IHG Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Minami Nijo Operations a World Brands Collection Hotels & Resorts subsidiary to open the second Holiday Inn & Suites in Japan The hotel will be located in Sapporo and will be owned by a fund managed by Goldman Sachs IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced plans to open a second Holiday Inn & Suites in partnership with Minami Nijo Operations a World Brands Collection Hotels & Resorts subsidiary The 195-room Holiday Inn & Suites Sapporo Odori Park is slated to open in late 2025 following a comprehensive refurbishment of an existing property The renovation will include upgrading all guest rooms following Holiday Inn's Open Lobby concept This new addition will join over 1,200 Holiday Inn hotels and resorts worldwide The Holiday Inn & Suites Sapporo Odori Park is located at the end of the famous Tanukikoji Shopping Street in the bustling downtown Susukino area and is within walking distance to Odori Park Holiday Inn & Suites Sapporo Odori Park will offer suites and a range of facilities and a public bath on the hotel's upper floor IHG Hotels & Resorts operates five hotels in Hokkaido across three brands: Vignette Collection The group anticipates the debut of the InterContinental brand in the area later this year with the opening of InterContinental Sapporo Click here to join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest hotel news and trends Copyright © Hotel News Resource & Nevistas | All rights reserved For return visitors to Portland, Maine there's going to be some noticeable changes some of the longstanding restaurants that many have come to know and love have disappeared From Local 188 to the North Point and beyond Portland has seen a shuffling of the culinary deck in the last several months One of the longstanding restaurants that has moved on is Sapporo The Japanese cuisine favorite decided to move their operations to Falmouth and leave Portland behind after more than four decades in the city The space on the Portland, Maine, waterfront that Sapporo left behind won't stay vacant for long. According to Portland Old Port another Japanese restaurant called Watami plans to open there soon If the name sounds familiar, that's because Watami operates a restaurant currently in Brunswick, Maine They have a deep menu which includes sushi Watami hasn't set an official date for their grand opening on the Portland waterfront. Opening a second location in Portland will not affect their Brunswick location For those that pass through Portland and miss the familiar tastes of Sapporo, the restaurant has officially opened their new location in Falmouth, Maine Sapporo is now located inside the newly-constructed Wyeth building The new restaurant is adjacent to the shopping center in Falmouth that includes Ocean State Job Lot as well as a Shaw's location Gallery Credit: Sean McKenna Gallery Credit: Lori Voornas After spending four decades in Portland, Maine, Sapporo restaurant has departed for another city but here is what is replacing that empty space\nRead More For return visitors to Portland, Maine The space on the Portland, Maine, waterfront that Sapporo left behind won't stay vacant for long. According to Portland Old Port If the name sounds familiar, that's because Watami operates a restaurant currently in Brunswick, Maine For those that pass through Portland and miss the familiar tastes of Sapporo, the restaurant has officially opened their new location in Falmouth, Maine Sapporo is now located inside the newly-constructed Wyeth building The subject of amateurism stirred controversy at the Sapporo 1972 Games Austrian skier Karl Schranz was declared ineligible because he had allowed his name and photo to be used in commercial advertising but full-time ice hockey players from communist nations were allowed to compete Japan had never won a gold medal in the Olympic Winter Games Yukio Kasaya led from start to finish to claim gold His team-mates Akitsugu Konno and Seiji Aochi won the silver and bronze to complete the Japanese clean sweep Discover the lasting legacy that this edition of the Olympic Games created for its hosts. Cross country skier Galina Kulakova of the USSR won the 5km and 10km events and anchored the Soviet relay team to victory. Ard Schenk of the Netherlands won three speed skating golds in convincing fashion. Such was his popularity in the Netherlands that a flower was named in his honour: Crocus chrysanthus Ard Schenk. The biggest surprise of the Games was the victory of 21-year-old "Paquito" Fernandez Ochoa, who won the slalom by a full second. His gold medal was the first ever to be won by a Spanish athlete in the Olympic Winter Games. An enormous amount of work had to be done to carve out ski and bobsleigh runs in the mountainside. The hockey tournament took place without the Canadian team, who had not been taking part in international competitions since 1969. They did not send a team to Sapporo to protest against the covert professionalism rife in the USSR and Eastern Europe. These were the first Olympic Winter Games organised in Asia. Sapporo 1972. Opening Ceremony. Arrival of the Olympic Flame. Medal TableSee the list of teams and medals won by each. The MedalsBeginning as an olive wreath, medal designs have evolved over the years.Medals The TorchAn iconic part of any Olympic Games each host offers their unique version.Torch Early Registration Open You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Share your travel photos with us by hashtagging your images with #visitjapanjp one of the largest snow sculpture festivals in the world transforms the city into a winter wonderland each year with hundreds of breathtaking snow and ice sculptures Starting from humble beginnings as a student project 75 years ago it has grown in scale to a major international event attracting people from Japan and abroad the festival features around 200 sculptures – several of which tower over 12 meters tall – drawing 2 million visitors and generating a massive economic impact (In 2023 These figures underscore the festivals stature as one of the most anticipated events in the Japanese calendar The statistics from behind the scenes are equally impressive – for example it takes over 20000 tons of snow to build the sculptures 3 months of planning and construction to make one large sculpture and over 9000 people who help in the construction however it is near impossible for visitors and even locals to get a glimpse behind the curtain last year I decided to make a documentary following a snow sculpture team for several months to understand the ins and outs of how these towering snow creations are put together There are five teams for the major sculptures and each are tasked with creating everything from anime scenes I was given access to Sculpture Sub-Committee 3 (or as they liked to call themselves “Fujiwara & Hasegawa Gang”) and this year they were in charge of building a 12-meter-tall depiction of the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany The core team is a close-knit group of around ten people made up of experts many of whom have been doing this for nearly 20 years Throughout the year they have other jobs but come together every year in the winter to work on the sculptures works in artificial grass installation for most of the year but he spends the winter months helping lead the team He reflects "I have memories of coming to Sapporo as a young child and being blown away by the large snow sculptures at the festival I thought that I would love to be part of making something incredible - and well that was 17 years ago now!" After spending the first month and a half in a small room in the city hall making multiple detailed designs and models they start work on building the sculpture in Odori Park The team are outside in freezing temperatures for over 8 hours-a-day doing intense physical labour in the snow I was always so impressed by teams unabated passion and the positive atmosphere your ability to think and concentrate begins to decline” the snow sculptures wouldn’t be possible without a large number of passionate volunteers Those I encountered ranged from a bubbly 16-year-old high school student who had come for the first time with her older sister to a stoic 84-year-old pensioner who had been a volunteering for the festival for 20 years to a gaggle of university students’ friends It was beautiful to see new unlikely connections made across different generations and walks of life Asking some newbies how they were finding it I got varied answers from “it’s like playing in the snow” to “I am shocked by how detailed it is – it is so hard” however the one thing that came up time and time again is how fun the experience is From the young man called Tsuru who was literally jumping with positive energy when I spoke to him to the older lady who told me she excited to have the opportunity to speak with young people it felt like it was a meaningful community experience for everyone Suzuki reminds me from the top of the scaffolding it will come across in the sculpture.” I couldn't wait to see how this fun community spirit would accumulate in the final art piece the process of making these towering snow creations is fraught with challenges caused by climate change and the rising temperatures in the city “When I started (17years ago) global warming wasn’t as terrible and the temperatures tended to be low” Takagi tells me there were times when the heat made the snow to stop holding shape causing progress to stall and wreaking havoc on work they had done two days before the sculpture was due to be completed there was an incident where one of the snow towers suddenly bent 40 degrees but as Takagi says it highlights the urgent need to “to think about designs and sculptures that are sustainable and can be repaired within the short time that we have available.” and the sky is a delicate shade of deep blue contrasting beautifully with the glistening white It seems unbelievable that a group of people made this ethereal creation in less than a month or about 60 days if we include the design process That all culminates on the day the final scaffolding is removed It reminds me of conversation we had two weeks earlier in the middle of construction when we were standing on the top of the half-made sculpture in the middle of a snowstorm while Takagi finishes explaining the basics of snow sculpture making to me “It really is the most fun - I don’t think there is anything in the world as fun as this I will probably continue doing it my whole life.” Ok – let’s say the goal is 90 or even 100!” Despite all the difficulties and the challenges ahead hope the snow festival will still be going on when Takagi is 100 A year has now passed since I made the documentary and we are fast approaching the 2025 Sapporo Snow Festival season (Scheduled for Feb 4th – 11th 2025) the local sculpture making teams are coming together in the spirit of community to make incredible larger than life This truly special event is a once in a lifetime experience that needs to be seen with the naked eye to be believed If you are interested in finding out more about the Sapporo Snow Festival please check out the documentary in the link below the festival will be held February 4th-11th 2025 and we will be covering the behind the scenes process and the festival in real time on the visit.sapporo Instagram For the official Sapporo Snow Festival Website and details about all the areas of the festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTLCW6zBNis https://www.snowfes.com/en/ https://visit.sapporo.travel/ https://www.instagram.com/visit.sapporo/ Browse the JNTO site in one of multiple languages Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker who won gold in the Normal Hill event at Beijing 2022 as well as silver in the Large Hill discipline will now seek a maiden World title in Trondheim (NOR) Kobayashi, who attained his first win and podium finish of the season on Saturday, trailed Beijing 2022 Large Hill champion Marius Lindvik (NOR) at the halfway stage of the second Sapporo World Cup cheered on by home support Kobayashi overhauled his rival with a jump of 137m Lindvik's countryman Johann Andre Forfang (268.7) climbed four places between the rounds to place third The Japanese athlete finished with a combined total of 278.4 from his two jumps with Lindvik (274.2) achieving his first top-three result of the 2024/25 campaign Countryman Johann Andre Forfang (268.7) climbed four places between the rounds to place third I’m so happy,” said an emotional Kobayashi after recording his second successive victory in less than 24 hours he added; “I have to prepare a little bit more Yellow jersey holder Daniel Tschofenig missed out on the podium for just the fourth time across an FIS Ski Jumping World Cup weekend who finished fourth in both events in Sapporo holds a commanding 183 point lead at the top of the standings Despite topping the standings on Saturday Kobayashi’s form early on Sunday in the qualification round had suggested he might find a double podium more than a little challenging cheered on by an excitable crowd showed how he is still a man who relishes performing on the big occasion He was not the only reason for the supporters in Sapporo to shout for though with nine Japanese athletes progressing to the main round including legendary ski jumper Noriaki Kasai who was making a record-extending 580th World Cup appearance missed out on a place in the main round on Saturday but delighted those in attendance at the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium by qualifying but hopes to return to the circuit again soon as he seeks to attain 600 World Cup appearances before retiring Another athlete who was unable to progress to the final round was Pius Paschke with the German who has won dive World Cup stages this season now without a top-three finish since the middle of December His international team-mate Andreas Wellinger enjoyed a much more promising start to the second Sapporo contest with the two-time Olympic champion in fourth and just 1.4 points short of Domen Prevc (SLO) at the halfway stage The top of the standings at the halfway stage took on something of an unfamiliar look given results so far this season Lindvik’s reward for an outstanding jump of 136m was a lead of 7.3 from Kobayashi after the completion of the opening stage World Cup leader and Four Hills Tournament winner Tschofenig and gave Austria hope though in fifth and sixth The expected Austrian medal-charge did not materialise though who each surpassed the 130m mark in the second round Wellinger has struggled to find his usual consistency this season and he would slip down the rankings and out of contention The Slovenian’s effort of 138m was the longest jump of the day and it enabled him to climb eight places The Norwegian has been in impressive form over the last month but endured a difficult opening to the Sapporo World Cup weekend with poor conditions impacting an otherwise strong performance on Saturday His brilliant second round jump saw him climb from seventh to third and ensure he takes positive momentum into his home World Championships next month Lindvik too will head to Trondheim 2025 with renewed optimism after ending an 11 month run for a top-three World Cup finish with his best result of the season It could have been a first victory since 2022 for the Olympic but Kobayashi’s brilliance saw the Japanese jumper leap into the lead His final jump of 137m achieved the highest score of the contest to give the home favourite a deserved victory Hop Take words: Apropos of the Trump administration’s ongoing anti-constitutional purge in Washington it’s been trendy to shit on this tangle of acronymic entities that gathers data and regulates industry on behalf of the United States’ executive and legislative branches There are valid critiques to be made of the lowercase-l liberal administrative state ways it could be improved to function better One thing it continues to do decently well illegal swipes from white-supremacist welfare-enjoyer Elon Musk’s gilded chainsaw Amid all the chaos of President Donald Trump’s trade war Musk’s self-serving raid on Social Security et al. and the group chat grotesques of Signalgate Roughly five months after Sapporo-Stone Brewing (SSB) defeated a union drive at its Richmond it submitted its required “employer report” to the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) earlier this month The form finally reveals how much money the Japanese macrobrewer’s American subsidiary spent on the outside consultants — “persuaders” in official parlance “union-busters” in labor parlance — it hired to help rout its workers bid to collectively bargain with the Teamsters A box that SSB checked on the LM-10 designates these cash payments were made in exchange for services “to persuade employees to exercise or not to exercise the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.” If you’ve never witnessed the grinding hothouse vibe of a workplace in the midst of a union drive that line item probably sounds fairly anodyne the emailed statement SSB chief executive officer Zach Keeling offered Hop Take through a company spokesperson “We gained valuable insights from our Richmond team during the union campaign last year and we remain committed to partnering directly with our team to build a positive workplace here at Sapporo-Stone,” he wrote declining to provide more details on what he described as “union education services” the brewery purchased from GRCA last summer as well as my request for a phone interview to discuss the same “They help employers craft a playbook against the union They hold group and one-on-one meetings that sow doubt about what a union can accomplish Some push the boundaries of what’s legal and even step over them and described how they coordinated meetings for anti-union employees to share unverifiable anecdotes about bad individual experiences at other unionized workplaces In a classic union-busting trick known as “third-partying,” GRCA also smeared Local 322 as a deceitful interloper — even as it was deceitfully interloping itself The pressure worked. After collecting signed union cards from around 70 percent of eligible workers at Stone’s Richmond brewery over the summer, the union lost 32-58 It’s hard to say how much of the defeat was directly attributable to the six-figures’ worth of face-to-face persuading and how much was due to SSB’s procedural gambit with the National Labor Relations Board to include workers at its warehouse outside of town in the voting bloc a common management tactic to dilute pro-union voting blocs to avoid the potentially awkward optics of trying to keep some workers out of the union while encouraging others to vote for it.) But it’s easy