Jetstar Asia: Skiing Niseko vs Nozawa

As you’ve probably guessed I love skiing, and I’ve had a great time skiing in Japan over the years. This piece, for Jetstar Asia is comparing the big boy of Niseko with the traditional little resort of Nozawa Onsen. Both are great, but for very different reasons. Check out my story Two Sides, Two Rides to find out why.

Japanese Cross Country Ski Lesson with Saori

Have you ever tried cross country skiing? While in Niseko, Japan recently, I decided it was time to try. With so many great days skiing in Japan under our belt, it was easy to take one day out to try something new. As we drove up to the cross country course near the town of Kutchan, our guide Tadashi mentions that Saori, our instructor was once a national champion cross country skiier. Wow, no pressure to perform at all! I’m not an advanced downhill skier so it was going to be interesting.

We laced up our little booties and connected into our thin, thin skis, were given some pointers and away we went. There are two types of cross country skiing – classic, where the skis sit in grooves in the snow and you propel yourself along the track, or skating which is a bit more freestyle and you propel yourself from side to side. For the record, harder than it looks (and it looks funny!).

The track is about 10km long which took us about 45 mins to complete with photo stops and technique lessons. It was so relaxing, yet hard at the same time and I can see why cross country skiers are so fit. Saori mentioned casually that she used to run 60km some days in the off season to stay fit. Ah ha.

Hills were quite exhilarating – technique is to hop in the tracks, crouch as low as possible and push off and hold your nerve. I lost my nerve on one corner but to my delight so did Tadashi, so I didn’t feel so uncoordinated. I also totally messed up the track so it was no wonder he fell over after me!

After our lesson, we all went to lunch together, in the shadow of the mighty Mt Yotei. Some people visit Niseko for a couple of weeks and never see Mt Yotei, which is very close, due to it dumping snow all the time. On this day we were lucky enough to not only see it, but have lunch in the foothills of it at a place called Houzuki, an udon cafe run by Ito Katsuya, originally from Tokyo. At lunch I learn Saori is quite the go getter. She runs a business, N-Souls providing private childcare, maid and cooking services to guests in Niseko lodges, runs the cross country ski school and coaches a team from Tokyo University, has her own cross country ski magazine and is a Mum to the gorgeous little Clare.

I order the same dish as Saori and Tadashi, the cold vegetable udon noodles that are topped with tempura. It was divine. The cold udon noodles were rubbery (in this case that’s a good thing!) and had a dressing of soy, ginger, radish, lemon and spring onion. The tempura of sweet potato, capsicum, potato and zucchini is light and crunchy and divine when dipped in the dressing…aaah I’m craving this now!

Thanks to Tadashi Takehara for the photos, and SkiJapan.com for organising the cross country ski tour.

Japanese at Ocean Room, Circular Quay

I love Japanese food. More specifically, I love sashimi. It’s so textural and I enjoy comparing the delicate flavours of different fish species. I had heard good things about chef Raita Noda’s Ocean Room at Circular Quay and his dedication to sustainable sourcing (which floats my fishing boat), so gave it a go.

Japanese food is art on a plate and Raita’s twelve course tasting menu ($120, $95 for eight courses) was exactly that – each dish was so beautifully presented it felt almost sacrilegious to mess it up. Here are a few of my favourites…

The Edo-Mae Nigiri Sushi selection changes daily depending on what is fresh. How amazing does that tuna look?

Agedashi tofu is one of my favourite Japanese dishes and Raita’s was silky smooth. He works with a tofu producer in Brisbane to make his tofu to his specifications. The resulting tofu is mild and sweet, presented on a slosh of garlic, chilli and wagyu broth. I loved the little chilli strands that packed a great amount of punch.

This dish was really cool. When I first saw the teapot I had no idea of the goodies that were inside. After a quick lesson from the waiter about Raita’s take on a Japanese hot pot, I discovered the incredible Tarabi King Crab claws, arrowroot noodle and chargrilled shimeji mushrooms inside.

I’ve saved the best until last (even though it came half way through the tasting menu!). Raita has an excellent understanding and eye for seafood and it shows in his sashimi selection. I was lucky enough to have a little gem on my plate, a prized piece of tuna taken from what Raita was calling “the catch of the season”. Big call, but it was actually incredible and you could tell the difference between that and a lesser piece of tuna. The white ‘pearls’ on top of the sashimi that look like salmon roe are made from yuzu and tasted like little lime bursts in my mouth. Raita makes them himself….clever!

Ocean Room is located on the Ground Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay West, 02 9252 9585.