blog: design, place, people

Explore Niseko and beyond with us. [Photos © Sanctuary Niseko unless stated otherwise]

Niseko Star Fes this Friday & Saturday!

Get a taste of Glamping under the stars while enjoying local craft beer, handmade juices, Galaxy Donuts from Klass Kitchen, pellet fired pizzas atPizza Compare and Suttsu's oyster barbeque from Yoshino's Oyster Shack.

アイゲート イケウチ ニセコ(iGATE IKEUCHI niseko) and Niseko Nature School have also put together a large selection of the latest camping, hiking, trekking goods and have these on sale. They are also operating as part of their new Niseko Nature School (located in Niseko Village), a rental cycle and cycling tour experience zone. Enjoy great food and a wide range of activities from 6.30pm till 9pm whilst experiencing dusk turning to night at beautiful Mt. Annupuri.

Event info: niseko-ta.jp/events/detail.php?id=7255
Complimentary shuttle bus timetable: outdoorinfo2016.com/…/…/8e976e72d0b8ad450b2d2501d63969f0.jpg

Pigs and Papa | Adorable Friendship Between A Farmer And His Pigs

Meet Otchan. He’s a pig farmer who shares a beautiful relationship with his cuddly pink creatures – all 1,200 of them.

Kagawa-based photographer Toshiteru Yamaji spent ten years documenting Otchan’s bond with his animals. The caring and loving farmer serenades his pigs with a guitar, takes them to the beach, cuddles with them, or simply spends time with them.

Although it may sometimes look like it, treating farm animals with respect is not unheard of. It has been shown that playing soothing music to milking cows can prompt them to provide farmers with greater yields.

Yamaji wound up publishing a book called “Pigs And Papa” (available on Amazon) with his photos of Otchan and his pigs, for which he won the 13th Japan Self-Publishing Award.

Source: foiltokyo.com
Pigs And Papa: amazon.com/Toshiteru-Yamaji-Pigs-Japane…/…/ref=as_li_ss_til…

Asahikawa Design Week（旭川デザインウィーク） 2016

This event marks the 62th time that Hokkaido will be hosting the Asahikawa Design Week.

Site tours of furniture-making arteliers, factory tour, exhibitions and installations as well as series of talks by prominent local designers and architects will be held during the 5 day event.

Dates: June 22, 2016 (Wed) to 26 (Sun.)

Venue: Asahikawa Furniture Center (Asahikawa, Hokkaido Nagayama 2 of Article 10-chome, 1-35),

free entrance

Official Web site: www.Asahikawa-kagu.Or.Jp

Organizer: Asahikawa furniture industry cooperative, Asahikawa, Asahikawa Chamber of Commerce and Industry

photos taken from the previous year:
mirudesign.heteml.jp/miru-design-site

A little nest by the lake

Nido House is a simple, functional, creative, sustainably driven space in scenic Helsinki built overlooking a lake in Finland.

Designed and built by Robin Falck, Nido is just 96 square feet, has a 50 square foot loft, and required no permit to build. Loosely translated Nido means Bird’s nest in Italian, which speaks to the feeling created inside by the large facing window open to the lake.

The angle and size of the window gives the interior a lot of natural light, you can even admire the stars during the night. I wanted to welcome in the beautiful surrounding. On the first floor I have a lounge area with a micro-kitchen. The 2nd story loft is for sleeping and storage. All the materials are local or recycled and carried to the spot by hand to keep the nature untouched - Robin Falck

robinfalck.com

A Unique Frame Of Mind

The Rolling Huts; designed by Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig Architects in Seattle, the six huts are grouped as a herd, each with views of the mountains. These “huts” sit lightly on a site located in a flood plain meadow in an alpine valley well known for cross-country skiing and hiking. While remaining low-tech and low-impact in their design, the Rolling Huts get their name from wheels that lift the building above the meadow.

Each hut comes equipped with a small refrigerator, microwave, fireplace and Wi-Fi. There is a sleeping platform perfect for two, and modular furniture in the living area that can be reconfigured to sleep two more. Each hut has an adjacent portable toilet. Full bathrooms and showers are housed in the centrally located barn a short distance away.

olsonkundig.com/projects/rolling-huts/

Summer 2016 | Glamping Comes to Niseko

Glamping is already popular in the West. It’s a glamorous new camping style that amenities and services on par with hotels. You don’t need to prepare the tent or camping gear yourself and you can camp in a well-maintained facility.

This kind of Glamping popular across the world is just now spreading in Japan and opening up in every region across the mainland and most recently in Hokkaido.

glamactivetours.com/index.html
discoverhokkaido.tours/

SHIKI Niseko Serviced Residences; where luxury meets convenience. A unique locale where gourmet shopping, fine-dining and memorable stays meet under one roof.

SHIKI Niseko Serviced Residences; with 68 beautifully crafted 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments incorporating contemporary Japanese aesthetics, premium furnishings and fittings, enhanced with the luxuries of Asian hospitality and framing breathtaking views of Mount Yotei, the Niseko ski area and the surrounding national park. The complete luxury lifestyle accomodation.

Premium F&B Facilities also include IKI Restaurant with a beautiful terrace garden in summer and cosy après-ski area in winter, a Michelin Star Gourmet Diner Restaurant Kamimura as well as access to the freshest international produce at The Niseko Supermarket & Deli.

Connecting with the stars ( 22 & 23 July )

Look up. Most of us go through life looking straight ahead and we've got to look up to see the stars. Stargazing is for everyone. It's for people who like seeing themselves as part of a bigger picture and people with a sense of wonder.

One of the great things about stargazing is that you make a lifelong friend: the sky itself. It’s a friend that lives right next door and hopefully you’ll make a wonderful and ethereal connection.

Case study of 411 of Japan’s most incredible modernist houses

“In a country where architectural design has become a free-for-all, where anything goes, the increasing number of architect designed houses have become synonymous with unconventionality. In Japan, the square footage of your house doesn’t mean anything – it’s all about who built it.” writes Naomi Pollock, author of Jutaku: Japanese Houses – a new case study of 411 of Japan’s most incredible modernist houses.

uk.phaidon.com/…/arch…/jutaku-japanese-houses-9780714869629/