to say how much SSB paid its “persuaders” to help engineer this outcome “That money should’ve been put towards the workers,” Local 322’s Dwayne Johnson tells Hop Take Stone workers told me Richmond’s rising costs of living were a key reason why they wanted to unionize wouldn’t include the travel costs for the senior SSB executives who came to Richmond late last summer to do “persuading” of their own during the drive “That’s just a small portion of the cost that they used to fend off the union that they could have invested in their employees instead,” he says because $114,124 divided across the 90 workers eligible to vote in last year’s election works out to less than $1,300 a head It’s virtually guaranteed that Local 322 would’ve negotiated a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that cost SSB more in salaries and benefits in the first year alone if SSB spent 10 times more on union busters to smother Local 322 — call it an even $1 million — that math still probably pencils out all the more so given the U.S.’s laughably loose labor laws and (now) a Trump-crippled NLRB that will struggle to enforce transgressions SSB played the hand it was dealt from a deck stacked in its favor One more thing. That $114,124 that SSB spent on its GRCA contract is surely less than the Richmond brewery’s labor costs would’ve been under a Teamster CBA. But it’s hardly a drop in the bucket barrel compared to the $91 million impairment charge Sapporo Holdings (SSB’s Japanese parent company) recently took on Stone itself, which it acquired for $165 million in 2022. We talked about this a bit the other day Sapporo’s recently minted largest shareholder is ripshit mad about it accusing the firm of “destroy[ing] shareholder capital through acquisition[s]” like Anchor Brewing Co. and Stone; SSB tells Hop Take in a statement that despite the near-nine-figure write-down it grew revenues for Stone and Sapporo last year and is set up well for the future But one conclusion you could draw right now is that this company’s executives have wasted a lot of money on bets that have yet to pay off This bears on the question of why SSB splashed out on pricey consultants to defeat the drive in Richmond last summer rather than bet on itself by investing in its workforce I suspect the answer is less to save money than to maintain unilateral control over its newly upgraded plant in the River City to arguably the best brewing boss of his — or any — era The workers at Stone’s Richmond brewery never got that far And those days are long gone for both the American brewing industry and organized labor But it helps to wrap your head around why SSB would spend $114,124 to stop a union drive even as it was en route to wiping almost an order of magnitude more value off its books Money spent to bust a union is money well spent Money spent on a craft brewery that turns out to be worth less than half as much after less than three years at the helm considered a potentially existential burden by craft brewers… This story is a part of VP Pro, our free platform and newsletter for drinks industry professionals, covering wine, beer, liquor, and beyond. Sign up for VP Pro now! The definitive guide to Portland's food scene Owner Akira Matsumura has announced that he’ll be moving Sapporo (website, facebook, instagram)  to Falmouth this winter Further details on the new location are still TBD Yoshi Hayashi opened the restaurant on April 13 Sapporo was initially located at 24 Free Street before moving to their present day location at 230 Commercial Street Update: Sapporo’s new restaurant will be located at 267 US Route 1 Do you have some details you’d like to pass on about an upcoming business or development in the Portland food scene? Then please fill out our Contact Form If you are a fan of Sapporo and sad to see their Commercial Street location close (at the end of January 2025), it's not gone; it just moved. After 40 years, Sapporo is now in Falmouth Well, parking is a big reason. According to the Portland Press Herald there's free parking at this location with seating for up to 90 customers inside plus they can put another 45-50 on the patio outside when it's nice cocktails are now available and they weren't in Portland but you will see that prices are about 10-20% higher including inflation and the cost of moving to a brand-new place But you save all that money with free parking and no more tickets or towing READ MORE: New Old Port Convenience Store Opening in Portland, Maine Watami is well-established in Brunswick and is expanding into the Portland, Maine, market. They have big shoes to fill, as Sapporo was Portland's first Japanese restaurant! But Watami has a very loyal following and got a great review in the Portland Press Herald The ahi tuna poke bowl was on the decadent side for that dish Gallery Credit: Megan Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka Sapporo left Portland, Maine, to move to Falmouth, and Watami will fill the void.\nRead More If you are a fan of Sapporo and sad to see their Commercial Street location close (at the end of January 2025), it's not gone; it just moved. After 40 years, Sapporo is now in Falmouth Well, parking is a big reason. According to the Portland Press Herald READ MORE: New Old Port Convenience Store Opening in Portland, Maine Watami is well-established in Brunswick and is expanding into the Portland, Maine, market. They have big shoes to fill, as Sapporo was Portland's first Japanese restaurant! But Watami has a very loyal following and got a great review in the Portland Press Herald will transition to the role of special advisor Japanese beer company Sapporo Holdings has announced that Hiroshi Tokimatsu currently the executive group managing officer The leadership change comes as the company has “been working to reinforce profitability in core businesses while reorganising the business portfolio” Tokimatsu will assume the role of president of both Sapporo and Sapporo Breweries following shareholder and board meetings in March 2025 He will step down as president of Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage will transition to the role of special advisor.  Tokimatsu brings experience from various sectors He has played a “central role” in transformation initiatives and is receptive to the growing overseas business Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis Sapporo anticipates that Tokimatsu will “drive further growth” overseas.  Tokimatsu said the company “will further concentrate management resources harness the collective strength of the group” to transform into a “corporate entity that realises an increase in corporate value.”  In conjunction with Tokimatsu’s promotion Sapporo announced changes to its group managing officers.   Masashi Sato will become president of Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage Hiroyuki Nose will step down as executive group managing officer and president of Sapporo Breweries taking on the role of chairman of Sapporo Breweries.  the company said it planned to solicit investment proposals for its real estate business from external partners The announcement was part of an update on the review of its medium to long term management policies, initially announced in February the company aimed to “significantly revise its portfolio of businesses” with a focus on core alcoholic beverages business and the real estate business Sapporo said it aimed to rationalise its value chain by “optimising manufacturing and logistics” aiming for a 25% share of the domestic beer market including non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic options Investment in the international business will be increased to ensure it remains a core element of Sapporo’s portfolio.   emphasising its “high quality,” “sophisticated taste,” and “uniqueness reminiscent of Japan.”  Nominations are now open for the prestigious Just Drinks Excellence Awards - one of the industry's most recognised programmes celebrating innovation This is your chance to showcase your achievements Don't miss the opportunity to be honoured among the best - submit your nomination today Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network With the US dollar still solid against the Japanese yen ski bookings to the Land of the Rising Sun from North America have surged in recent years Japan’s premier ski destinations on the island of Hokkaido see an average of between 300 and 600 inches of snow a season (hence the nickname “Japow” for all the powdery white stuff you can schuss through here) This trip was my first time skiing in Japan and there was so much to love—beyond the snowy slopes I made the modern OMO3 Sapporo Susukino resort part of Japan’s esteemed Hoshino Resorts chain you can ride the hotel’s free shuttle (one hour) to ski the powder at Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort It’s a great little mountain if you want to introduce kids to the sport without too much terrain to get lost in with a noodle shop at the base where everyone slurps ramen to warm up between runs also consider visiting the bigger-name ski mountains of Niseko and Rusutsu as you’d expect from any place you go in Japan straight from the chilly waters of northern Hokkaido we flew to Kushiro in eastern Hokkaido to indulge in winter fun sans skis It’s hard to beat basking in onsen (hot spring) culture in the incredible little village of Kawayu Onsen where a