Hokkaido - Day 5 (Sapporo - Niseko)
On our fifth day in Hokkaido, we checked out from New Otani Inn Sapporo at 7.30am and waited in the hotel lobby for the Niseko Ski Resort shuttle bus. The temperature was -3℃, and it was snowing outside. We were excited to head to Niseko and stay one night there. My partner purchased a return shuttle bus ticket from Klook (RM 318.30 per person), departing from Sapporo (pick-up at the New Otani Inn Sapporo 1st floor lobby at 7.40am) to Niseko (Hirafu Welcome Center).
Around 7.35am, a lady came to the hotel lobby to take our names. The Niseko Ski Resort shuttle bus was waiting in front of the hotel and departed from our hotel at 7.45am. The bus stopped at the Keio Plaza Hotel at 7.53am to pick up more passengers and started heading to Niseko at 8.05am. The bus did not have free Wi-Fi, and the journey took approximately 3 hours to reach the Hirafu Welcome Center.
Niseko Ski Resort shuttle bus
It's snowing
It's snowing
The bus made a 15-minute break at the Kimobetsu rest stop around 9.15am. I was a bit lazy to get off, but my partner went down and bought a stick of fried potato balls. They were crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Apart from that, it's quite flavourful as well. The bus made a stop at Rusutsu Resort around 10.05am, followed by Westin Rusutsu Resort. We finally reached Hirafu Welcome Center at 11am. It was snowing, and since the hotel does not offer a free shuttle bus service from the center, we had to drag our luggage to the Yumoto Niseko Prince Hotel Hirafutei, which is about a 6-minute walk (400m) from the Hirafu Welcome Center.
Fried potato balls - ¥450
Fried potato ball
Hirafu Welcome Center
We could only check in at 3pm, so we left our luggage in the hotel's storage area and went to find food. Niseko is a town located in Hokkaido, Japan. It is known for its light and powder snow. Niseko United is made up of four main interconnected ski resorts: Annupuri, Niseko Village, Grand Hirafu, and Hanazono. The Grand Hirafu is the largest and most popular ski resort, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and nightlife. Hirafu Village is divided into three zones: Upper Hirafu Village, Middle Hirafu Village, and Lower Hirafu Village.
Upper Hirafu Village is the higher part of the village and is closest to the ski slopes. Middle Hirafu Village is located slightly further down from Upper Hirafu Village, which is quieter, and Lower Hirafu Village is the furthest from the ski slopes but still accessible by the shuttle bus. There's free shuttle bus service that runs regularly between Upper Hirafu Village, Middle Hirafu Village, and Lower Hirafu Village.
We walked to Tozanken, just a 1-minute (88m) walking distance from the Yumoto Niseko Prince Hotel Hirafutei. The shop opened at 11am, and there weren't many people. We were seated near the restroom and kitchen. Basically, we could see into the toilet if the door was left open. It wasn't the most pleasant sight, especially when you were eating.
We ordered the soy sauce specially made Asahikawa ramen and roasted meat fried rice. You can choose your ramen soup flavour: soy sauce, salty, miso, or spicy miso. The waitress recommended we try their soy sauce flavour. The ramen soup was tasty, though it came with a lot of bean sprouts and meat. Besides that, the ramen had a firm texture with an eggy taste. Overall, I prefer the fried rice, which had a soft and fluffy texture. However, the pork in the fried rice had quite a bit of tendons. By the time we finished our meal, there was a long queue outside the restaurant.
Tozanken Ramen
Restaurant ambience
Iced water
Roasted meat fried rice - ¥1,600
Soy sauce specially made Asahikawa ramen - ¥1,800
Fluffy snow outside the restaurant's window
Address:
Tozanken Ramen
3-chome-5-23 Nisekohirafu 1 Jo,
Kutchan, Abuta District,
Hokkaido 044-0080,
Japan
Opening hours: 11am to 3pm / 5pm to 9pm. Closed on Wednesday
Since we had plenty of time before check-in, we walked around Hirafu Village. The Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu was packed with skiers and snowboarders. From a distance, we could see Mount Yotei, but the peak was blocked by clouds. As we walked along the village, we saw several food trucks, restaurants, and convenience stores. We then walked down to Middle Hirafu Village and spotted the Bar Gyu+, which had high ratings on Google. The Middle Hirafu Village appeared to be quite peaceful, and the backdrop was stunningly gorgeous, blanketed in snow. The snow was fluffy and soft, making it easy to form snowballs.
