YariGuy

Depends... if you're with young kids maybe 1 day in Sapporo would be enough. With adults I like staying in Sapporo, going shopping, eating, and drinking for a couple of days. Actually even with kids depending on how old they are you can take them to the Maruyama zoo and other attractions that may be good for a couple of days.

fallinasleep

Unfortunately, I need to buy new ski gloves, goggles and extra socks once I get to Niseko, but I won't have a lot of time.

Our bus is scheduled to get in at 7pm and our ski lessons are the next morning starting at 10am (but in reality we need to get there by 9am to rent skis, pay for lessons, etc.).

Is the selection at the ski shop in Niseko Village decent? I believe the shop stays open til 8pm, is that right? If not, then I might get off the bus at the Hirafu Welcome Centre and look for a better shop. Are there any shops at Chitose airport that sell any of these items (I should have 45-60 minutes to shop at the airport before my bus)?


Thanks!

RCTP

I've tried emailing the hotel 3 times before my arrival to check on transportation options. Nobody replied me. Better to just call them direct.

mnredfox

Just call direct, their English is good enough but not great.

TerryK

Have you tried [email protected]?

sniles

Niseko Village shop is fine for gloves and socks, but not a wide selection of goggles. I bought my stuff at Rhythm snow sports at the Hirafu intersection, they have a big selection for all gear.

RCTP

Yup. Sent emails to that account. But don't be shy about calling them. Their English is good and they do have western staff there too.

Duke787

Awesome - I ended up calling Chuo and then earlier today got an email from the hotel concierge say they had made a booking for me. Debating whether to email them back to alert them that I had already made the booking or just leave it as is and sort it out when I get to CTS next week

mnredfox

Glad it worked out. For clarification, I meant call Chuo directly. That's what I do, but glad to hear the hotel can help.

Duke787

I ended up calling Chuo as well so all advice was great. For those who have stayed last question, what room numbers are most recommended for both view and location within the property. I'm eligible for online checkin and there appear to be a handful of rooms facing each of the 3 directions so not sure which would be best.

Also rooms are available to me on 8, 9, 12, and 17 - any reason not to go for 12 or 17?

fallinasleep

I had the same question as you and called the hotel (was bounced around three times though). My Yotei view room was in the mid 60s. Having said that, it might also depend on your room type. I would go for a higher floor but that means a longer elevator ride. Personally, if view didn't matter, I would go for a room near the elevator.

For food, I ate at Two Sticks in the village area a few times. Can recommend their Hainan Chicken Rice and Laksa (surprisingly). Pad Thai was mediocre, too much sugar.

Had wanted to try to all you can eat sushi lunch option in the hotel but never had the time.

Room service ramen was also surprisingly good with lots of crab meat.

Have a great time.

fallinasleep

I ended up renting and buying gear from Rhythm/Beats in Hirafu as well as renting my skis from the rental shop next to the Hilton. There was nothing at the airport.

The selections at the Hilton ski rental shop and at the shop in the Hilton Niseko village area were actually decent for gloves and beanies and competitively priced for the area. Goggle selection was more limited, and there were no helmets for sale as far as I can tell.

I certainly overpaid for the goggles and shoe grips at Beats (goggles would have been half the price from a US online store even with the FX rate and shoe grips were 33% cheaper in the Hilton ski rental shop; I highly recommend getting shoe grips) but they have the biggest selection, and if you want a rental helmet, Rhythm is more likely to have something in stock.

I met someone who bought used skis in Kutchan and that was very price effective versus renting, if you are there for a while and have the time to look around.

yucci18

I am looking at going to Niseko this december. However, hilton doesn't seem to be selling rooms past 31st November. Do they open the schedule later during the year?

Duke787

Thanks! Time for my brief overall review for those interested.

Ended up in room 1767 - had a spectacular view of Mt. Yotei. Overall it was a fantastic experience - many of the complaints I've seen on TA (taken with a grain of salt as always) I think center on having expectations that are way too high. While one day this may be the Vail or Aspen of Japan it isn't yet but for what it is right now the Hilton is great.

The gondola operated for 2.5 of the 3 days we were skiing and was incredibly convenient and allowed easy access to all 3 other mountains. Compared to the US the 8 hour lift-ticket was cheap (5200 which given the cheap Yen was just $43) and the skis / boots cost ~125 for 3 days. In addition other things like Coke Zero / Coffee from the vending machine was relatively inexpensive compared to US ski resorts (200 yen for a Coke Zero)

The two twin beds in the room are unfortunate if traveling with your SO but given how tired we were after each day skiing it wasn't the end of the world.

The onsen was nice though I have nothing to compare it to - both the gf and I found it to be an interesting experience but the actual facilities were quite nice.

The only real disappointment was the on-property food which was subpar and overpriced (but still way cheaper than on-property food at any ski resort I've stayed in stateside). I was also disappointed with the limited options in Niseko Village (hopefully given time they expand) and the relative difficulty in getting to Hirafu if you want more options. It also is challenging to get there from a time perspective (it took us 31 hours from RDU to CTS) but having a flatbed (JL J) across the Pacific certainly made things easier.

With all that being said both the GF and I have a strong desire to come back and stay at the Hilton and ski in Niseko sometime in the relatively near future.

jpdx

I'm planning a trip to Hokkaido in late Oct. Is this place worth visiting in off-season? What's the weather like at that time?

From reading the last few pages, sounds like Diamond benefits are minimal; I'm actually deciding between this place and Windsor Toya; the latter looks like a much much better hotel; the question is, is it worth three times as much?