river bubbling up with thermal springs rich in healing minerals cuts straight through a postcard-perfect town and went snowshoeing above the crater lake within Akan-Mashu National Park I’ll tack on at least three extra days in Tokyo to catch more of the sakura (cherry blossom) season at the end of my trip there were already some cherry blossoms blooming on the streets of Ginza and elsewhere in the city when I passed through on my way home to Tampa But mid-March into April is when the pink floral explosion is truly prolific where the cherry blossoms bloom last since the island is furthest north in Japan you could even plan an April trip that allows you to ski all that japow before retreating back down to near sea level in Sapporo to catch the pretty blooms in the city’s famous Odori Park Looking for other travel stories? Click here. Or if you’re looking to advertise with us, click here A Japanese court on Wednesday ruled that a man was not guilty of helping his daughter commit murder and behead the victim in Sapporo in 2023 But he was found guilty of aiding in the abandonment and mutilation of the corpse and sentenced to one year and four months in prison was on trial at the Sapporo District Court in Hokkaido on multiple charges including assisting in the murder of a man who had allegedly met his daughter at a nightclub about a month before the killing and later had a falling out with her Tamura claimed that he "learned about the crime only after it had already occurred." Prosecutors had demanded a 10-year prison term arguing that the father was aware of the murder plot about two weeks before it took place when the family held a "discussion" after Runa agreed to meet the victim again Tamura "was involved in almost all aspects of the crime and played an integral and important role," prosecutors argued Tamura allegedly purchased items such as a saw and suitcase between June and July 2023 that were later used in the murder The defense admitted that Tamura purchased the saw and dropped off and picked up Runa near the hotel in Sapporo's Susukino entertainment district But they said Tamura was merely recording Runa as she handled the victim's head not assisting in the mutilation of a corpse The trial focused on the Tamura's parent-child relationship The father drove his daughter anywhere she wanted and even slept in a nearby internet cafe as the family home was full of Runa's possessions "The fact that Tamura not only tacitly approved her abandoning and damaging the corpse but also made comments that could be interpreted as praise psychologically reinforced the intent to commit the crime," the ruling said Ura was found naked and headless at the hotel on July 2 allegedly stabbed him in the neck at around 11:15 p.m then beheaded him and took the head home in a suitcase His head was later found in the bathroom of the Tamura residence in Sapporo Both the prosecution and the defense have alleged that Runa met Ura at a nightclub in Susukino in late May 2023 and that he had engaged in some acts against her will at a hotel is also on trial at the district court on charges including aiding in the abandonment of a corpse Woman fatally stabbed in Tokyo while livestreaming Over 80% support death penalty in Japan: gov't survey To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox, subscribe here. Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription. Please check your inbox for a confirmation email. If you wish to change your message, press 'Cancel' to go back and edit. Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world The Singapore-based investment fund censured the management over “impairment losses on all of its overseas alcoholic beverage acquisitions” and questioned the responsibility of the board of directors, in a letter seen by Bloomberg. who attained the Four Hills Tournament title last season and is a two-time Crystal Globe champion had not won a World Cup podium for 11 months However, in what is the final World Cup weekend before the World Championships in Trondheim (NOR) next month Kobayashi delivered his greatest performance of the 2024/25 campaign He led by an impressive 10.6 point margin after an opening round which proved to be challenging for many in the field due to variations in wind speed and directions A spectacular second jump saw Kobayashi extend that advantage to a colossal 19.7 points to claim his first World Cup podium finish of the season the atmosphere was very good and I’m very happy to win,” Kobayashi told FIS after the competition “I’m hoping to show two good jumps (tomorrow) and be on the podium again I’m also really looking forward to the World Championships as I want to show good jumps over there (in Norway) also.” The only disappointment of the day for the passionate ski jumping fans in Sapporo which hosted the 1972 Olympic Winter Games was the performance of 52-year-old Noriaki Kasai The three-time Olympic medallist was making his return to the World Cup tour for the first time in 11 months and although he was able to extend his appearance record to 579 via the qualification round, he would place 52nd and just miss out on the first round proper.  However, nine Japanese athletes did make it through and in addition to Kobayashi’s stunning form, Ren Nikaido and Naoki Nakamura also recorded impressive top-10 finishes, placing ninth and tenth respectively. Maciej Kot (POL) was the first of the early starters to hit the 130m mark, with his strong jump achieving a score of 107.7 points, but it was Robin Pedersen (NOR) who really impressed with 120.5m, but from gate 13, rather than 15, which put him top with 111.4pts.  The Norwegian would rank 13th at the end of the opening round, just behind early season World Cup leader Pius Paschke (GER) and Gregor Deschwanden (SUI), who was competing on borrowed equipment after the Swiss team’s luggage went missing enroute to Japan. Kobayashi held a 10.6 point lead from Domen Prevc (SLO), with he Jan Hoerl (AUT), Tschofenig (AUT), as well as Norwegians Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal and Marius Lindvik all with strong podium potential heading into the deciding round. Another Norwegian, Johann Andre Forfang has shown brilliant form since the turn of the year, attaining five top-three results, but he was unlucky with the conditions in the first round. 131.5m, scoring 137.4 in the second enabled him to climb 13 places and rank 14th overall, proving he has the potential to challenge the best on this hill, come the second World Cup event on Sunday.  2023/24 Crystal Globe winner Stefan Kraft (AUT) rose three places into sixth, before Tshcofenig celebrated his strong 137m finishing jump, which he hoped would be enough to challenge at the top end. In what was a rare occurrence though, given his stunning successes this season, this time Tschofenig’s second round attack would not be enough. Hoerl and Prevc threw down scores of 139.4 and 138.6 to moving ahead, before Kobayashi improved on what was the strongest jump in round one (138.2 pts), with an even larger scoring second round effort (148.2). “My shape is getting better every day, but I still need to stay focused,” said Prevc after his third World Cup podium finish of the season. “Today there was some ‘grounding’ in the trial run (which did not go well) so I needed to focus and not think I’m capable of everything without hard work. “So long as I stay focused and work hard and then things happen like today.” 16 February09.30 – Start Qualification Men’s LH11.00 - Competition Start Men’s LH * All listings are in Japan Standard Time (JSP) and are subject to change. 2025·Ski JumpingEirin Maria Kvandal | NordicFocus Norway’s Eirin Maria Kvandal led from start to finish to claim her first World Cup win of the 2024/25 season as she claimed victory on the second day of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Sapporo Kvandal finished 20.4 points clear of Selina Freitag (GER) while Thea Minyan Bjoerseth (NOR) rounded out the podium A strong first round already gave Kvandal a 9.7-point lead after an impressive jump which saw her score 123.2 points The 23-year-old continued her fine form in the final round where she produced the best jump of the day (125.2 points and 136.5m) to land a combined total of 248.4 points It was Kvandal's second podium finish of the weekend after a third place on Saturday “It’s great to share it (the podium) with Thea (Minyan Bjoerseth "I'm just very happy with my performance" "I managed to figure out and improve my flying position today." Kvandal had to wait a few moments after a brief increase in the wind but I managed to switch on and do a good jump nonetheless Kvandal finished 20.4 points clear of Germany’s Selina Freitag who ended her personal streak of four fifth-place finishes After narrowly missing out on the podium on Saturday Two strong jumps saw her score a combined total of 228.0 points "I'm very happy with both of my jumps" It’s Freitag’s third World Cup podium finish of the season after a third and second place in Lillehammer Thea Minyan Bjoerseth (NOR) joined Kvandal and Freitag on the podium: a great reward for what she's been through this weekend Bjoerseth looked well on her way to a podium finish on Saturday but crashed on the landing of her second jump to only finish ninth Bjoerseth did not let the disappointment of Saturday get into her head A stable first jump (108.0) led her to sixth place after