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Spring Break 2015: Skiing in Japan
Spring Break 2015 Trip Report
Introduction Welcome to my second trip report. It has been far too long since I’ve written one of these and I have a couple trips that I need to write up. I’m going to go out of order and write about my most recent one since it is still fresh in my memory and unlike my previous trip report (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ca-j-nh-f.html) this one is being written after the fact. Planning and Ticketing After spending the last few years as a consultant I decided to return to school to get my MBA. Since I was no longer flying on a regular basis (nor earning an income) it seemed like an appropriate time to begin working through the various miles and points I earned through my time as a consultant. With a heavy course load in the Fall and a focus on internship recruiting over Winter Break (business school is hard), our two week Spring Break was the first opportunity to plan an international trip. After doing a lot of sightseeing on my last two trips, I wanted this trip to be focused on one of my other interests, skiing. With that in mind my girlfriend selflessly volunteered to join me and I went about researching and planning the specifics. My initial thought for Spring Break skiing was to go to Europe but after a lot of research I decided on somewhere more unique (for skiing), Japan, specifically Niseko roughly 2.5 hours from Sapporo. As luck would have it, Hilton runs a hotel in Niseko which was offering very reasonable Cash and Points bookings for 12k + 48k Yen. With the main “activity” of the trip planned, it was time to plan the remaining pieces. First was the obvious visit to Tokyo. My girlfriend had never been to Tokyo (or Japan at all) while my two previous visits were simply 16 hour layovers that I planned into UA award trips to get sushi and Japanese Whisky. Fortunately the Hyatt Regency Tokyo was offering a rate of ~22k Yen/night with a DSU immediately putting us into the Regency Suite. We also decided that Hong Kong was another place that neither of us had visited but that we both had significant interest in visiting. With that in mind I found the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong TST with a rate of $1750HKD/night with a DSU giving us a Regency Suite. With the hotels in place I turned to award bookings. After switching over to AA from UA a couple of years ago this would be planning a OneWorld award trip. After extensive searching I was unable to find any JL F flights to TYO however I did find JL J flights on SFO - HND with an onward connection from HND - CTS. At just 50k miles/person this was quite a steal. A few (9k) Avios later we had 2 CTS - HND tickets booked. Another 22k Avios + $362 and we had two seats on CX J on the upper deck HND - HKG. Finally, 67.5 more AA miles/person and we had HKG - ORD - RDU on CX F (a flight that was later changed to the next day after CX canceled the 2nd HKG - ORD flight and moved us to CX 806 the following morning). Overall this is the final set of flights:
As for the hotels:
In order to jump to any specific events (including lounges) I’ve also added a list here:
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Skiing in Japan is always interesting and new, and I went earlier this Jan to ski there as well with a couple of friends. Though I also visited Kiroro and Rusutsu, both of which have new SPG resorts for redemptions too.
I have not heard much good things about the Hilton Niseko though so would be nice to see your review for once. |
RDU - CLT - SFO
Not much to say for these flights - I didn’t even take pictures. My main memory is the FA on the CLT - SFO leg being shocked when my girlfriend and I asked for 2x Bailey’s instead of having the dessert they were serving. SFO - HND (JL 1) After a quick Sapporo in the JL J lounge (sorry no pictures - not much to really write home about in that lounge), we finally made our way down to the gate for boarding the 777 in OneWorld livery that would take us over to HND and one step closer to skiing in Japan. http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psz3m91tgh.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pstogz7xfe.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psyrulohby.jpg it had already been quite a long day when we finally boarded the flight to HND. We’d left RDU at 6pm EST and nearly 10 hours later we were finally on board JL 1. For me this was the 1st time on JL after previously flying NH F the year before. For my girlfriend this was her first J experience of any kind on any airline. Exhausted from our earlier travel she immediately put the bed in lie-flat and promptly slept until we were about 45 minutes out from HND. I on the other hand was busy exploring everything around me. On the seat was a bright red Tumi bag with the standard toiletries (great bag - still use it to carry my electronics) http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pstsr7oxmi.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3kszrquq.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psdlorubqv.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psfznxayaa.jpg Already sitting at my seat was the BEDD menu which detailed the meal offerings available on the flight. Given the late departure there was a very limited meal service with a slightly more robust breakfast offering before landing. http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psqkf0w06e.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psznvko9jf.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psmjgn1h1r.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psu0xw1fxl.