Hirafu to join Niseko town government area | Forum

darci ford 2011-10-30 09:58:27

It seems that Kutchan and Hirafu dont work well together. Hirafu is an International Tourist location and Kutchan is a Government town. Why stay in a relationship that isnt working? I hear complaints from both parties, there is little common ground. I think Hirafu should change governance areas and join Niseko town. Niseko Town is far more focused on Tourism and prepared to do everything possible to make the area a better place to live and visit. Hirafu is advertised internationally as Niseko, not Kutchan..... Tell me Im wrong..... Cheers, Darci Ford

Chishiki (2011-10-31 14:48:36)

Don't think you're wrong. The only way foreign guests hear of Kutchan is when they see the address on their reservation confirmation and they're like... "WTF is Kutchan?" Kind of a shame, its one reason we started this site back in the day.

Niseko was geared towards being a resort from long ago (albeit for retirees and Honshu refugees) while Kutchan has remained focused primarily on agriculture. Those priorities are quite clear. I mean, the farmers vote... we don't. Also, with Kutchan getting some pretty coin in tax loot out of having Kutchan & Hanazono on their side of the mountain, I doubt they'd give it up without a fight. You're talking about secession, which is awesome :laugh: but probably less likely than a Kutchan-Niseko merger of some kind.

As for the marketing... I think its a fairly widely held opinion that the NPB's effectiveness seems blunted by the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra]structure of the entity[/url], a lack of vision, poor year-to-year staff continuity, and of course budget. This is no insult to all of the kind people who worked their asses off there, but it is a challenge to the organization to come up with some big ideas and a road map for getting the resort there.

Some of the frustration may even be shared by the NPB. The Japanese bureaucracy seems designed to choke the life out of any initiative. Either 10 dudes sign off on it, or everybody just stands around scratching the back of their heads sucking wind through their teeth. Back home we call that hesitant or indecisive. Here its just called due process.

darci ford (2011-11-07 08:34:57)

I dont think it would be that difficult to change government areas.

Your forgetting that the majority of voting Kutchan farmers and townsfolk dont have a great liking for the new Hirafu folk. We just need to make the voters and the council think its their idea. The politics of division and racism will clear the path for progress.

There is no better way to sure up votes than to start a war, it unifies a population against an enemy. Hokkaido government is under a lot of financial pressure, and a Kutchan war against Hirafu would be a great distraction for the mayor at election time. The mayor will follow the path that most guarantees his reelection....

If you feel like playing puppet master please email me direct. We could have some fun!

cheers,

Darci

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