round one but Bjoerseth knew she was capable of much more An impressive second jump (118.7) saw her move up three spots to take third place with a combined total of 226.7 points to take her career-second World Cup podium finish and I'm especially very happy with my second one today" "We had very good conditions and it was a very successful day for team Norway as such Sharing the podium with Eirin was a New Year's resolution for us who had performed the second-best jump in the first round (113.5) missed out on the podium after struggling with her second jump (106.3) The Austrian ski jumper landed in fourth (219.8 points) having moved up three spots thanks to a strong second jump to score a combined total of 213.8 points 2023/24 Crystal Globe winner Nika Prevc (SLO) who had topped the qualifications ranking earlier in the day but struggled a lot with her second jump (98.4) and therefore ended up missing the podium Triple world champion and World Cup leader Katharina Schmid (GER) had a mixed day of jumping A disappointing first jump (91.9) saw her in eleventh before moving up to seventh place in the ranking Schmid maintains her lead in the Crystal Globe ranking The difference between the two is now 78 points Saturday’s winner and 2023 world champion Alexandria Loutitt (CAN) landed in twelfth (194.0 points) but was not able to move up towards the podium in the second round the men jump in Zakopane (POL) this weekend Austria won the Men’s Team event on Saturday and the men will battle for individual glory on Sunday afternoon when they head to Zao (Japan) for the next World Cup event I had the chance to check out the Japan Airlines domestic lounge situation at New Chitose Airport In this post, I’ll be reviewing the Diamond Premier Lounge at the airport. While obviously not to the level of the Japan Airlines First Lounge Haneda (for international flights) I found this lounge to be such a functional and lovely space The Japan Airlines premium ground experience in Sapporo is pretty seamless The domestic terminal is fully separate from the international terminal The standard security queue didn’t look half bad… there’s a separate entrance for those who have lounge access you go through a private security screening process Then once you’re at the lounge entrance with the Diamond Premier Lounge to the right Getting into the lounge is essentially a self-service operation as the counter has a tablet where you scan your boarding pass There’s no gate or anything you have to go through and then go in the opposite direction of the security check and then you’ll find yourself in the airside domestic terminal The Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo is open daily from 6:30AM The Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo is open to same-day Japan Airlines first class passengers regardless of the cabin they’re traveling in passengers can bring up to one guest on a complimentary basis Let me emphasize that Japan Airlines’ domestic first class is often very reasonably priced, sometimes around $200 one-way, so it’s pretty cool that these tickets include access to a solid lounge. On top of that, Japan Airlines sells cheap upgrades on the day of departure and upgraded tickets get you lounge access as well The Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo is a pretty intimate space and is basically a rectangular room with some partitions between three distinct zones roughly half of the footprint is dedicated to the Sakura Lounge (which is the less premium lounge) the largest part of the space is to the right There are a variety of seating setups here ranging from chairs arranged in rows facing one another The largest part of the lounge is a room in the very back which has two main “walkways.” In the center there are rows of chairs with their backs to one another looking either outside or toward the interior of the lounge Along the interior of the lounge is a long leather bench with some movable side tables The other side has a communal table along the windows which is probably the best place to get some work done The lounge has another room back toward the entrance and by the buffet The lounge had a few other amenities and areas There are two individual rooms with massage chairs There’s also a small business center area the lounge also has some individual rooms with doors where you can take phone calls (my fellow Miami residents would be very confused by this — why use this rather than just taking the call on speakerphone at your seat?!) should you want to store your bags during your visit The lounge has stunning views of the gate area and the runway in the distance I loved watching all the Japan Airlines A350-900 action at the airport It’s amazing how many flights there are per day between Sapporo and Tokyo Japan Airlines alone often operates well over 15 daily flights with some even being just 10 minutes apart The Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo has a limited but high quality selection of food and drinks it’s not as impressive as an international lounge Everything was available from a self-serve buffet inside the entrance to the lounge and to the left There seemed to be much more of a focus on drinks than food the lounge was mostly full of Japanese businessmen in suits who were ready to have a couple of drinks The food selection included a couple of types of snack mix Definitely don’t come to the lounge hungry The Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo has bathrooms The lounge doesn’t have shower suites since this is exclusively a domestic lounge The Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo is lovely space Of course context is important — this lounge is specifically for domestic first class passengers (and those tickets aren’t necessarily expensive) so this isn’t as over-the-top as many international lounges I loved the private security channel for those with lounge access The lounge also has a solid selection of drinks I wouldn’t necessarily spend way more time here than you have to, but it’s not a bad place to kill some time. I had around four hours in the lounge (since I had just arrived in Korean Air’s A321neo business class from Incheon) and I found it to be a great base from which to work What’s your take on the Japan Airlines Diamond Premier Lounge Sapporo Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" especially watching the planes in the snow from world class standing Omakase to its own ramen alley Restaurants are pre-security but if you have access to first class security it will never take more than a couple minutes I completely agree with your observations that flying (or even just traveling) in Japan is super-civilized and that loud phones/conversations are terribly common in Miami Long time OMAAT readers already know all about you I noticed Japan Airlines First class lounges are more about quality aesthetics and peacefulness rather than food quantity.. except perhaps the First section of the lounge on Frankfurt Long time readers know about him so do not be fooled by him if the lounge is clean and peaceful that matters way more than if a lounge has tons of amenities but is crowdy and hectic Also helps that the Japanese domestic lounges have proper lounge staffing the entire Japanese domestic system of lounges is similar with barebones amenities but they're very civilized in comparison to the US domestic lounge rat race JAL used to offer foods even for business lounge before covid now just drinks i think is very unfair since business class is consider as premium as well JAL is making money so please dont be so stingy The "honor system" entry wouldn't work anywhere else in the world where lounge receptionists seem to spend most of their workdays arguing with grifters and wannabes who believe they're entitled to something they're not anywhere else in the world ≠ the US and Europe I absolutely see this working in some other Asian countries Obviously there is some underlying check going on perhaps by someone watching the entrance (as it surely is in JAL lounges) but from the passenger's experience it's the same - you scan your BP I can totally see this working around the Indian Subcontinent (maybe not) The problem with this approach is that some lounge access rules are super complicated and the boarding passes won't always capture them I recently had to argue with a lounge dragon working for a SkyTeam airline who wanted to send me away as an elite plus member flying on a domestic flight before a same-day international connection codeshares allowed/not allowed depending on.. codeshares allowed/not allowed depending on operating carriers or Lufthansa allowing pax to visit the first class lounge (or terminal) when in transit from F to Y but not the business class one when it's C to Y And that's before you think about passenger-driven issues such as guests or wanting to use status benefits from one airline while crediting the miles to another but I think the food selection could've been a bit more substantial Even considering that this is a domestic lounge the food selection should be better than that in a first class lounge That being said I don't think the current offering is bad either Any other intel for nearby hotels/restaurants or downtown Sapporo Doing major planning today so anything helps and is much appreciated Excited to check out ANA A380 biz (Flying Honu!) and some JAL products