Niseko, Hokkaido

At the foot of Niseko Annupuri, the fields run flat and wide before the mountain takes over. Farmers here grow asparagus, corn, pumpkin, and potatoes — the same potatoes that gave the local pension district its tongue-in-cheek name, Potato Republic, where a cluster of guesthouses once declared mock independence in the 1980s. The Shiribeshi River, clear enough to draw national recognition, cuts through this agricultural landscape before the ski trails begin.

Niseko itself operates on two registers simultaneously. In winter, powder snow draws skiers to slopes like Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort, where the snow is dry and deep and the runs stay quiet compared to the larger resorts nearby. After skiing, the town-run bathhouse at Niseko Eki-mae Onsen sits a minute's walk from the station — a plain, functional facility where the day's cold comes off slowly. The Goshiki Onsen higher up offers acidic sulfur water and overnight stays at the old Goshiki Onsen Inn. In warmer months, the Niseko Star Festival and the Niseko Marathon Festival pull a different crowd through the same streets.

The Arishima Memorial Hall, dedicated to the writer Arishima Takeo, has a bookshop café attached — a quiet counterpoint to the resort energy. And the Niseko Distillery now produces gin from local ingredients, adding a craft dimension to what the town grows and makes. Niseko's designation as an environmental model city in 2014 reflects a deliberate effort to hold agriculture and tourism in balance, though the balance is always being renegotiated.