Kutchan hotels & places to stay

This hotel will be the next best to ski in ski out, they provide two Vechicle , and if you book the time with them, they will also fetch you from JR Kutchan Station without any charges, their staffs are friendly, after check out and you are still able to ski one more round and they offer you their onsen to bath before sending you to the welcome center. Breakfast is good, room is clean. I will definitely stay here again.

Emergency services and response times for skiing accidents in Niseko/Hirafu was poor compared to other ski resorts I have been. Medical team took 15 mins to reach me while I froze and only because a family member went in search for help. No surveillance for skiers in trouble even in broad daylight. To be fair the hotel provided excellent support in FOC rides to and from the nearest hospital in Kutchan which is like 40 mins away in the icy conditions.Did not feel that Niseko had the best medical support in skiing emergencies. The hospital was rather well patronised by tourist skiers who had accidents. Hotel was fine, staff spoke English well enough, rooms rather small bathrooms even smaller and for the the price I paid, would have booked a 2 room apartment at the Vale. My advice for ski holidays is to check what the medical response and support is like at the ski resort, could save you some grief.

The hotel is located a 5 minute walk from Hanazono 308 (ski centre where you can connect to Hirafu in 10 minutes via chairlifts), 10 minutes drive from Kutchan and 20 minutes drive from Hirafu. For us, it was the perfect setting - a lovely, character-filled hotel, we had amazing views to the mountain and surrounds and were in a peaceful, idyllic location but the skifields and restaurants were so accessible. The hotel has a shuttle bus that drops off at the skifields in the morning, picks up at the end of the day and then recommends and books restaurants in Hirafu and Kutchan and drops you off and picks you up. It means you get the best of both worlds - your own space in this beautiful setting while still enjoying the restaurants of the area. The staff are fantastic and nothing is too much trouble - they can organise your hire gear and ski passes, pick you up and drop off at the train station and ensure you start the day with a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, cereal, yoghurts and toast. When we return to Niseko in the future, we'll definitely head straight back to Matt and the crew at Freedom Inn.

We went to Niseko because we were just curious. We wanted to experience summer in a cold country. Even after reading up on the place, we had a very sketchy appreciation of where the most strategic place to stay. Maps just begin to make sense only after you've settled in and realize where North or West actually is... Here's our imperfect guide. Niseko is part of a greater area that includes (in order of train station if arriving from Sapporo and Otaru ): Kutchan/Hirafu/Niseko. Use this as the 3 major reference points. Kutchan station is the starting point of buses that will cover all three areas. Hirafu and Niseko are far from the town centers particularly Hirafu station which is in the middle of nowhere. The scheduled buses in Kutchan have pick-up and drop off points to the most popular places including Hirafu/Grand Hirafu/Welcome Center/Niseko Village.... My Ecolodge is directly infront of one of the stops: Yamada Jnction.

Concierge lacks of most of the information details. Firstly told us we could take the ski lift down if we have no confidence in skiing down the slop. Due to their lack of information, we end up walking down the beginner slope near to 2 hrs. Secondly told us the wrong information of the ski bus leaving for Kutchan Station. End up we have to take a taxi for 6 pax in order to catch up our train to Hakodate. Overall its a pleasnt stay, excellent apartment with nice view.

I reserched and checked with my friends which Niseko ski resorts are best for family with small kids. AYA was one of the mentioned. Since AYA has everything we needed, i.e. good location, nice view, ski access+equipment rent, ski lesson for kids, and private onsen, we chose AYA. I booked a 3-night stay for my wife, her brother, my son and myself during mid of Feb 2019. We were forced to cancel this trip because my son was admitted in hospital 4 days before our flight. Nothing was refundabel due to our booking condition and agreement, but I wasn't sad about money I lost. That the staffs here kept engaging and answered my every question made me feel warm and how welcoming this place was. Whilst my son was still in hospital, I planned another trip in the beginning of March right away. Too bad, the room type at AYA I was looking for was all booked during the period. Maybe I will check it out again next year. My all five stars were solely from the staffs; very appreciated them.

situated very well at the middle of the hill. if you are taking a bus from kutchan station, the bus stop is just 10meters from the hotel carpark (stop no,7). Hotel is connected to the ski lift, very nice view of the ski slopes from the hotel room. The slope is also a beginner slope, easy for first timer to pick up. You can sign up for ski lesson at the hotel or take a 5minutes walk to the ski lift where another school is situated.

I sent a mail asking for public transportation schedule from Kutchan station to their resort while on a train heading to Kutchan and I receive very prompt response before I reached Kutchan, all in less than 20 mins. As next bus was 1.5 hrs away I ended up taking a taxi from Kutchan station for a one way ride of ¥2,100. The place is cosy though the Onsen is not yet open in Nov. Ski lifts are accessible from the basement entrance outside the resort and a skiing school for beginners opposite the resort. Friendly staff, even offered to drive us to the Kutchan train station on our departure date instead of waiting for taxi when they found out we have a train to catch in less than half an hour. Two thumbs up for the proactive service.

Recently stayed 9 nights at Alpen Ridge - our first ski trip in Japan, was an amazing time & we're already planning a return trip next season. Overall it was an excellent experience from the first point of contact with Nico at Ski Japan via email to make all the necessary travel, ski rental and room booking arrangements. On arrival, check-in w Miki was friendly, quick & efficient. The apartment very roomy, comfortable & very well equipped. Throughout our trip the Front Desk team were incredibly friendly making us feel at home & also very helpful in suggesting places to eat out, making bookings for taxis/day trips. Lloyd & the staff at NBS sports were excellent fitting us all out quickly with ski gear and helping the kids in and out of their ski boots every day! Ski Lessons with Donna, Stephen, Kerne, David & Nic B were awesome, very enjoyable - very happy to see the wife and kids skiing well after only a few days on the slopes. Roll on next season so we can book at Alpen Ridge again!