couldn't tell from the pic - were any of the beer dispensers service Sapporo Classic (can only get this beer in Sapporo) I went to Sapporo with my family in November for the first time We also had some of the better meals of this trip there Tabelog was great for finding restaurants and making reservations Word of caution: it seems like a lot of restaurants require you to choose course meals when booking through Tabelog but if you find a place you like you can.. We also had some of the better meals of this trip there Tabelog was great for finding restaurants and making reservations Word of caution: it seems like a lot of restaurants require you to choose course meals when booking through Tabelog but if you find a place you like you can often call and make a reservation without having to pre-select what you're going to eat but Japanese don't rate things like Americans do on Yelp and we ended up going to Hyousetsu No Mon (which also just happened to be about 50 yards from our hotel) It's a collection of private rooms with multi-course meals The king crab "shabu" was maybe one of the best things I've ever eaten (maybe the best) We also had Japanese-style Korean BBQ (yakiniku) at a place that I think was called Yakiniku Kiwami which also just happened to be a couple blocks from our hotel The Susukino area I guess used to be something of a red light district so there are remnants of that here and there My (70 year old) mom made a comment about a lot of boobs being out in the cold weather When we figured it out it all made sense and we had a little laugh Location was great and there's a train station on the block as well as a couple convenience stores The train departs from the airport and then it's just one transfer at Sapporo Station to get to Hosuisusukino Station (no elevators so be prepared to lug your suitcases up the stairs) It was a nice surprise for all of us to have enjoyed Sapporo as much as we did and I plan on going back when there's snow on the ground I’m coincidentally staying at the same hotel I highly recommend getting soup curry at Soup Curry & Hamburg Tatsuki I haven't been there since 2017 yet still think about how good it was Your feedback is important in helping us keep our community safe The comments on this page have not been provided approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered You have successfully joined our subscriber list Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. See more about our ethics policies here Sapporo Hibachi & Sushi Bar opened in the mixed-use Fort Bend Town Center II development in late 2024 Kelly joined Community Impact Newspaper as a reporter in June 2017 after majoring in print journalism and creative writing at the University of Houston she transitioned to editor for the Lake Houston-Humble-Kingwood edition and began covering the Spring and Klein area as well in August 2020 Kelly was promoted to South Houston managing editor Blog  >  Aviation news  >  Airline news  >  Airline routes  >  Qantas to resume flights to Sapporo after nearly six years Qantas has confirmed the resumption of flights between Sydney and Sapporo effective December 15th The Australian airline will operate three weekly services by Airbus A330-200 aircraft during Northern Winter 2025/26 Sapporo will become Qantas’ second destination in Japan operations to Sapporo from Kingsford Smith International Airport were suspended The company will reach 100 destinations in its network with the start of New Chitose Airport (Sapporo) Sydney – Sapporo will be Qantas’ fourth route in the Australia – Japan market after Sydney – Tokyo Haneda Melbourne – Tokyo Narita and Brisbane – Tokyo Narita Qantas is the only airline to connect Australia’s three major cities with the Japanese capital commented: “We know Sapporo is an extremely popular winter destination for Aussies who love the snow and we’re excited to make it even easier for them to reach Hokkaido’s world-class ski resorts with a direct fight from Sydney These new flights will save passengers hours of travel time compared to connecting in Tokyo or other cities and give them more time to enjoy on the slopes” “Australians’ love affair with Japan is stronger-than-ever so it is fitting that Sapporo will also mark the 100th destination in the Qantas network following the great new destinations we added last year like Paris We last flew to Sapporo in early-2020 and had extremely positive feedback from customers so we’re looking forward to operating this route again” which has a codeshare agreement with Qantas it has five routes between Australia and Japan Air Serbia’s inaugural flight from Belgrade landed at Shanghai Pudong airport The carrier adds its second connection in China after Guangzhou which also operates to/from the Serbian capital Air Serbia will fly two times per week between Belgrade and Shanghai with Airbus A330-200 planes “We are very pleased to establish a new direct service between Belgrade and the People’s Republic of China Shanghai is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and an important business and cultural centre Direct Air Serbia flights to this city will provide passengers from Serbia and the Western Balkans region with a faster and more comfortable journey to China while making it easier for Chinese tourists and businesspeople to come to Serbia and other European cities we fly to,” said Jiri Marek he stated: “I would like to thank all our associates and partners for their support as well as the employees of Air Serbia who made it possible for us to start 2025 successfully The launch of direct flights to Shanghai is an important step in achieving our strategic goals and further strengthens Air Serbia’s position as a leader in regional air traffic.” The Fijian carrier announced the addition of two new ATRs which arrived in Nadi following a long ferry flight on December 29th and January 5th configured for 68 passengers in single class will strengthen Fiji Airways’ (Fiji Link) extensive network of destinations across the country and the South Pacific Fiji Airways CEO and Managing Director Andre Viljoen said “These two new ATR aircraft are a significant investment in Fiji’s domestic connectivity They are an important part of our commitment to providing comfortable and efficient travel options for our passengers and offering greater connectivity between our islands This fleet expansion will also help us continue to meet the growing demand for domestic travel ensuring that we can provide increased capacity where it’s needed most.” “We’re excited to introduce our new Fiji Link uniforms which bring us closer to our goal of a unified brand The standardization of our uniforms across Fiji Airways and Fiji Link reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence and professionalism ensuring that our crew represents the highest standards of service Fiji Airways ATR’s operates the following routes: Nadi – Tongatapu Nadi – Labasa and Suva – Labasa Firefly will begin four new international routes from Malaysia to be conducted with Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured for 189 passengers in single class Kuala Lumpur Subang and Penang will have these additions: Singapore and Tawau are part of Firefly’s schedule In addition to Fiji Airways and Air Tahiti the latter as you will see below in the table of new aircraft Air New Zealand incorporates another ATR 72 to its fleet The aircraft, registered ZK-MZG departed Toulouse on December 21st and arrived in Christchurch on December 29th about a 40-hour flight not including stops and nearly 20,000 kilometers As per our database, the ATR entered service on January 16th with flight NZ 5503 between Christchurch and Invercargil (IVC) Air New Zealand’s fleet is comprised of 112 aircraft The Russian airline will expand its domestic schedule starting in January with two new routes from/to Krasnoyarsk and another to/from Kaliningrad Air Astana will add two new services to Nha Trang from Kazakhstan which it will operate on Airbus A321neo aircraft Almatý and Astana will be part of the schedule: The company will increase its frequencies between Hangzhou and Tokyo Narita currently offered four times a week with Airbus A321-200s and Airbus A330-300s Air India commenced services between Delhi and Hyderabad using Airbus A350-900 jets the airline will provide a daily frequency on this route with the A350s Air India operates 12 flights per day between the two cities 11 of which are performed by Vistara’s Airbus A320neo Azerbaijan Airlines will boost operations between Baku and Beijing Capital starting February 28th The company serves Boeing 767-300(ER) planes AZAL has 2 Boeing 767-300ERs in its fleet (4K-AZ81 and 4K-AZ82) Centrum confirms its first schedule with Airbus A330-300 aircraft which will join the Uzbek airline’s fleet as of March Medina and Seoul Incheon will be its routes The Chinese airline inaugurated services between Beijing Daxing and Phu Quoc on January 14th Operations will have a daily frequency by 158-seat Airbus A320-200s China Southern Airlines’ first flight to Jeju took off from Changchun the carrier will offer two operations a week on Airbus A320s China Southern Airlines is the only company serving this route China United Airlines began operations between Beijing Daxing and Vientiane on December 10th The first service departed from the Chinese capital at 09:58 local time to Laos’ main city and capital The airline