Niseko Mountain Range
The IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology meeting in Hokkaido,
Japan (January 2025)
Niseko Mountain Range
- Location of the meeting
The IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology meeting in 2025 will be held
from 21 to 23 January in Niseko, Japan. Niseko is a mountain town
in Hokkaido, the northern most island of Japan. The town is
situated in the southwestern part of the island, 2-3 hours' drive
from Sapporo (the captial of Hokkaido) as well as from the nearest
Chitose Airport. Some international flights are operated to
Sapporo Chitose Airport, but travelers from Europe or America
usually connect their flights at Tokyo, Osaka or Nagoya. It's 1.5
hour flight from Tokyo to Chitose. Niseko is well known for heavy
snow fall. The mean snow depth in February at 1000 m a.s.l. was
3.3 m according to a record from 1996 to 2019.
- Meeting venue and accommodation
The venue of the meeting is Hilton Niseko Village, a hotel at the foot
of Niseko mountain range. Airport limousine bus is operated from
Sapporo Chitose Airport to the hotel (fee required, winter schedule
updated in November). A meeting room for ~50 people is booked and
guestrooms for single, double or three people are available. A special
feature of this venue is its direct access to skiing slopes from a
gondra station situated in the building. Booking your rooms in the
hotel is the most convinient option, although it is possible to find
another nearby accommodation if you prefer.
Hilton Niseko Village offers rooms with reduced rates during the meeting period.
JPY 17,000 for sharing a room with three or four people
JPY 24,200 for sharing a room with two people
JPY 45,650 for single use
(/person /night, including breakfast, excluding dinner)
Two beds are available in the room as default (see photograph
below). One or two smaller beds will be installed depending on the
number of guests. I was told by the hotel that sharing with three
is fine, but four adults in a room is not confortable. Please book
your room through an online booking site below. Booking should be
done by one of the room sharing member. We strongly encourage you
to complete booking before the first booking opportunity is closed
on 30 September. Booking after that may be possbile, but not
guaranteed.
Hilton Niseko Village IASC NAG booking site
For those who want to find a room mate, a google spread sheet is
provided below. You can write your name on the list, so that others
can find your name and contact you to make arrangement. We are not
sure how it works, but let's make it try! In any case, please make
sure that participants are responsible to find room mates and
complete booking. It's not like previous years.
Google spread sheet for room arrangement
On 24 January, a backcoutry snow activity with skis/snowshoes will be
organized with financial support by the Japanese Agency of Tourism
(only a little or no charge for participation). This will be an
opportunity to inspect gliding properties of deep snow in
Niseko. Please consider this event when you plan your stay in
Niseko. The field activity is supported by mountain guides in the
region.
Niseko Mountain Guide Coyote, youtube site
Registration and abstract submission will be in August-October. Please
wait for our annoucement. Here, you can find information of Niseko,
Hilton Niseko Village and the Niseko United ski resort.
Niseko Tourism website
Hilton Niseko Village
Niseko United Ski Resourt website
Slides presented in the IASC NAG meeting in January 2024
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Shin Sugiyiama
Local organizer of the 2025 IASC NAG meeting
Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University
sugishin@lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp