What winter clothes do we need to go to Niseko Village for our skiing holiday was the question that hit us as soon as we decided to go to a ski resort in Japan. We’ve been living in Bali for nearly a year now, and with being based in tropical conditions for over two years, we didn’t have any winter clothes hidden in the back of our wardrobe. And what we did bring as a ‘we may wear that option’, we never wore.
With such little time to shop for a whole new wardrobe for a climate we’d never experienced before, we stopped over for a night at the JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur , which is ideally located right on Bukit Bintang – the heart of KL. Adjacent from Pavillion Shopping Centre, next to Uniqlo, Zara and H&M, we were able to use our 24 hours in Kuala Lumpur to shop for all of our winter gear.
If you’re looking for some cute shots of yourself skiing, then we recommend picking up your own ski outfit. The ones for rental at the accommodations are traditional, padded and designed to keep you warm and safe, but aren’t exactly instagrammable or fashion conscious. Don’t believe us? This is how we looked going down the slopes (oh dear).
Here’s a list of winter clothes that we did buy to go to Niseko Village along with what we should have bought.
Emu Boots – Our saviours from the cold. Keeping your feet warm is essential whenever you’re in a cold climate and normal shoes will just not cut it. We ordered Emu Boots from Australia and had them delivered to our hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Helped keep us nice and toasty even in -10. If you can, pick up water-resistant boots.
Inner Thermals – These are essential! We bought one top each and one leggings from Uniqlo. We bought them to go under our ski outfits for when we went skiing but we ended up wearing them throughout our entire stay!. We recommend you buy the ultra-heat level and a set for every two days, so if you stay for six days, buy three of each.
Scarf – We picked up cashmere scarfs from Zara and they were such a comfort to have when we were going around the village or when we were inside and just wanted to take off our coats.
Neck Warmer – You’ll be grateful for this when you go either skiing or snowmobiling or doing anything that could have you bracing cold wind whipping against your exposed neck.
Gloves – We got mobile touch pad gloves from Daiso. We wanted to be able to take photos and videos with our phone, but in truth, we’d have appreciated warmer gloves.
Powerbanks / Extra Camera Battery / External Battery Charger – A bit of a shock to us shooting content in such drastically different conditions was how the cold temperature affected our camera gear. Batteries deplete so much faster in the cold weather and both of our iPhones just died at around 40% when the temperature plummeted.
Ear Muffs and Hats – Warm headgear is essential for dealing with the cold as you don’t want to go around with sore ears. We both picked up stylish and cute hats and ear muffs from Forever 21 and H&M.
Knee High Socks – These are purely for the ‘gram’ as they look so cute when paired with an adorable cardigan or jumper. We found several different types in Forever 21 that were ideal for those stylish winter shots.
Sunscreen – Surprised to find this on the list? We were too, until our last morning when we saw what blue-sky skiing conditions looked like. Being just at the start of winter, the risk of getting sunburnt on the slopes were slim, but when you’re skiing as late as April, then there’s every chance you might catch a bit of colour.
Interested in wearing your new winter clothes at Niseko Village? You can check out our guide so you can maximise your new winter wardrobe by clicking here.
