For five magical days, our winter home in the north island of Japan, Hokkaido, was the newly designed luxury accommodation, Hinode Hills Niseko Village.
The new Hinode Hills Niseko Village is the latest development to join the YTL Hotels group, featuring 79 luxury rooms and suites. We had a one bedroom suite with a sunrise view of Mt Yotei. It was incredible to sit on the sofa bed in our room with a coffee and watch the snow-capped volcano reveal itself from the shroud of clouds as the sun broke through.
Our one bedroom suite in the full-service hotel had its own fully equipped kitchen, including a very much appreciated Nespresso Machine, a comfortable living area, an extremely warm and soft bed, and of course the famous Japanese toilets. These come in one room, two room and three room suites.
You can either cook and eat in the comfort of your own room or you can eat at their onsite restaurant, The Carvery, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Breakfast is served only for a short amount of time – from 7am until 9am. The reason why breakfast isn’t served until later is because you honestly wouldn’t want to be in beyond 9am because the ski slopes open at 8:30am.
Japan is fast growing to becoming a worldwide ski destination, and Niseko Village’s properties are all ski-in, ski-out, which means that you can ski straight from your door.
Niseko is the perfect place to ski for all levels, especially beginners as there are so many beginner friendly runs. You can rent all your ski equipment from the inhouse ski-rental facility, which you can read more about in our blog post highlighting learning how to ski.
The onsens’ (natural hot springs) 40C water is ideal for relieving any aches and pains picked up from the slopes. By staying at Hinode Hills Niseko Village, you are granted complimentary access to the Green Leaf Onsen and the Hilton Onsen. You can use the hotel’s complimentary shuttle service to get between the properties. You can also get around Niseko Village by using the Niseko Express during the day, which is the Upper Village Gondola and offers stunning views of Mt Yotei on a clear day.
Our recent trip to Niseko Village wasn’t just confined to the property’s ski grounds. We also got to venture a little outside of Niseko Village as we were shown around by an old friend who used to live there for many years. It was a pleasure listening to him reminisce and reveal little known places of an area that he used to call home. And after staying at our brief home away from home, Hinode Hills Niseko Village, we got a little taste of what life in this quaint and beautiful part of Japan is like.
To help plan your perfect ski holiday at Niseko Village, you can click here to read our guide which is full of tips, advice and recommendations.
