[ TRAVEL ] Hokkaido
turning
japanese
Japan’s northern-most island of Hokkaido
may not be the most obvious overseas
golf destination within easy access of
Australia. But if Peter Murphy – who
put skiing in Japan on the world stage in
the late 1990s – has his way, Australian
golfers will just as readily travel to the
Niseko region of Hokkaido to play golf as
antipodean skiers now make a beeline
there in winter for its light, fluffy and
reliable powder snow.
BY PAUL MYERS.
124
/ january
DECEMber
2012
2011
[ TRAVEL ] Hokkaido
be excited when its cone-shaped peak
appears. Apart from the Remarkables
outside Queenstown in New Zealand, there
may be no better mountain backdrop for
golf on the planet.
John Barton, an affable Englishman,
who speaks fluent Japanese and has lived
in the area for the past decade, is the
perfect Niseko golf guide. Not only does he
know each course backwards, he is also
a PGA-accredited instructor with an easy
laid-back demeanour to match.
Our first outing, at Hanozono, was
played in a drizzling rain with little
visibility. Only when the sun appeared a
17th hole, especially, is a gem. Playing 196m
from a highly elevated back tee to a narrow
green protected by a lake, it epitomises
Niseko golf: scenic, challenging-yet-enjoyable
and truly memorable.
At a little more than 7,000 yards (6400m)
from the championship tees and 6,760
yards (6,181m) from the blacks, Hanozono
resembles courses in parts of North America
for its softness, scenery and feeling of
relative isolation in the woods.
Niseko Village, an Arnold Palmer-designed
layout situated beside a top-notch Hilton
hotel, and also situated at the base of a ski
field, is another standout. Although relatively
few days later did Hanozono’s attributes
become fully apparent: immaculate
grooming, superb beech tree-lined
fairways, wonderful scenery (including
Mt Yotei) and perhaps four of the best par
3s on one course you’ll see anywhere. The
flat, it’s a challenge from the back tees at
6,845 yards (6,259m), especially the 721-yard
(659m) par-6 10th hole, which takes the
average player four decent strikes to reach
the green.
Niseko Village hits the spot for its
Labelling Hokkaido as a world-class golf
destination is a big call.
But so was Peter Murphy’s faith in the
region when, on his first visit to Niseko in
1996, the Sydney-raised surfer and skier
was blown away by the seemingly endless
perfect winter weather patterns that
dump metres of dry snow on and around
magnificent Mt Yotei.
Murphy’s company, Ski Japan, which
takes more than 3,500 Australian skiers to
Niseko each northern winter, plus as many
again from Singapore and Hong Kong, now
has a sibling – Summer Japan – which is
marketing golf packages on some of the
same slopes that witness the whoosh of
skis in winter. In doing so, Murphy believes
Niseko can become Japan’s version of
Whistler in Canada, Vail and Aspen in
America and New Zealand’s famous
Queenstown golf wonderland.
It’s all there: scenery to die for, a
plentiful variety of accommodation, easy
access from Sapporo’s international
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/ january 2012
airport, numerous non-golf activities
including white-water rafting and hiking,
great food, delightful and welcoming locals
who are used to international visitors and
who speak English, traditional Japanese
onsen mineral spring baths… and, yes,
some pretty handy golf.
Indeed, for a region virtually unknown
as a golf destination, there are 170 courses,
or about the same number as Sydney
or Melbourne, on Hokkaido. A dozen
courses are within easy reach of Grand
Hirafu, which serves as accommodation
central for the Niseko area in winter and
summer. Numerous other courses are
scattered across the island, including near
the regional capital of Sapporo – all
at reasonable walk-in prices.
Many of these layouts were developed
during the 1980s Japanese economic and
golf bubble that erupted like a volcano
in the ’90s, turning a bevy of private
clubs into public-access courses and
dramatically lowering prices.
This contemporary reality belies a
common western belief that golf is out of
reach for most Japanese, who supposedly
can only go to a driving range. In fact,
apart from a handful of exclusive private
clubs around Tokyo, Osaka and one or
two other major cities, there are plenty of
opportunities to play golf in a country with
2,500 courses – at least 50 per cent more
than Australia.
Hokkaido, a one-hour flight north from
Tokyo, is a laid-back, friendly, mountainous
and mostly rural island known for its fresh
produce, especially potatoes. With just 5.5
million people, it is the least populated
region of Japan.
Although the golf season is short – from
May to October – playing 36 holes in a
day is feasible in high summer, as visiting
Korean golfers amply demonstrate. But if
you want to sample everything Niseko has
to offer, it’s hard to beat a day comprising
golf in the morning followed by traditional
Japanese lunch, then a relaxing hot onsen
P H O T O G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F N i se k o P hotography . co m
‘Apart from the Remarkables
outside Queenstown, there may
be no better mountain backdrop
for golf on the planet.’
bath and a few beers while taking in the
fresh air and scenery.
