Minn house Niseko Hirafu

We had a nice stay and enjoyed the place. It's a little outside town and not close to the slopes, though, so we usually took cabs in and out. We were being a bit lazy about it.

Finding this new guesthouse only a week before our August trip felt lucky. Our family of six, including the kids, was setting off on a 1,200-kilometer driving route around Hokkaido, and the place had only opened about two weeks earlier. It's at the foot of Mount Yotei in Niseko. We were pleased once we parked and unpacked. There's a camera and a tablet at the first-floor entrance for self check-in. Our door code arrived at noon on the day we checked in, and the tablet's instructions made the process simple. There are two twin rooms, showers, and bidets in the entrance hall, plus another bidet upstairs in the living room, three toilets in all. The rooms have lovely views. One faces the street, so traffic noise starts after 8 a.m., but otherwise it was very quiet. Hokkaido gets light early, so close the blinds if you want to keep out the sun from around 4 a.m. We made good use of the upstairs kitchen and laundry room. The appliances are new and the kitchen has everything you need, including a new IH stove. It took a little figuring out, but wasn't difficult and heated quickly. The laundry dries well if you switch on the exhaust fan, hang the clothes, and shut the sliding door. The nearby Lucky Supermarket is about a ten-minute drive away, handy for dinner ingredients or discounted bento boxes that can go in the microwave. Our stay happened to be on Father's Day. We cooked Japanese rice with soft water and chicken curry, then had a cold Hokkaido beer. Later we drank Taiwanese high mountain tea, ate biscuits, and chatted. For breakfast the next morning, we made pork chop toast with Hokkaido milk. The whole family loved it. Having a place where everyone can cook and hang out made the stay more relaxing. It'd be a shame to use a room like this just for sleeping. I found myself eyeing all the kitchenware and wanting to renovate my own home. 😍 Checkout was easy too, using the same tablet, and nobody bothered us. Remember to bring your toothbrush and toothpaste; everything else is provided. See the attached photos for reference. Japan is strict about appliance use. Even in new buildings, don't run the hair dryer, microwave, and electric kettle all at once, or you could cause a power outage.