will expand from three weekly flights to daily on the Taipei – Matsuyama route which it operates with 184-passenger Airbus A321-200s In addition to the four new routes previously announced the Malaysian carrier will launch operations between Langkawi and Chengdu by Boeing 737-800s the Indian low-cost carrier resumed flights between Hyderabad and Dhaka after almost a year of suspension IndiGo will serve on Airbus A320neo aircraft The South Korean airline modifies part of its operating schedule following the accident at Muan airport on December 29th temporarily reducing frequencies and routes Jetstar Asia will initiate a new route between Singapore and Indonesia starting March 20th The company will offer two services a week to Labuan Bajo with 186-seat Airbus A320-200 aircraft Jetstar will be the only operator on this route The company plans to resume flights to Matzu Nangan from Kaohsiung following a two-month hiatus Mandarin is scheduled to perform two weekly charter flights on ATR 72-500 aircraft The airline will operate three to four times per week by Boeing 737-800s seating 189 passengers Nok Air has 14 Boeing 737-800 in its fleet SCAT Airlines’ first flight to Turkistan took off Aktobe The Kazakh airline will serve three weekly times using 189-seat Boeing 737-800 airplanes which we will report on soon in another article Scoot has announced that it will expand its operations in the Philippines with a new route from Singapore effective April 14th The airline will serve to Iloilo with Embraer E190-E2 for 112 passengers: Shenzhen Airlines’ inaugural flight from Nanjing landed in Hong Kong Operations will be carried out three times a week with the following schedule New route between Australia and New Zealand The airline will begin serving to Brisbane from Auckland with Airbus A320-200 aircraft as of February 21st Solomon Airlines will operate once-weekly: Munda (Solomon Islands) and Port Vila (Vanuatu) are its destinations from Brisbane It also has two flights per week between Port Vila and Auckland Spring increases frequencies on three routes in the China-Japan market which it operates by Airbus A320-200s and Boeing 737-800s seating 174/180/186 and 189 passengers The airline has confirmed it will launch two new routes between Taiwan and Kobe STARLUX Airlines will provide 10 weekly flights to Kobe International Airport using Airbus A321neo aircraft with 188 seats in single class More flights between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur US-Bangla Airlines expands from seven to nine weekly operations on this route New services on Thursdays and Sundays (BS 317) and Mondays and Fridays (BS 318) The Russian airline commenced two new routes from Tyumen in early January which it will offer with 70-seat ATR 72-500s Xiamen Airlines’ first service to Laos’ capital departed from Beijing Daxing at 10:02 local time on December 15th started this route five days after China United Airlines Both airlines will be the only operators between the two capitals Cover photo: Tomasz Habaj – JetPhotos (Sydney Kingsford Smith Int’l Airport – YSSY – Australia) so join more than 1.7 million others who receive weekly aviation industry and flight tracking news from Flightradar24 direct to their inbox We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network See all subscription plans Explore the top 10 most tracked aircraft and find out why these particular aircraft draw so much interest We are continually looking to improve our flight tracking and the airports below are where new receivers will add the most coverage Apply for a receiver today and if accepted you’ll receiver a free Flightradar24 Business Subscription I’m a professional snowboarder who has been riding for 30 years taking bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and now I’m focused on mentoring the next generation capturing footage and sharing my passion for the sport that’s been my life for three decades “Sapporo is one of the few places in the world with the perfect combo of incredible food and grade A snowboarding—it goes together like peanut butter and jelly.” As a coach who has traveled to ski resorts around the world, I’m often asked what my favorite place to snowboard is. My answer is always the same: anywhere in western US, Japan, and Switzerland. Outside of riding in my home country, Japan is at the top of the list, with Sapporo being one of my top three ski destinations in the world where I grew up—it’s a proper city surrounded by mountains Although the mountains here are even closer JJ Thomas and fellow pro snowboarder Toby Miller enjoying a free footbath at Jozankei. Learn more we’ve been snowboarding at the best resorts and then we go out at night and eat the best food It lets you refuel and recover your body to get ready for big days on the mountain “The snowboarding videos coming out of Sapporo may look extreme but the city has something for all levels of skier and rider.” Just 30-50 minutes from downtown, Sapporo’s ski resorts are irresistibly close to the city. Learn more we can’t do that.” But Sapporo has something for everyone There are the mountains that are close and accessible and this beautiful city that’s so easy to navigate We rarely get this kind of variety when we go to the mountains in other places around the world so sometimes it can be a bit boring if you’re not really into skiing and snowboarding One experience that stands out was sushi first thing in the morning at the fish market I’ve never been to a real fish market which you have to go because that’s when everyone buys their fish but after eating the fresh fish and enjoying some roasted green tea I might have to make sushi in the morning a thing back home especially with this cold weather—it just warms you up I think it’s a perfect meal because it’s hydrating and nourishing at the same time so why not replace that with ramen in the winter and a thriving local snowboarding culture—Teine was like a dream.” Teine Ski Resort, just 30 minutes from the city. Learn more Teine offers very steep pitch right off the lift There was also a gate that you could exit and walk for five minutes to reach beautiful along with the expert runs there were plenty of easy ways down We rode powder in the morning and the terrain park and groomers in the afternoon It was cool to see groups of snowboarders riding together I could see that snowboarding culture is alive in Sapporo we even rode with some people from a snowboard tuning shop in Jozankei called Terminal but I’ve never seen it pulled off with a snowboard shop before With so much to offer it’s easy to entertain people in Sapporo I can see myself coming back with the whole family and staying here for a longer time they’ll still have plenty of fun things to do The owner of Terminal is Yasu Tomhiro. He is a fantastic rider and even better friend that I’ve known for the over twenty years he has worked in the snowboard industry. He absolutely loves to ride, make sure to visit him. https://www.instagram.com/terminal_sapporo/ Shuzo runs the coffee shop, Screaming Sand. He’s another long time rider and a great human being. https://www.instagram.com/screaming__sand/ If you do not make Terminal, visit Lov in Sapporo. It’s Yasu’s main store. I cannot speak highly enough of these two and their love of the sport. https://www.instagram.com/lov.sapporostore/ Always good to hear about the legends behind these places Ski Asia’s bi-monthly newsletter with the latest news It's an understatement to say that things have changed when it comes to restaurants Portland, Maine over the last 10 or 20 years. Many of the longtime standard bars and restaurants that were the cornerstone of the Old Port no longer exist today Most of the those restaurants and bars have simply thrown in the towel They had a great run and decided that run was over But others saw the changing landscape of the city and decided to pick up and move elsewhere One of the those longtime restaurants was Sapporo. Sapporo spent nearly four decades operating in Portland and has been a staple along Commercial Street for as long as many people can remember Late last summer, Sapporo announced that they would be departing their space in Portland and reopening in Falmouth New space but same great menu and service that customers came to know and love in Portland According to Portland Food Map, Sapporo is ready to showcase their brand new location in Falmouth. The new Sapporo restaurant will be located in the Wyeth Building. The Wyeth is a new development of upscale condos directly off I-295 and located conveniently next to Falmouth Shopping Center Sapporo had closed their Portland location at the end of January and after a brief stint in the dark will hold their grand opening in Falmouth on Monday Their website states they'll be open for lunch and dinner six days per week and closed on Sunday After spending more than four decades in Portland, Maine, popular restaurant Sapporo sets grand opening date at their new spot in Falmouth\nRead More It's an understatement to say that things have changed when it comes to restaurants Portland, Maine Late last summer, Sapporo announced that they would be departing their space in Portland and reopening in Falmouth According to Portland Food Map, Sapporo is ready to showcase their brand new location in Falmouth. The new Sapporo restaurant will be located in the Wyeth Building. The Wyeth is a new development of