Several months back, I shared how we were planning a trip to Niseko, which is one of Japan\u2019s most popular ski destinations, near Sapporo. At the time, y\u2019all provided some great advice (I\u2019m leaving the comments that were left at the time intact on this post, in case they\u2019re useful for others planning travel \u2014 this is an update on that previous post).<\/p>\n
Well, we\u2019re shortly going to be embarking on this trip, so I want to provide an update on what we ended up booking, as you can expect some live updates during the trip.<\/p>\n
We try to go on one ski trip per year<\/h2>\nFull disclosure upfront \u2014 I\u2019m not a skier. I mean, I tried to ski in Dubai in 2015, thinking it would be easy, but that didn\u2019t end well<\/a>. Then I tried to learn to ski a few years ago in France, which actually worked out reasonably well<\/a>. However, I think I might be too old\/risk averse to do this consistently, and at this point maybe I should just focus on apr\u00e8s skiing.<\/p>\nNonetheless, Ford and I try to go on one ski trip per year. Ford likes to ski, and you know, happy husband, happy life, or something. Furthermore, I do very much enjoy the culture around skiing. What\u2019s not to love about the beauty of snow, fireplaces, and warm drinks?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Courchevel-Skiing.jpg\")
Snowy mountains are pretty!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile the US objectively has great skiing conditions, we certainly don\u2019t have the amazing culture around skiing that you\u2019ll find in many parts of Europe, from the service, to the food and drinks, to the general atmosphere. France has some incredible ski resorts, and to this day, Airelles Courchevel<\/a> is probably my favorite hotel I\u2019ve ever stayed at (though Airelles Val d\u2019Is\u00e8re<\/a> is amazing as well). <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Les-Airelles-Courchevel-4.jpeg\")
Airelles Courchevel is magical!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThat\u2019s quite a contrast to my last experience at a US ski resort in winter, which was at the St. Regis Deer Valley<\/a>. Anyway, that\u2019s neither here nor there. This year, we\u2019re not skiing in the United States or Europe. Instead\u2026<\/p>\nThis winter we\u2019re skiing in Niseko, Japan!<\/h2>\nWe\u2019re going to mix things up with our ski trip for this year, and will be traveling to Niseko, Japan. For those not familiar, Niseko is outside of Sapporo, and it seems to be one of Japan\u2019s premier ski destinations. It\u2019s amazing how much growth the area is seeing.<\/p>\n
Among major luxury hotel groups, there\u2019s currently the Park Hyatt Niseko<\/a> and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko<\/a>, with several more luxury properties on the way, ranging from a Hoshinoya, to a Rosewood, to a Six Senses. With the direction things are headed, this place will eventually be as concentrated of a luxury hotel market as Kyoto.<\/p>\nSo, where are we staying? For a majority of our time there, we decided to book the Park Hyatt Niseko, given that I\u2019ve heard great things about the property, in terms of the setting, dining, etc. (though I know it\u2019s a distance from the center of the village). I am ridiculously excited to check out this hotel, as it\u2019s one of the points hotels that has most been on my radar<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Park-Hyatt-Niseko-5.png\")
Park Hyatt Niseko exterior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nInitially I wasn\u2019t sure if we were going to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko, but ultimately I decided to add a brief stay there to our itinerary. I\u2019m curious to see how it compares, especially since the Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand<\/a> participates in Marriott Bonvoy<\/a> nowadays.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Ritz-Carlton-Reserve-Niseko-Exterior.jpg\")
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko exterior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNow, I\u2019ve actually heard mixed reports about the Ritz-Carlton Reserve. I\u2019ve heard some people say that the hotel is really disappointing and shouldn\u2019t be a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, while I\u2019ve heard others say positive things. So I\u2019m curious to check it out for myself, and draw my own conclusions.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re also spending a couple of nights in Tokyo<\/h2>\nWhile Niseko is our primary destination, we\u2019re also going to be spending a couple of nights in Tokyo on the way out, both to add a buffer, and because it\u2019s always awesome to visit Tokyo. However, I\u2019ll be making the most of our limited time in terms of hotel reviews.<\/p>\n
When I first wrote about our trip several months ago, I was leaning toward booking one of the two EDITION properties, since they\u2019re a good opportunity to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points<\/a>. At the time, I asked if we should stay at the Tokyo EDITION Ginza<\/a> or the Tokyo EDITION Toranomon<\/a>. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/EDITION-Tokyo-Pic.jpg\")
