Normally, stranded passengers in an airport would just try to find to a row of seats to get some shuteye, but if one were to find themselves stranded in New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, they can definitely choose to refresh … Continue reading Overnight at the Onsen in New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan
Airport hotels are convenient places of accommodation especially when arriving at night and departing the next day to another destination. As an aviation enthusiast there is a certain attraction to overnighting in an airport and I found myself in that … Continue reading Air Terminal Hotel in Chitose Airport – a Hotel Review
Aside from skiing in Annupuri, Hirafu and Kiroro, we spent the most time in Rusutsu as we visited over 3 days, while staying at Niseko. Rusutsu is located close to the town which is also its namesake and the town of Makkari. Geographically it is on the other end of the distinctive Mount Yotei from Niseko. Thus this is also one resort that affords good views of Yotei, which is also known as the Fuji of the North for its symmetrical shape. GETTING THERE Like many ski resorts in Hokkaido, there are direct shuttle buses to this resort from … Continue reading Backcountry Powder at Rusutsu Ski Resort
Hokkaido has gained recognition in the last decade as the place to be for powder skiing and snowboarding and my last trip to Niseko did indeed show the possibilities. I would be visiting Niseko once again with my ski buddies and by chance I would arrive in Japan a few days earlier. Coupled with the new SPG properties opening up in Hokkaido, I stayed 2 nights at Kiroro to experience another new ski resort to be reviewed here. Kiroro is located closer to Sapporo than Niseko or Rusutsu and that would also mean a shorter transfer time to get to … Continue reading Skiing at Kiroro Snow World in Hokkaido
It was really easy to hotel hop between the Sheraton and The Kiroro, both of which are now managed by Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), as I was able to leave my luggage with the reception desk on check-out and they transferred it to the Kiroro automatically. After a day of skiing, I just hopped into the shuttle bus and checked in at The Kiroro. The reason I stayed at this hotel was it had been branded as a Tribute Portfolio property which is also the newest brand by SPG, and I wanted to check it out to see how it … Continue reading The Kiroro, my first Tribute Portfolio Hotel stay
To get to Kiroro Snow World resort where the Sheraton was located at, I took the JR train from Sapporo Chitose Airport to Otaru Chikko Station, one stop before Otaru main station. There was a complimentary shuttle bus which I had to wait more than an hour for but thankfully there was a heated waiting lounge in the station. There is also some luggage lockers and a shopping mall beside the station. Eventually I boarded the 1pm shuttle bus from Otaru Chikko Station and arrived at the hotel at about 1:45pm. Being dropped off in the hotel directly, the service … Continue reading Great Ski-in/Ski-out at the Sheraton Kiroro
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