It’s a toss up as to which is Niseko’s best
golf course. Three stand out: Hanozono,
owned and operated by a ski company that
also offers a variety of summer activities;
the Arnold Palmer-designed Niseko Village
course with its accompanying centrepiece
Hilton Hotel; and Riverwood, a 36-hole
complex about 45 minutes from Niseko
which, scenically at least, is the most
spectacular of all.
Wherever you play in and around
Niseko, Mt Yotei – an 1,898-metre extinct
volcano – is omnipresent. Such is the
topography of the region that all physical
landmarks surround the mountain that
locals have traditionally called Ezo Fuji
(Hokkaido’s Mt Fuji). With good reason: the
resemblance is remarkable.
Yotei may suddenly appear at any
moment on any golf course, or anywhere
else for that matter. Indeed, such is its
presence – and awe – you can’t help but
[ TRAVEL ] Hokkaido
Niseko facts
Niseko is located on the western side of
Hokkaido, about one hour’s drive from
Sapporo’s Chitose Airport.
There are numerous regular flights
between Tokyo and Sapporo, especially on
Japan Airlines (visit jal.com ).
Cathay Pacific flies four times weekly
direct to Sapporo from Hong Kong (visit
cathaypacific.com).
Ski Japan/Summer Japan has numerous
golf packages, including accommodation and
other activities based on Grand Hirafu where
there are numerous restaurants and other
facilities (visit skijapan.com).
Niseko golf packages
meandering fairways lined with mature
trees that throw up wonderful views of Mt
Yotei. As you would expect from a Palmer
design, there’s risk and reward on many
holes and the grooming is first rate.
What makes this course particularly
appealing is its adjacent facilities: hotel,
spa, onsen, four practice holes on a former
layout and inspiring mountain scenery.
A second Niseko Village course, known
as Fukui, is as dramatic as any in the
region. With sharp elevation changes, deep
rough and out-of-bounds on almost every
hole, it’s wise to play this little beast from
the white tees (6,306 yards or 5,766m),
which are about 400m shorter than the
blacks. It features a quartet of long par 3s,
the shortest being the 189-yard downhill
second hole.
Boasting Japan’s largest ski area,
Rusutsu Resort has a well-established golf
course on a complex comprising a large
hotel and spa, amusement park and other
facilities. Numerous holes, including the
first, play alongside ski lifts. Although not
one of Niseko’s best, Rusutsu (6,747 yards
or 6,169m from the back tees) compares
favourably with most resort courses and
is especially enjoyable if you plan to utilise
the resort’s extensive facilities.
Rusutsu’s second venue, Riverwood,
about 45-minutes’ drive from Grand Hirafu,
is a different kettle of fish altogether and
ranks with Hanozono as Niseko’s best golf
outing. Indeed, with separate Wood and
River courses, it may be the best. The Wood
course, at 6,817 yards (6,233m), is a cracker
with so much superb scenery it presents a
challenge to stay focused on your game.
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/ january 2012
The Japanese-style clubhouse is a
feature in itself and a teppanyaki-style
barbecue on the terrace at the end of the
round is one of the many plusses.
If Hokkaido is any guide, playing golf
in Japan is unlike the rest of Asia. There
are no caddies, while course marshals
hurrying along the field don’t seem to
exist. The caddie system disappeared
when the economic bubble burst, but there
has been an unfortunate consequence:
poor course etiquette and a lack of
consideration for other players. It seems
that many Japanese, who played their
early golf with caddies, as well as Koreans
haven’t yet become used to repairing their
divots, pitch marks or bunker intrusions.
Nonetheless, if this is the only annoyance
of playing golf in Japan, it’s bearable.
Another feature of Japanese golf is
that the club membership model, which
reigned during the 1980s bubble, has all but
disappeared away from the big cities. One
course in Sapporo that charged $200,000
for a membership at its peak, is now
struggling to get $7,000.
Many courses have gone broke and one
major investor – Goldman Sachs – which
bought 44.7 per cent of Accordia Golf, a
company with 135 courses, and floated the
remainder on the stock exchange in 2005,
is selling out. Barton says it adds up to
being a boon for visiting golfers.
“It’s a really pleasant place to play golf,”
Barton says. “There’s easy access to a
whole range of courses, they are never
packed, the climate is mild in summer,
prices are attractive and standards are
very good.”
On offer is a seven-night package that
includes shared accommodation in highquality one or two-bedroom apartments
(Alpenridge), one-way transfer from
Chitose Airport in Sapporo to Niseko
plus meet and greet, seven-day car hire
(pick up in Niseko, return to airport) and
five rounds at a choice of local courses.
The cost is $1,080 per person (quad
share) or $1,515 per person (twin share).
Prices are based on current exchange
rates and are subject to change.
For more information visit yoteigolf.
com or summerjapan.com