Yellow House Niseko

I had a really pleasant stay, met some fantastic people, and the staff were great too.

Summer was fine for my stay, and I had fun at the potato festival. I’d hate to be here in winter with all the skiing and snowboarding tourists, though. The dorm has loads of beds, and there’s no internal insulation in the house, so you can hear everything everywhere.

I came in winter to ski and had a great time, despite seeing some bad reviews from summer guests. The free shuttle runs to Grand Hirafu at 8:10 and 9:10, with a return at 17:00. There are three hot showers with good pressure, though they’re a bit mouldy. People are friendly and relaxed, and it’s easy to find others to ski with. Breakfast is included, but it was awful: I tried the toast, butter, jam, very cheap sausages, and chicken nuggets once, then bought my own for the rest of the trip. You only get one tiny towel for showers, brushing your teeth, and washing your hands, so bring a bigger one.

We rented the four-person dorm and it turned out to be a good find, especially for an affordable place. The resorts are a bit far away, but the hostel shuttle goes directly there at 8:10 am and returns at 5:00 pm. Breakfast is just sausages and chicken nuggets to microwave, plus toast. It’s okay, though you’ll want to bring extra snacks for the morning. The towels are really tiny, my only gripe with the place.