Branka Malnar

Eight of us from eight countries were invited to Niseko, Japan's best ski centre and one of the world's top ski resorts. It gets about 15 meters of the most attractive dry powder snow annually. We spent a week there and, in addition to Niseko and the neighbouring towns, I briefly visited Sapporo. It is difficult to point out a single thing that impressed me – from their respect for nature, to the cuisine and their respect for ingredients apparent in every restaurant we went to. The dishes reminded me more of Mediterranean cuisine than to those served in Japanese restaurants back home. Then the safety and honesty, theft is almost non-existent. And, of course – onsen, hot springs and the bathing facilities resembling small ponds. Only later did I realize that I got the best definition of Japan from my colleague Ramon Vilaro Giralt, for many years the El Pais correspondent in Japan, who said: “The entire world is different, and Japan is different from the entire world.”