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psefufqxkz.jpg And of course I had to take a look at the wine menu. Sadly unlike their *A counterpart (NH), JL only serves NAS Whiskey from Suntory instead of the Hibiki 17 served by NH in J. http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3eohgrmi.jpg Within a few minutes we were up in the air and despite the late departure, the FAs sprung into action as we started to make our way over the Pacific: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pskn4k1ice.jpg First up was the “assorted Nigiri”: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psemj6tacw.jpg And of course it wouldn’t be complete without a glass of the Delamonte Blanc de Blancs. Here’s to you FlyerTalk! http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psxm1u5yzu.jpg Before going to sleep time for a quick Hakushu NAS nightcap: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8qa2arqa.jpg After nearly 6 hours of sleep, I woke up somewhere over the Pacific and was starving so I decided to give the “Steamed Rice with Salmon & Salmon Roe in Green Tea” a try: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psmw87ivv4.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psyshkzdhu.jpg Not bad! I wish they had given me more roe but it was quite a tasty dish. I followed it up with a forgettable cheese plate: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pseczo8dmw.jpg After a couple of hours of dozing on and off the lights came on and the FAs began to prepare breakfast. As a lover of all things Japan, I decided that I would forgo the Western breakfast and instead go for the Japanese breakfast. Thankfully, they also brought me a Froosh smoothie: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psechvzzsa.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psirlmy4yy.jpg Shortly after my girlfriend finally woke up (so jealous of that 9 hour sleep over the Pacific) and we landed in Tokyo! JAL Domestic F Lounge (Diamond Premier Lounge) After a quick run through HND transit security we made it out into the main terminal and headed for the lounge. By the time we actually took the flight I had dropped to AA Gold (OW Ruby) but for some reason my reservation was still the EXP/OWE status I had when I booked the trip. As a result we were quickly welcomed into the JAL Diamond Premier Lounge. The lounge was quite nice with lots of seating including some private nooks and crannies that had nice sightlines of the tarmac. http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psfn4fqssq.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psbk8irbtj.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4fkpmpuj.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pshbfdpnnz.jpg After enjoying the croissants and rolls http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pswcqcanxa.jpg I headed to the shower (don’t worry unlike my last TR I don’t plan to do a detailed review of every shower on this one). It was perfectly acceptable with lots of space within the shower, lots of pressure, and a rainfall showerhead http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psgwongy4d.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pskuccqp3t.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psbme4wnyg.jpg Before long it was time to head to our gate and board our flight up to CTS. Next up, a ramen at the CTS airport, a 2 hour busride to Niseko, and the Hilton Niseko. http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pscy4c9udp.jpg |
CTS to Hilton Niseko
After landing in Niseko we had about an hour to kill before boarding the bus that would take us to the Hilton Niseko. Since we were both famished we made our way over to the impressive food hall at CTS. http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pssnlt1tjl.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psrhsn7dso.jpg Overwhelmed by the number of restaurants and the intense marketing each restaurant was doing (literally multiple people coming up and telling us in Japanese why we should eat at their restaurant) we chose the ramen place with the most patrons, the chain No Ramen No Life. I went for the spicy miso Ramen which while delicious at the time later proved to be a huge mistake given the bumpiness of our impending bus ride http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pss9mqmz88.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psqrgi6hqw.jpg The bus ride cost ~$11 USD and was roughly 50% full. We snagged a seat in the back and proceeded to start watching Moneyball for the ~2.5 hour journey to the Hilton Niseko. It was a largely uneventful trip though parts were extremely bumpy. We also made a brief stop at a rest area but I forgot to take pictures so sadly have nothing to show for that. Here are a few pictures out the window from the ride: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4eurkoj8.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psfzv5tsop.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psbczvwjsi.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pssx4lna1a.jpg |
Great TR, thanks for posting!
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How was the skiing at Kororo, heading there in April ?
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Enjoying this TR. Looking forward to the rest. Hitting the slopes in Japan is on my list.
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Thanks for posting ^ I'm really looking forward to the rest
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Originally Posted by quirrow
(Post 26130470)
Skiing in Japan is always interesting and new, and I went earlier this Jan to ski there as well with a couple of friends. Though I also visited Kiroro and Rusutsu, both of which have new SPG resorts for redemptions too.
I have not heard much good things about the Hilton Niseko though so would be nice to see your review for once. It wasn't particularly difficult to get to either as weird as that might seem. We left at ~6pm EST arrived in Tokyo the "next morning" via the SFOHND flight and then were at the Hilton by mid-day. Not too terrible at all.
Originally Posted by HangukStyle
(Post 26135088)
Great TR, thanks for posting!
Originally Posted by BRITINJAPAN3
(Post 26135414)
How was the skiing at Kororo, heading there in April ?
Originally Posted by benjahman
(Post 26135584)
Enjoying this TR. Looking forward to the rest. Hitting the slopes in Japan is on my list.
