This Japanese 7-Eleven has the most expensive drinks, and item, we’ve even seen at the chain

But the startlingly pricy item isn’t something that you can eat or drink .

When international travel fans hear the name Niseko , they think of some of the finest skiing and snowboarding venues that Japan has to offer.

For many Japanese residents, though, the first thing that springs to mind when they think of this town in Hokkaido Prefecture is high prices .

Because of the weak yen, Japan is not only receiving more international visitors than ever before, they’re spending more as well.

Factor in the fact that winter sports already tend to be a wealthy person’s hobby, and it creates a situation where there’s a lot of foreign tourist money chasing goods and services in Niseko these days.

There are residual effects on prices even in the non-snowy season, during which the town is also seeing more overseas tourists than it did before as it increasingly features in travel roundups of must-visit places on a trip to Japan.

But even with that backdrop, we were still shocked at the luxury we found for sale in a Niseko 7-Ekeven .

We stopped by Niseko on a recent trip to Hokkaido ( after trying Ainu cuisine elsewhere in the prefecture ).

While there’s obviously no skiing or snowboarding to be done at this time of year, there’s plenty of beautiful mountain and forest scenery, plus outdoor activities such as river rafting and ziplining, that can be enjoyed in the town’s “green season.” Niseko Village , a collection of shops and restaurants, is also open during the summer, although with some tenants taking time off until the snow starts falling again.

Taking a look at the menu boards of the restaurants that were open, we spotted several examples of the infamous “Niseko kakaku,” or “Niseko prices.” For example, Ramen Dining Gogyo is a restaurant managed by Ippudo, a ramen chain founded in Fukuoka Prefecture, that sells its specialty tonkotsu ramen for around 1,000 yen (US$6.30) a bowl.

At Gogyo, though, they charge roughly double that, 1,980 yen.

Those prices still might not sound so bad if you’re converting them to a foreign currency, but for locals who get paid in yen, they’re astronomical.

The modestly sized “artisan pizzas” being offered at another restaurant in the village weren’t any more wallet-friendly, starting at 3,300 yen. ▼ Another tell-tale sign of tourist-oriented menu design: the presence of pepperoni, which isn’t a particularly popular topping at Japanese pizza places.

And while it’s not located in the Niseko Village center, the Niseko Branch of 7-Eleven gave us the biggest shocks of the day .