Paul Nikel, President of West Canada Homes, with an increasingly rare supply of styrofoam | ERIC JOHNSTON

NISEKO, HOKKAIDO –

With ski season ending, spring in Hokkaido’s Niseko area brings friendlier weather for building multimillion-dollar vacation homes and condominiums for domestic and overseas clients. 

But the Iran war and the stoppage of oil shipments from the Strait of Hormuz mean current projects in Niseko might not be completed on time, while the start of others could be pushed back due to the growing lack of a heavily used product made from petroleum-derived naphtha: styrofoam.

Paul Nikel, president of West Canada Homes, which has completed many projects in the Niseko and Hakuba resort areas, says that the entire schedule for a building’s completion could be thrown off without styrofoam.

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