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Being Australian and bought up on cricket i was keen but i hadn’t actually played cricket for about 25 years but before i knew it found myself steaming in to the crease fancying myself as a pace man. It didn’t quite work out as a was hoping no glory and lots of wides.
The rules have changed since i last played with the advent of Twenty20 apparently and anything bowled down the leg side is a wide…anyway it was all good although we got smashed.

The world went in to bat and I thought we were doing pretty well when all of a sudden we were rocked by a stunning HAT TRICK.

Brendon Simon and Sam all gone in 3 Balls – ouch.

Kiwi Brendon restored some pride for the World but it wasn’t quite enough and we were down going into the lunch break but not out of the game. Check out the serious lunch BBQ.

At the end of the day India Pakistan were too good for the World ( no one was blaming the full stomachs or copious amount of beer consumed ) will be interesting to see how the World recovers before next match.
If you would like to see more pics from the day there is a larger collection of shots here .

Over the last few years i have have been lucky enough to shoot some beautiful houses in the Niseko Hirafu area made by HOP and project managed by Taiga Seshu is the most recent project to be completed and is located in Hirafu’s middle village. Completed in Dec 2010 this custom built house was commissioned by a private owner and is a one of a kind.
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平成２１年から私はとても幸運なことに、ニセコヒラフエリアにて、高級というだけでなく上質な家造りを行う「HOP」(Housing Operation Architects) と 家造りのプロジェクトマネジメントを行う「TAIGA」が送り出す、素晴しい住宅の数々を撮影させていただいております。ヒラフペンション街の中腹に位置する「雪舟 Sesshu」 は直近のプロジェクトです。昨年１２月に完成したこちらの家は、快適空間を約束する世界に一つだけの家となっています。
（写真をクリックするとフルサイズでご覧になれます）

As a working combination Hop and Taiga were able to synthesize the owners request with stunning results. The first panorama here was taken during construction on the 12th of June 2010 and the second panorama was taken late March 2011 from almost the same position.
HOP と TAIGAによるタッグは、オーナーの想いやライフスタイルをしっかり捉え、満足いただけるものを提供していきます。最初のパノラマは建築中の昨年６月１２日、二つ目は今年３月末にほとんど同じ場所から撮影されたものです。

Interesting to see the transformation – take a good look at the ceiling.
I loved the wooden structure inside and out and the carpentry is spellbinding.
だんだんと形作られていくのを目にするのは興味深いものですー天井にご注目ください。内と外に張り巡らされた木目、ハイレベルの建築術に息をのみます。

Seshu is available for private rental and is managed by Holiday Niseko so please contact them if you are interested in renting Seshu next season.
雪舟 Sesshu は宿泊も可能です。興味のある方は、Holiday Niseko までご連絡ください。

HOP just produced their latest advertising magazine SEIZAN RYUGI which details several recent projects from around Japan including Seshu – nice to see the final product in print.
「青山流儀」と題されたHOP通信では、HOPが手がけた雪舟を含む全国の最新プロジェクトの詳細が掲載されています。手に取れる印刷物に載る完成品を目にできるのは 嬉しいことです。