upscale condos directly off I-295 and located conveniently next to Falmouth Shopping Center Many companies would rather their workers didn’t form unions because union workers tend to make more money and take less shit than non-union workers and don’t have to pretend they think of their bosses like “family.” So companies will often try to kibosh their workers’ organizing efforts Owners and managers like to call this practice “union avoidance,” or simply “persuading,” which is somehow both less and more revealing and their allies have another term for it: “union-busting.” Sapporo-Stone Brewing is currently doing it Stone Richmond workers told VinePair they were organizing for all the standard stuff: better pay In early June, before the drive even went public, Sapporo-Stone Brewing (SSB) caught wind of it. There are few secrets in brewhouses, after all. The firm, which had just completed a $40 million renovation on the brewery to boost its capacity to pump out fresh Sapporo Premium for the U.S It’s important to be explicit that this doesn’t have to happen. Stone workers who want to be represented by Teamsters Local 322 signed union cards saying so; the union told me it went public with around 70 percent of cards signed from workers in the proposed bargaining unit (more on this in a moment). If Stone wanted to, it could run a card check see if the union did indeed have majority support among its workers no journalists have to dedicate another f*cking column to corporate union-busting SSB has chosen the hard way forward for itself and its workers because bosses have two extremely formidable weapons at their disposal: GRCA did not respond to a request for comment SSB’s spokesperson declined multiple requests to comment on hiring the infamous firm or any of my other questions about the drive Pro-union workers inside Stone Richmond have told Hop Take what GRCA’s sub-contracted operatives are up to at the plant since arriving two months ago Combined with Stone’s in-house bosses’ own tactics it amounts to color-by-numbers union-busting The company sent workers “a big letter telling us they love us and know they f*cked up and hope we can forgive them,” a pro-union worker told me via text Richmond supervisors began scheduling round-tables with workers “who have had experiences with unions in the past” to share their experiences with coworkers and sent out messages to an internal communication board soliciting stories from workers who “experienced or valued something during” their time working at the company “and how Sapporo-Stone enabled it.” In late July it issued a round of purportedly pre-planned raises The company also formed a Richmond-specific “Cultural Action Team” with local bosses and employees which eventually produced an ice-cream social in mid-August that would allow managers to rub elbows with workers on a visit to Virginia Workers tie-dyed shirts and ate frozen desserts alongside members of SSB’s executive team “It felt like a combination of the classic ‘pizza party’ move, plus [Richmond managers] trying to show off to the executives that we sometimes have fun,” another current worker told me, referring to a popular pro-labor meme The initial filing with the NLRB specified the proposed bargaining unit would only include workers at the Richmond warehouse not SSB’s separate warehouse east of the city; Teamsters Local 322 has since agreed to loop in workers at that warehouse at the company’s request “They’re trying to dilute the [pro-union] vote and they know it’s creating more work for me,” Local 322’s Dwayne Johnson told Hop Take by phone Wednesday This seemingly innocuous gambit puts organizers in a bind Either agree to the expansion and dilute the vote or fight the company before the labor board and give the impression it doesn’t want the workers covered by the proposed expansion in the union “It’s a little bit of an uphill battle now that they added” around 10 warehouse workers to the proposed unit but he said the union eventually planned to organize the warehouse anyway including shift leads (which the company is also fighting to exclude from the election apparently because it considers them as likely pro-union voters) a resource maintained by the Communications Workers of America) I’m not going to bother addressing each point here The flyers ominously cast the Teamsters Local 322 as an “outside third-party,” even though they were almost certainly written by GRCA or its agents — outside third-parties themselves Will this union-busting playbook work in Richmond But it will certainly cost SSB a lot of money either way — money it could use to “We’re in a housing crisis in the city of Richmond right now and a lot of that comes down to what our workforce is compensated,” he tells me Obviously, this is a smart stance for a politician to take when running for office in a relatively blue city like Richmond. Then again, with pro-labor sentiment at historic highs nationally, it could be a smart stance for SSB, too If only the firm would take a page out of that playbook Coming soon to a stadium near you: Beer Now FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2025 PlayLoading... Depiction of Songkran wows nearly 2 million visitors who attended snow sculpture event  A Thai ice-sculpting team has secured second place at the 49th International Snow Sculpture Contest in Sapporo, with their masterful depiction of the nation's renowned Songkran festival. The team's creation, entitled "The World Water Festival", features a mother and baby elephant caught in a moment of playful interaction, symbolising the familial bonds celebrated during Thailand's traditional New Year festivities.  The piece was unveiled during the contest, which ran from 3-7 February. "This sculpture beautifully captures the essence of Songkran," said Nithee Seeprae, TAT deputy governor for marketing communications. "The festival, recognised by UNESCO as cultural heritage, represents the perfect blend of tradition and celebration that draws millions to Thailand each April.” This year's entry aimed to promote Songkran's elevation to global recognition, supporting TAT's broader strategy to position the water festival among the world's top 10 cultural celebrations. The sculpture attracted considerable attention from the festival's estimated 2 million visitors, with organisers distributing commemorative elephant keychains to encourage social media engagement. The annual contest forms a cornerstone of the Sapporo Snow Festival, which has become one of Japan's most celebrated winter attractions.  Cardinals enter seclusion ahead of secret conclave to elect new pope Japan, China, South Korea, ASEAN enhance regional financial safety net Thai Parliament built for 20B, seeks 1B repairs after 5 years Health Ministry warns of deadly 'Deafness Fever' outbreak DPU trains 98 game designers to promote Thai-made games as new soft power To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible In search of the perfect shot of fall foliage a retreat nestled in a valley alive with fall colors.  this scenic area features hot spring facilities scattered along both banks of a mountain stream and Japanese maple trees that turn vivid shades of red and yellow They frame the Toyohira River that flows through the heart of the valley.  Just under 30 kilometers from downtown Sapporo drawing around 2.5 million visitors annually Situated within the Shikotsu-Toya National Park Jozankei's high-quality hot springs offer relaxing warmth to invigorate weary travelers The hot spring water naturally rises from the Toyohira Riverbed With an abundant flow of 8,600 liters per minute it's easy to see why this hot spring area is so popular Jozankei's hot springs were first opened in 1866 The springs were discovered by a monk called Miizumi Jozan with guidance from the local Ainu people He established a healing retreat here for those suffering from illness and injury.  Jozan dedicated himself to developing the area creating paths to the springs and laying the foundations for what Jozankei is today His spirit of service continues to live on in this place with some trees already shedding their leaves Strong winds and rain marked the season's transition locals prepare for winter by tying ropes around shrubs to prevent branches from breaking under the weight of snow Snow-covered Jozankei is just as captivating as it is during autumn "Even though it's located within a major city, it provides a place for nature-related activities. I hope visitors can feel the majesty of nature and leave refreshed," said Shinya Tachibana of the Jozankei Tourism Association I enjoyed one last soak in a hot spring overlooking the valley I reflected on monk Jozan's enduring passion for this place You must be logged in to post a comment. ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " 2024 at 9:37 PM EDTBookmarkSaveSapporo Holdings Ltd shares surged after the Japanese brewer said it would solicit proposals for external investment in its real estate business following pressure from activist investors The stock rose as much as 13% Wednesday morning in Tokyo its biggest intraday climb since March 2011 The company plans to start seeking offers for its real estate subsidiary which runs properties including the upscale Yebisu Garden Place commercial complex it said in a statement after market hours the previous day It’s also considering asset sales or a tax-qualified spinoff