If you come to Niseko, you should definitely stop by Niseko View Plaza Roadside Station!

Niseko View Plaza Roadside Station is located about a 5-minute drive from Niseko Station, along National Route 5, and is also an intercity bus stop. It is also about a 15-minute drive from Niseko Annupuri International Ski Resort and Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort, making it easily accessible from the ski resorts. Many people stop by here in the summer to take a break during their drive, and in the winter after skiing. The best thing about Niseko View Plaza is that you can enjoy delicious Niseko food all year round and the view! On a clear day, you can see the towering Mt. Yotei. This roadside station is extremely popular, having been ranked second in the nation in the 2018 ranking of roadside stations popular among Japanese people, chosen by travel lovers.

Photo courtesy of Niseko View Plaza Direct Sales

We were shown around the Farm Produce Direct Sales Center, which sells agricultural products harvested around Niseko, and the Information Plaza, which has a wide selection of souvenirs that Niseko Town is proud of. Our guide at the Niseko View Plaza Roadside Station was Matsubara Namie, a staff member at the direct sales store who is also a certified vegetable sommelier. She will explain to you in detail about the vegetables and the producers, so we recommend that you ask her lots of questions when you visit the direct sales store!

Seasonal vegetables and handmade goods are very popular! Farmer's market

First, let's take a look at the farm shop! The farm shop sells fresh seasonal vegetables delivered by producers every morning, as well as processed products made by producers who are experts in vegetables. About 60 producers are exhibiting their products, with the shelves divided up.

Summer direct sales store. Image provided by Niseko View Plaza Direct Sales.

One of the great attractions of the Niseko View Plaza direct sales store is that if you're lucky, you can meet the producers. The producers themselves bring in their products not only before the store opens, but also during opening hours.

Just after the store opened, Ohno Farm brought in their produce. Being able to see the faces of the producers is apparently one of the reasons for the popularity of Niseko View Plaza.

Midori Daido and her family produce garlic, potatoes, beans, and other crops.

If you talk to the producers displaying their products, they may be able to tell you about their vegetables and products. Another great thing about the Niseko View Plaza farm shop is that there is a "vegetable sommelier" on hand! Feel free to ask him about recommended vegetables that are in season now and delicious ways to eat them!

Namie Matsubara, one of the vegetable sommeliers, told us that the vegetable she recommends at this time of year is cabbage! "It's very sweet and delicious."

This is a direct sales store where you can see, feel, and experience agriculture, Niseko's core industry. Furthermore, it's not just vegetables that are sold here. They also sell sweets handmade by farmers and products that could become new Niseko specialties!

Farmer Junko Araki. She exhibited rare cheesecakes and homemade yokan. They all looked very delicious and reasonably priced.

Lily root butter made with lily roots from Niseko Town

In the winter, when there are hardly any vegetables to harvest, handmade items made by producers and Niseko View Plaza staff also line the shelves.

Knitted hats made by the producers are apparently very popular items.

Handmade keychains by staff members

A room spray made from Niseko's town flower, lavender, developed by students from Niseko High School, is also on sale.

This direct sales store has a wide selection of products, so you'll probably want to buy more than just the vegetables you're looking for. Because it's a store that's integrated with the local community, it's nice to be able to get to know the town while you're shopping.

The secret behind the popularity of farm shops

Niseko View Plaza was ranked 2nd in Japan (1st in Hokkaido) in the 2018 ranking of roadside stations most popular among Japanese people, as chosen by travel lovers. What is the secret behind its popularity, which attracts around 700,000 visitors a year? There are other reasons to visit besides being able to get fresh local vegetables, processed foods, and delicious souvenirs. It's a friendly and welcoming atmosphere!

On winter mornings, all the staff come out to shovel away the snow that has piled up around the store...

During opening hours, producers who came to deliver produce would start conversations with customers...

There are also plenty of original recipe cards that change with the seasons!

Above the shelves, each producer is introduced with text and photos, and the cute pop-ups introducing the products are originals made by the producers! It's fun to walk around the store paying attention to the pop-ups.

