These are my top 7 things you need to know for your first time in Niseko. Of course, everyone knows that Niseko is famous for it’s powdery soft snow, but what about the logistics of getting and staying there? Since this was my first time going to Niseko and Hokkaido in general, there were a lot of things that I learned on this trip that I wish I knew before I went. If you are planning on visiting Niseko any want to have a successful trip, you should keep the tips in mind below.
- Related Article: How to Get to Niseko by Public Transportation (It’s Actually Easy)
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Top 7 Tips for Your First Time To Niseko
1. Niseko is Mostly Foreigners
This was probably the most shocking thing for me. I was expecting to go to a Japanese ski resort and be fully immersed in Japanese skiing and snowboarding culture. What I got instead was a town full of foreign workers from places like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. The benefit of this is that everyone spoke English so it was really easy to communicate and get around. But if you were thinking that you were going to get a authentic Japanese experience, you are not. If you are looking for that specifically, maybe the nearby resort of Rusutsu would be better for that.
2. The Buses Between Resorts Sucks
Niseko United is made up of 4 resorts: Hanazono, Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village, and Annupuri. The 4 resorts are connected at the top so you can technically take a lift up one resort and end up in another. If you are going to do that though, make sure you do that earlier on the day. You definitely want to end up closer to your resort that you are staying at because the bus system is absolutely a sh*t show. The lines for these buses are miles long and extremely crowded.
My friends started in Grand Hirafu and ended in Niseko Village and had to take the bus back to Grand Hirafu and said it was a total nightmare. People were angry and upset that the buses were taking forever. You don’t want to end a great day on the mountain by being stuck somewhere you don’t want to. Also, my friends said to not take the bus from Niseko Village by the Hilton. Go to the bus stop before that one otherwise you will get stuck in the massive line with almost no chance of getting on soon.
3. Best Way to Get to Niseko is By Ski Bus
I’ve been to Japan probably at least 6 or 7 times and usually I take the train everywhere I go. The train system in Japan is the best in the world so I thought since Niseko is a popular tourist destination, that there would be a direct route somewhat to Niseko. Well, I was wrong. You can definitely take the train, but you will have to transfer at least twice and it will take you at least 4 hours to get there. You can also hire a private car, but that will cost you around $350-$400 for a one-way trip.
The best way to get to Niseko if you are trying to save some money is to take one of the ski bus companies out there. There are dedicated ski bus companies that take you straight from CTS airport or Sapporo and drop you off right in the heart of Niseko and takes about 2.5-3 hours. The two bus companies that we use were the Hokkaido Resort Liner and the Good Sports White Liner. I wrote a whole blog post about it here if you want exact details on how we did it.
4. Make Restaurant Reservations the Moment you Book Your Trip
The moment you book your trip, I highly recommend that you start researching restaurants and making reservations immediately. I waited until maybe a 1-2 month out before to start looking at places to eat and almost all the restaurants were already sold out. We had a group of 5 people so that probably didn’t help either, but if you want to get some good Japanese food, don’t wait until the last minute.
Second, a lot of places don’t have easy online reservation systems, but I’ve found pretty good luck using TableCheck to make reservations and Niseko Wine and Dine to research places to eat. Keep in mind that the Japanese are very strict about cancellations. Almost all the restaurants we booked a reservation for, had a hefty cancellation policy. This is mostly due to foreigners always cancelling so the Japanese decided to start charging cancellation fees.
5. Stay in Hirafu Village if This is Your First Time in Niseko
If this is your first time time in Niseko, I recommend staying in Hirafu Village. It’s probably the most developed ski village area and has the most restaurants and bars for you to hang out at afterwards. It also has the most accommodations if you are looking for place to stay. I think most importantly though is that the ski buses from the airport all drop you off at the Hirafu Welcome Center which is in Hirafu Village. It the easiest place to get to and from CTS airport.
6. Food is Still Pricy
Even though the USD is pretty strong against the Japanese Yen, Niseko seems to be pretty immune to it. I guess it’s really no surprise since ski villages are always expensive, but I was hoping that the exchange would have been better for us. We ate mostly in Hirafu Village and I would say on average, our meals cost between $50-$75/person (food + alcohol).
If you are trying to save some money and are staying in the Hirafu Village area, there are some ramen shops (Afuri and Tozanken Ramen) and averages around $10-$15 a bowl. There’s also a supermarket called Hirafu 188 where you can buy some basic groceries, snacks, alcohol, and bento boxes. We bought all of our breakfast items here.
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7. There’s No Après Ski
I’ve been to Mammoth, Tahoe, and Aspen multiple times and they all have great après ski scenes so I was really hoping that Niseko would have something similar, but I was wrong. If you are looking for that party-like atmosphere with loud music and a DJ, you’re not going to find in it Niseko. There are decent cocktail lounges that you can go to like Bar Gyu (aka Fridge Door Bar), but there’s not really any place with music that you can grab a drink and go dance.
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8. Bonus Tip for Anyone Who is Disabled
If you are disabled and are staying in Hirafu Village, keep in mind that the whole village is on a hill and it’s really hard to get around by yourself especially in the snow. If you follow me on Instagram, you then know that I fractured my ankle right before this trip and I couldn’t go snowboarding. So, I was stuck most of the time at our accommodations. Luckily, the place that we were staying at had a free car shuttle that took me around where I wanted to go. If you’re in the same boat as me, we stayed at The Maples and they were fantastic.
If you really want to get around by yourself though, I highly recommend getting the heavy duty Knee Rover with snow tires. I bought the basic one and took it with me to Japan and it was pretty much useless. The basic one is not made for bumpy snowy terrain, so do yourself the favor, and splurge on the all terrain version.
