Hello! Has anyone skied in Furano, or stayed at the New Furano Prince Hotel in winter?

Thanks.

mummychua:

i'm planning a family holiday to Okinawa in Dec, with kids 3 and 6yrs old. anyone has itinerary to share for a 5d6n trip?

Hello mummychua, I have PMed you.

ptb7476:

http://saraannk.com/2016/04/how-urbansk ... great-one/


this article make me feel like taking lesson here before hitting the ski resort year end

I've been curious to try out the Urban Ski facility, to see if it helps with learning to ski or improving one's skiing. However, one major difference is that a ski slope doesn't move - unlike the ski \"treadmill\" there, so I wonder how that affects the balance aspect.

One thing though - ski pants should not be tucked into ski boots. Ski pants go over the ski boots.

jetsetter:

MyPillow:

I am one for the all in one resort for Huge convenience too , i feel prices differ slightly only. My ds bent the ski pole once on the mountain , we can chg immediately bcos the rental shop is just in the resort - how fast n convenient compared to ala carte yourself

I also value convenience. I didn't expect my boys to want more runs. But thanks to the proximity of the school, we could chiong there quickly to extend the instructor's hours (just sign to the room again) to accompany my kid up the chair lifts in the dark until 8pm. If we didn't do that, I think we adults won't be able to enjoy to the fullest!

Another vote for ski-in/ski-out all-in-one. Can ski straight back to the hotel at the end of the day and into a mug of hot chocolate... ahhh...

jetsetter:

But does Westin Rusutsu have the Niseko Bus stop or Westin shuttle bus to get to other ski resorts like Grand Hirafu, Annupuri or not? We were so terribly bored with the restaurants at Hilton that we bussed to Grand Hirafu and Kutchan to makan at night. Perhaps we stayed too long at Niseko, so we needed to get out of the hotel area.

Noted the Westin rooms are huge and even have maisonettes!

Do they have onsens? I was going to the outdoor onsen at Hilton every night after my daily skiing. That is an important amenity for any ski resort to have.

How come the prices of Westin are so high in Mar? $700+ per night oredi...

Hi jetsetter,

There is a bus that runs between Rusutsu and Niseko: http://en.rusutsu.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2015-16-SKI-BUS-%E3%80%90Niseko_Rusutsu%E3%80%91-PH-copy.pdf
Judging from the timetable, it looks like my earlier post about a 30-minute bus ride is to Kutchan only - it takes longer to get from Rusutsu to the other areas in Niseko, oops :oops:

From what I remember, there is an onsen (including an open-air onsen) at The Westin Rusutsu, as well as one at the South Wing of the resort hotel.

I had a look at the Westin Rusutsu website and there's a $700+ per night offer which includes breakfast, dinner and lift ticket in the price - is that the one you saw?

Reading your tips on Niseko again is making me seriously think of going there in December!

I’ve since had a look at the Rusutsu Resort Facebook page and there was a post on April 30, 2015 for the winter packages for the 2015-16 season. So looks like can start checking from end-April for the 2016-17 winter season’s offers.

Hello ptb7476,


I haven't stayed at either Hilton Niseko or The Westin Rusutsu Resort, so unfortunately I can't make a comparison. However, I remember reading when it was known as The Rusutsu Resort Tower Hotel, that all the rooms there were suites and maisonette-style that could suit large families.

Hello bb_mom,

We booked the early bird package around July. Usually the resort will post about the early bird specials on its Facebook page. There is summer early bird special available now

ptb7476:

http://en.rusutsu.co.jp/accommodations/facilities/ is it this one ?

Hello ptb7476,

Yes - though this is the link to the accommodation: http://en.rusutsu.co.jp/accommodations/

And this link is for The Westin Rusutsu Resort (separate website after the re-branding of the Rusutsu Resort Tower Hotel): http://www.westinrusutsu.com/

Rusutsu Resort also has a Facebook page that is regularly updated: https://www.facebook.com/Rusutsu.Resort (looking at the photos makes me want to go skiing!)

bb_ mom:

Any been to Rusutsu Resort? Contemplating that...

Hello bb_mom,

Our family (2A1C) has been to Rusutsu Resort twice to ski and we enjoyed our time there. We went in mid-December in 2013 and 2014. The snow conditions were great with lots of powder.

We booked the early bird winter package through the Rusutsu Resort website. The deal included accommodation, lift tickets, breakfast and dinner.

It's quite easy to get to Rusutsu Resort. During the first trip, we took a bus from New Chitose Airport to the resort (a two-hour ride). On the second trip, we took the resort's free shuttle from Sapporo (the pick-up point is opposite the Hotel Gracery Sapporo), also a two-hour ride. The transport can be booked on the resort's website as well.

Rusutsu is a self-contained, ski-in/ski-out resort. The accommodation consists of the North and South Wings (the main hotel), Log Houses, Cottages, the Highland Lodge and Travel Lodge, and the Westin Rusutsu Resort (formerly known as the Rusutsu Resort Tower Hotel). We stayed at the North Wing for both trips. The room was spacious and had three separate beds which was great.

(There is also budget accommodation down the road from the resort.)

The resort has a number of restaurants, shopping areas (including ski gear shops), an indoor merry-go-round, equipment and clothing rental, onsen and spa, indoor pool, arcade games and a self-service laundry. There is also a golf course and amusement park that are open in the summer.

Rusutsu Resort has three mountains for skiing – West Mountain (where the North and South Wings are), East Mountain and Mount Isola. The green runs on West and East Mountains can get a little crowded when there are school groups, but generally most runs were quite empty when we were there. If you are at the top of the mountains on a clear day, you can see Mount Yotei and Lake Toya. There is also night skiing and a terrain park.

The resort has a ski school with English-speaking instructors. We had very good instructors during both trips. It's best to reserve lessons early as the slots fill up quickly. Lesson bookings can be made on the resort's website.

There is a host of non-skiing activities at the resort – snowmobiling, horse riding, rock climbing, handicraft and cooking among others. But we didn't try any as our objective was to ski.

Niseko is a 30-minute bus ride away (on the other side of Mount Yotei), so you can take a day trip there to ski.

Hope this helps!

Hello everyone!


Thanks jetsetter for the tips on Niseko hotels, very useful. I'm one of those in the ski-in/ski-out-hotel camp for the convenience, especially with child in tow. Bonus points for the hotel if it has a self-service laundry room!

celeste.chua – great reading about your Austrian ski experience.

Daydreaming now about where to go for our next ski holiday. Possibly Niseko, or Whistler again (given that we only skied a fraction of the runs there. It's quite a different experience compared to the skiing we've done in Japan). Also daydreaming about visiting the places in Dnls_mum's lovely travel blog!

On clothes for skiing – my current standard outfit is Under Armour ColdGear long sleeve crew (the \"thermal\" layer), Smartwool jacket with a quilted front (midlayer), UA ski jacket and Bonfire snow pants with Heattech bottoms. Another vote here for Smartwool – the jacket is toasty and comfy. I also have a pair of Icebreaker socks for non-skiing activities. I wear Phenix ski socks for skiing.

I have bought winter and ski clothes from steepandcheap, Eastern Mountain Sports and The Clymb, using vPost for delivery. So far so good.