The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile I appreciated the pros and cons shared about each property, in the end, I decided to book each hotel for one night, so that I can report back and share our experience. Since these hotels are of a similar caliber to the Andaz Tokyo<\/a>, I\u2019m curious how the experience compares.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Tokyo-EDITION-Ginza.jpg\")
The Tokyo EDITION Ginza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe airlines I\u2019ll be flying to & from Japan<\/h2>\nIn a separate post, I wrote about the airlines I\u2019ll be flying this trip<\/a>. I\u2019m most excited about the return journey, where I\u2019ll finally be flying All Nippon Airways\u2019 A380 first class. It\u2019s the only A380 first class product that I\u2019ve never flown, so I\u2019m looking forward to experiencing the unusual \u201cFlying Honu.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/ANA-A380-Flying-Honu.jpg\")
All Nippon Airways Airbus A380 fleet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Nonetheless, Ford and I try to go on one ski trip per year. Ford likes to ski, and you know, happy husband, happy life, or something. Furthermore, I do very much enjoy the culture around skiing. What\u2019s not to love about the beauty of snow, fireplaces, and warm drinks?<\/p>\n While the US objectively has great skiing conditions, we certainly don\u2019t have the amazing culture around skiing that you\u2019ll find in many parts of Europe, from the service, to the food and drinks, to the general atmosphere. France has some incredible ski resorts, and to this day, Airelles Courchevel<\/a> is probably my favorite hotel I\u2019ve ever stayed at (though Airelles Val d\u2019Is\u00e8re<\/a> is amazing as well). <\/p>\n That\u2019s quite a contrast to my last experience at a US ski resort in winter, which was at the St. Regis Deer Valley<\/a>. Anyway, that\u2019s neither here nor there. This year, we\u2019re not skiing in the United States or Europe. Instead\u2026<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to mix things up with our ski trip for this year, and will be traveling to Niseko, Japan. For those not familiar, Niseko is outside of Sapporo, and it seems to be one of Japan\u2019s premier ski destinations. It\u2019s amazing how much growth the area is seeing.<\/p>\n Among major luxury hotel groups, there\u2019s currently the Park Hyatt Niseko<\/a> and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko<\/a>, with several more luxury properties on the way, ranging from a Hoshinoya, to a Rosewood, to a Six Senses. With the direction things are headed, this place will eventually be as concentrated of a luxury hotel market as Kyoto.<\/p>\n So, where are we staying? For a majority of our time there, we decided to book the Park Hyatt Niseko, given that I\u2019ve heard great things about the property, in terms of the setting, dining, etc. (though I know it\u2019s a distance from the center of the village). I am ridiculously excited to check out this hotel, as it\u2019s one of the points hotels that has most been on my radar<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Initially I wasn\u2019t sure if we were going to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko, but ultimately I decided to add a brief stay there to our itinerary. I\u2019m curious to see how it compares, especially since the Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand<\/a> participates in Marriott Bonvoy<\/a> nowadays.<\/p>\n Now, I\u2019ve actually heard mixed reports about the Ritz-Carlton Reserve. I\u2019ve heard some people say that the hotel is really disappointing and shouldn\u2019t be a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, while I\u2019ve heard others say positive things. So I\u2019m curious to check it out for myself, and draw my own conclusions.<\/p>\n While Niseko is our primary destination, we\u2019re also going to be spending a couple of nights in Tokyo on the way out, both to add a buffer, and because it\u2019s always awesome to visit Tokyo. However, I\u2019ll be making the most of our limited time in terms of hotel reviews.<\/p>\n When I first wrote about our trip several months ago, I was leaning toward booking one of the two EDITION properties, since they\u2019re a good opportunity to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points<\/a>. At the time, I asked if we should stay at the Tokyo EDITION Ginza<\/a> or the Tokyo EDITION Toranomon<\/a>. <\/p>\n While I appreciated the pros and cons shared about each property, in the end, I decided to book each hotel for one night, so that I can report back and share our experience. Since these hotels are of a similar caliber to the Andaz Tokyo<\/a>, I\u2019m curious how the experience compares.<\/p>\n In a separate post, I wrote about the airlines I\u2019ll be flying this trip<\/a>. I\u2019m most excited about the return journey, where I\u2019ll finally be flying All Nippon Airways\u2019 A380 first class. It\u2019s the only A380 first class product that I\u2019ve never flown, so I\u2019m looking forward to experiencing the unusual \u201cFlying Honu.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\nThis winter we\u2019re skiing in Niseko, Japan!<\/h2>\n
We\u2019re also spending a couple of nights in Tokyo<\/h2>\n
The airlines I\u2019ll be flying to & from Japan<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.onemileatatime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hawaiian-Airlines-787-Business-Class-1.jpg\")