Great place in middle hirafu, near to the slopes, rhythm rental, awesome food places. Everything within walking distance and also next to shuttle bus stop. Great place and service by the team too! They picked us from the Welcome Center, helped to arrange our transport from Chitose airport to Niseko Welcome Center. And also recommended and helped to book restaurants as we did not speak the local language. Will recommend this place to anyone looking to stay in Niseko Hirafu area. Can't wait for the next season!

The chalet itself is complete except there is no kitchen knife. Some board games could be included. They could upgrade their tvs to smart tvs with internet access as all channels are in Japanese. There is nothing to do in the area other than to go somewhere to ski. Restaurants are few and they may not be opened on particular days without reason - best that you call them before heading down. Going on early December is bad because a lot of restaurants don't start business yet. However going on the middle Dec onwards is bad for another reason - it gets crowded. Staff appear friendly but may not be knowledgeable about the area itself. I would highly recommend you stock up on groceries so that you can cook your own food. Sipping wine or warm sake or brandy indoors with the snow falling outside is just magical.

First of all for 2 dollars usd difference get the breakfast! Great mix of continental and Japanese options, it cost patrons 700yen if you didn't book the breakfast online. The first bus to Hirafu at least as of winter 18/19 ran at 7:50am and came back last from Hirafu at 10:30pm costing 340yen to the intersection and 390 yen to the lifts. Location wise I enjoyed it as its a 2 minute walk from the Jr Kutchan Station where you take the bus up, and there is a large supermarket about 5 minutes walking distance as well that considerably cheaper than the resort town of Hirafu, the "center" of niseko. Also much cheaper and better Japanese food options compared to the pizza and burgers at Hirafu.

The hotel just nearby the tourist area with few hundreds meters to everything. The most important was the room rate very reasonable price even at peak season. The room is clean with kettle, freezer, heater and comfort to stay. The toilet that sharing was clean(3 toilets at ground floor, one lady & one men bathroom(time using from 3pm till 12am midnight). If you go for ski, u can take bath at onsen hotel and no need take bath in this pension.

Arrived in the early morning at Welcome Center without prior notice to the hotel. The owner came to pick us up and able to check in immediately. It is a very decent and warm B&B sytle accomodation, with the great hospitality. The owners are very friendly and accomodative. A sportive family :) The location is good, walking distance to the Hirafu Skiing area (around 10 mins walk), or you can choose to take the free shuttle bus that is right in front of the hotel. The hotel also very close to the small town of Hirafu and convenience store. The surrounding of the hotel is good too, feels like being in the small village surrounded by cottages. Stayed there only for one night, should have stayed a longer time.

Booked this accommodation for one night. My family was on the way to Hakodate. Location is a little difficult, as the road that leads to the place is not very eye catching. Not recommended if you do not drive. This is a house with 3 different units (I think). It is relatively new. We occupied one of the units. It has 2 levels, the hall and dining on level one, and the room on level two. You can park your car just outside the house. We got our food from AEON store which is nearby and cooked ourselves in the house. Overall, very satisfying and satisfactory.

If you're planning to stay around the Niseko area, THIS IS IT, I, with all my credit, believe me please, guarantee. And I would simply have to say that my stay at the hostel couldn't have been any better. I'd say this in several terms. 1. Clean. Not dirty at all, perhaps neater than most households. 2. Friendliness of the staff. While I for the moment do not recall the owner's name(it was Cho or something), he was among the MOST hospitable, helpful, and friendly person I've ever met in my travels. He was very professional of course in the normal procedures(checkin/out/guidance for facility use), but that's not it. Dinners, after-dinner toasts w/ hostel ppl,.. u name it. Yet there's this episode, too. After I checked out and took the train from Kutchan station headed to Sapporo, I realized that I left my priceless camera at the hostel. So I called him and desperately asked for help; no problem, I got my camera back, with him who came ALL THE WAY FROM THE HOSTEL TO KUTCHAN STATION just to hand me my camera. I have so much endebted to him, he is simply an AMAZING guy. 3. Facilities cooking facilities are there, along with decent-quality showers, washing machines and stuff. 4. Location just a 10 minute walk from Kutchan. I like walking, so I had no problem with that, but for those of you who do have an issue, you can simply ask him(Dammit I forgot his name.. my savior lol) and he'll pick you up by car. +he'll drive you all the way to the ski resort in the morning. 5. You can get along with fellow backpackers if you'd like. I made friends with one chinese, one taiwanese, and two french dudes. In overall: It feels just like home. like sweet home. I don't see why I won't, if I do visit Niseko again, stay in the hostel once more. I would love to visit this hostel and recollect my memories, and once again thank the owner for his help and devotion.

It was really lovely here! Especially if you're after a traditional experience (we got the private room for more privacy- I would recommend this option) - I especially loved the bathhouse (I've never seen anything like it actually...) Everything is carved out of beautiful wood inside the house, and being surrounded by trees covered in snow when you walk outside in the morning is breathtaking! It's easy getting to and from the snow- you can organise this with the host (he can help you get cheaper lift tickets too). Make sure you time your train rides though if you're coming from sapporo - trains towards kutchan/Hirafu/niseko aren't frequent