Originally Posted by Madone59
(Post 26139525)
Thanks for posting ^ I'm really looking forward to the rest
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Editor’s Note: Apologize for the delay. These take time to write not to mention I’ve been a bit distracted by the disastrous Super Bowl performance we (Carolina Panthers) turned in.
Hilton Niseko and Niseko Ski Resort Coming into the trip I had fairly low expectations of the Hilton Niseko. It had decidedly mediocre reviews on both FlyerTalk and TripAdvisor. However with a rate of 12k HH + 48k Yen/night it was a no brainer for staying in Niseko. Prior to my stay I was offered an eUpgrade of 1k Yen/night to a Mt. Yotei View Twin Room which I thought was a no brainer and jumped on. I don’t have any pictures of the actual room but the view as well worth the extra ~$8 USD/night: After getting off the bus we walked into the hotel and were greeted by a very warm and inviting lobby: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psskqyoouc.jpg For some reason I failed to take any pictures of the room itself but I’ll try my best to describe it. The rooms at the Hilton Niseko are configured almost of numerous rooms in a two Twin Bed setup. As a then Hilton Silver, there was no chance of an upgrade to one of the few King Bed setups. Instead I paid what came out to ~$8.50 USD/night to upgrade to an unobstructed view of Mt. Yotei and boy was it worth it: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psvtlzc8d9.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pss8uzzhgd.jpg The room itself was fairly small with a compact shower/tub combo, a couch, the two twin beds, and the aforementioned view of Mt. Yotei. The beds were comfortable enough and the location can’t be beat it was truly ski-in/ski-out. Here you can see the lift from the hall window right outside our room: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psuiganp8c.jpg The property also featured a very lovely onsen (sorry no pictures) with both indoor and outdoor areas. This image from Lux Niseko shows the outdoor section: https://luxniseko.com/wp-content/upl...sen-Hilton.jpg From a skiing perspective the property had a perfect set-up. In addition to the ski-in/ski-out nature, they also had a rental shop next door which had both equipment and clothing at very reasonable prices. In addition, the property has a full indoor ski valet on the lobby level where you can leave your skis and boots each night and return to pick back up the next morning. By the time we arrived, unpacked, and rented our gear, we had just enough time to get in a half day of skiing before exhaustion took over. The first day was a bit cloudy but the snow was plentiful and it served as the perfect way to regain our ski legs: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psnbias1an.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psxfkawxie.jpg Mid-afternoon Pizza Snack: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pseskayewq.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2exjhesp.jpg Swinging Monkey Lift: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psrtqcjt6a.jpg Various Pictures from the Rest of the Day: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psdwihclno.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psuhfrayn6.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psxzzypy3w.jpg Sapporo while looking at Mt. Yotei after a day of skiing and traveling: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6imdcmpa.jpg After a post-ski nap we decided to trek over to Hirafu and check-out the highly rated Fujizushi right in the middle of town pictured here from 360niseko: http://360niseko.com/wp-content/uplo...fuji-zushi.jpg Showtime: http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...pse7kvrd9p.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psh0r2pz8r.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psafqcbbci.jpg http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...psfalhnckd.jpg Despite high hopes and appetizing pictures the food turned out to be terrible (though the local sake was delicious). The miso soup had a very off-putting odor and many of the pieces of sushi were incredible tough to chew. I’ve been fortunate to experience some fantastic sushi both in Tokyo and in other parts of the world and this was by far the worst. Nonetheless it was a fantastic first day in Niseko. Next up: Bluebird ski days, more disappointing meals in Niseko, and a trip to Sushi Iwa in Tokyo. |
Thanks, very interesting TR. I've been to Japan many times, but never for skiing. One of these days...
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It took me awhile to get to this, but it was worth the wait. VERY nicely photographed and presented. I've always wanted to take a proper visit to Japan and as a northerner who has no complaints with winter weather or scenery, I think a winter visit would be great - especially to the rural regions as the big cities hold no real appeal for me after a day or two. This trip report makes for an enticing introduction. Well done! ^^
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Originally Posted by SPBanker
(Post 26164050)
Thanks, very interesting TR. I've been to Japan many times, but never for skiing. One of these days...
Originally Posted by Seat 2A
(Post 26180219)
It took me awhile to get to this, but it was worth the wait. VERY nicely photographed and presented. I've always wanted to take a proper visit to Japan and as a northerner who has no complaints with winter weather or scenery, I think a winter visit would be great - especially to the rural regions as the big cities hold no real appeal for me after a day or two. This trip report makes for an enticing introduction. Well done! ^^
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another great TR Duke, looking forward to the rest..
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