AROUND this time of year, Niseko – the famous ski resort town in Hokkaido – is teeming with tourists hitting the snowy slopes. As any Singaporean who’s there at this time will tell you, Niseko is also a place where the chances of bumping into someone you know are very high, thanks to the resort’s popularity with citizens of the Lion City. In fact, so high is the number of Singaporeans congregating in Niseko that it has led to a spate of familiar business names operating there as well – from big guns such as Simon Cheong’s SC Global with its holiday properties, to Nylon Coffee with its pop-up in a Singaporean-owned resort. And not to mention chef Willin Low, who was perhaps the first Singaporean to open a restaurant in Niseko. Named Roketto, it serves modern and well-known fare from the Republic.

In Friday’s issue of BT Lifestyle, meet the entrepreneurs who are riding the “Singapore wave” in Niseko. Elsewhere, we take a ride on the luxury Eastern and Oriental Express, the iconic train that is making its comeback after a pandemic hiatus. We also talk to French chef Daniel Boulud, who’s in town for the opening of his new restaurant, Maison Boulud.

And in Dining, check out the casual and buzzy Tribal at the Mondrian Singapore, where cooking by fire is way more fun than frying over a stove. Get all this and more in Friday’s edition of BT.