Hey Niseko: How are you riding out the recession?

I promised my wife a 3-day vacation, and we decided to have it in Niseko (I'm in Hakodate year-long). This meant avoiding work, which is really hard for me to do in Niseko, I'm sure you all know the feeling. Still, I was impressed with the way people have adapted their lifestyles to the current economic situation. Everybody's still plugging away, but the Niseko lifestyle is back! People hitting up the onsens, taking advantage of opportunities to fish, hike, cycle, etc. People making time to live, instead of spending all their time trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents! The quiet in the village was also a nice change from the construction that started up every morning at 7:55am when I lived in Hirafu. Anyway, for the first time in a long time, I realised I really wanted to live in Niseko again. You may be seeing more of me.