Snowball
Upper Hirafu Village
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu (Ace Gondola)
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Mount Yotei
Niseko Park Hotel
Police box and fire engine garage
Upper Hirafu Village
Food truck
Middle Hirafu Village
Middle Hirafu Village
Bar Gyu+
Middle Hirafu Village
Middle Hirafu Village
Food truck
Niseko Snow Dome Experience (ice bar)
Hirafu Food Market
We decided not to walk any further to the Lower Hirafu Village, as it became quite difficult to walk in the snow, especially with the slope. We ended up at Seicomart and bought some snacks: Hokkaido chocolate ice cream, Cheetos Crunchy, mochi, and mineral water. The chocolate ice cream was pretty tasty. It was creamy, rich, and contained chocolate nibs.
(Total bill - ¥554)
Seicomart
Hokkaido chocolate ice cream - ¥78
Hokkaido chocolate ice cream - ¥78, mineral water - ¥100, mochi - ¥115 and Cheetos Crunchy - ¥120
Address:
Seicomart Niseko Hirafu
3-chome-3-8 Nisekohirafu 1 Jo,
Kutchan, Abuta District,
Hokkaido 044-0080,
Japan
Opening hours: 6.30am to 12am except Monday until 11pm
We took a nap after check-in as we had not gotten enough sleep the night before due to the long laundry wait time. After we woke up around 7.30pm, we had no idea what to eat for dinner. So we wandered around Hirafu Village and came across this Fuji Sushi Niseko Branch. There was no queue, and we were seated right away.
I had the pork cutlet bowl, and my partner had the grilled eel bowl. The rice bowl came with miso soup and a small bowl of salad. The first cup of green tea was free, but refills were charged at ¥550. My partner's grilled eel was good. It's flavourful with very few tiny bones. However, my pork cutlet didn't taste very fresh, and the skin wasn't crispy. The rice was fluffy and served with eggs and onions. Last call was 8.30pm, and the restaurant closed at 9.30pm.
(Total bill - ¥13,750)
First cup of green tea is free. Refill is subject to the extra charge for ¥550
Grilled eel bowl - ¥10,780
Grilled eel bowl
Pork cutlet bowl - ¥2,970
Address:
Fuji Sushi Niseko Branch
1-chome-9-50 Nisekohirafu 2 Jo,
Kutchan, Abuta District,
Hokkaido 044-0089,
Japan
Opening hours: 11am to 9pm
The town felt livelier at night. I felt like I was in a Western country, as the majority of the tourists were Westerners. We walked to Lawson after dinner, and my partner bought himself a cup of chocolate ice cream. It was creamy, rich, and contained chocolate nibs. We ate it while standing under the snow, and it was the best experience ever.
At night, the temperature in Niseko had dropped to -5℃. My partner decided to go to the male onsen at our hotel while I chose to relax in our room. I snacked on some of the food we had bought from the convenience store earlier, but the mochi didn't taste good. It was filled with lotus paste, slightly sweet, but not soft enough. The Cheetos Crunchy were a bit too hard and too cheesy for my taste. The complimentary green tea mochi from the hotel wasn't good either. It's very sweet and lacked the softness I was expecting. However, the Porippy nuts that my partner bought from Lawson were actually quite good. That pretty much wrapped up our night in Niseko.
Food Truck Yard
Food Truck Yard
Hirafu Food Market
Chocolate ice cream - ¥184
Can you spot the snowflakes on top of the ice cream?
Upper Hirafu Village
Mineral water - ¥108 (from Seicomart), tuna mayonnaise onigiri - ¥157 and Porippy nuts - ¥118 (from Lawson)
Address:
Lawson
3-9 Nisekohirafu 3 Jo,
Kutchan, Abuta District,
Hokkaido 044-0088,
Japan
Opening hours: 7am to 10pm
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