They also offer a convenient service that allows you to have purchased vegetables delivered, which is extremely helpful when traveling from far away or when you want to send fresh vegetables to your family.

There is also a service that allows you to send vegetables in original, cute boxes!

One of the attractions of the Niseko View Plaza Roadside Station is that the Niseko Town Regional Revitalization Volunteers and their alumni are actively involved. Some of the alumni have become farmers, and some sell their produce at the farm shop.

The shop sells handmade items made by Jang Junwon, a staff member and local revitalization volunteer, and his wife.

Nakamura Daisuke, a former member of the Regional Revitalization Volunteer Team who became a farmer, says, "These dried sweet potatoes are just the right amount of sweet, moist and absolutely delicious!"

The secret to the popularity of this farm shop is that you can feel the unity and connection of the whole town and you will be greeted by wonderful staff. Be sure to give it a try!

Niseko View Plaza Direct Sales Store Manager Toshihiro Okushiba (bottom left), Niseko View Plaza Direct Sales Association Chairman Shinichi Tsuzuki (bottom right), and the wonderful staff working at Niseko View Plaza. The friendly atmosphere makes the store popular not only with locals, but also with many repeat customers from the tourist market.

Leave it to the Information Plaza Building for tourist information and souvenirs!

Next, we'll head to this impressive building, the Information Plaza Building!

Photo courtesy of Niseko Resort Tourism Association

This facility is run by the Niseko Resort Tourism Association, and the staff can give you tourist information such as recommended spots and gourmet food. Not only can you stop by when you visit Niseko, but you can also request to have a wide selection of brochures sent to you in advance. It's a very reassuring spot for sightseeing in Niseko. We will be guided by Shijo Koichi, the person in charge of the Information Plaza building!

This information plaza building is lined with a wide selection of products you'll want to buy as souvenirs, including sweets, juices, and alcohol made in Niseko and the surrounding area.

Photo courtesy of Niseko Resort Tourism Association

We asked Shijo, who knows everything about tourism in Niseko Town, about his recommended products right now. "I recommend Niseko Fromage's Crispy Cheese and Niseko Winery's Niseko Organic Sparkling Wine."

First, let us introduce Niseko Fromage's "Crispy Cheese".

Photo courtesy of Niseko Resort Tourism Association

"This crispy cheese is made by Niseko Fromage, a company that has won numerous awards at the ALL JAPAN Natural Cheese Contest, and can be enjoyed as a snack! It can be stored at room temperature and is lightweight, making it a popular souvenir, and it's also a best-selling item in the online shop." Niseko Fromage has made high-quality cheeses that have won numerous awards, but due to downsizing, they now only make this product. It's a rare item that you have to try. Another recommendation is Niseko Winery's "Niseko Organic Sparkling Wine," which is made from 100% Vinifera, a high-quality European wine grape variety, grown in Niseko Winery's own certified organic fields.

Photo courtesy of Niseko Resort Tourism Association

This wine is made in strict accordance with traditional Champagne production methods, with 13 months of low-temperature primary fermentation and aging, followed by three months of secondary fermentation in the bottle, and is carefully crafted to have concentrated fruitiness, gentle acidity, a highly transparent golden color, and fine bubbles that last for a long time. There are also many other products that you'll want to take home as souvenirs, such as sake and sweets! Be sure to stop by and get lots of Niseko's delicious treats.

A gift from the roadside station "Niseko View Plaza"! LaLaLa Farm Fruit Tomato Juice 3-bottle set

The product for this giveaway campaign is a set of three 180ml bottles of fruit tomato juice from LaLaLa Farm, an organic farm in Niseko Town, Hokkaido, which is also sold at Niseko View Plaza!

This is a very sweet tomato juice made from tomatoes lovingly grown at LaLaLaFarm, which grows tomatoes as well as over 50 kinds of vegetables, herbs and wine grapes using natural cultivation methods.

LaLaLaFarm Hattori-san