Hokkaido with Hoshino Resorts
Hoshino Resorts is welcoming snow-loving families back to Hokkaido this northern winter with a host of great resorts, incredible powder and unique local-led experiences.
Japan is open and a sensational snow season awaits eager powder hounds in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. While it’s a perfect escape for all seasons, Hokkaido is best known for its world-class powder snow in winter, along with its onsen (natural hot springs) bathing, stunning World Heritage-listed national parks and, of course, incredible cuisine.
The best way to enjoy the many wonders of Hokkaido in winter is with Hoshino Resorts, who offer a host of stellar accommodation right across the island, along with warm and welcoming Japanese hospitality, and nextlevel experiences that immerse visitors into each destination’s local charms.
Feature-packed Hoshino Resorts TOMAMU, in central Hokkaido, offers visitors the quintessential Japanese-style resort experience along with some of the country’s best powder snow on 29 courses over 145 hectares of awesome skiing terrain, catering to skiers and snowboarders of all levels. There’s everything from a beginner’s area and groomers for intermediates, to mogul runs and back-country skiing for the more experienced among us.
The fully integrated resort boasts two separate ski-in/ski-out hotels, each uniquely styled and offering Hoshino Resorts’ superb signature service. The five-star all-suite RISONARE Tomamu, located in a prime position on the hill and surrounded by a pretty snow-dusted pine forest, while the 36-storey twin towers of four-star TOMAMU The Tower are the centrepiece of the resort, offering views of the surrounding mountains and access to extraordinary facilities.
Both offer a surplus of great runs, tree skiing courses, and the pretty Terrace of Frost Tree, surrounded by a sea of white and offering the most incredible views over the resort. But there’s so much more than just skiing here. Après-ski fun for families includes an incredible selection of more than 20 dining venues, Mina-mina Beach, an 80-metre-long heated indoor wave pool, and fun activities like a Family Snow Picnic tour by snow raft and the incredible Ice Village, a magically illuminated wonderland built entirely from snow and ice with an outdoor ice rink.
Foodie travellers should head further north of Hoshino Resorts TOMAMU to OMO7 Asahikawa by Hoshino Resorts for an adventure in eating. Not only does the hotel offer access to the incredible ski resorts of Asahidake, Kamui Ski Links, Kurodake, and Sahoro, and the Asahiyama Zoo and its polar bears, its OMO Rangers Ramen Hopping tours will see visitors exploring, and tasting, some of the area’s best ramen with a local guide.
Add an artisanal adventure to your winter break in Hokkaido at OMO5 Otaru by Hoshino Resorts, a new concept hotel encouraging guests to explore Otaru, a retro port town about half an hour northwest of Sapporo by train. Discover the charms of the city’s history, culture, and food from this lovely hotel –from the lively early morning calls of fishermen bringing in their catch, which can be enjoyed later on the hotel menus, to exploring the canal and warehouse district, which is dotted with glassworks and music box studios, as well as cafés, a sake brewery and more.
Or enjoy a little cultural immersion by adding a visit to KAI Poroto in Hokkaido. This luxurious new addition to the Hoshino family is built along the shore of Lake Poroto in Shiraoi-cho, just five minutes from Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park, an open-air museum where visitors can experience various elements of Ainu culture. The stunning hot spring ryokan honours the local Ainu culture and provides a special place for guests to experience it through immersive experiences.
Before you fly home from Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport, enjoy a few nights discovering Sapporo at OMO3 Sapporo Susukino by Hoshino Resorts, another new hotel where guests are encouraged to enjoy all that the city has to offer, from its 3,500 restaurants to February’s Sapporo Snow Festival, a week-long extravaganza of enormous ice sculptures, ice slides and mazes made of snow.
Best of all, guests staying at any Hoshino Resort property in Japan will have their medical insurance taken care of free of charge for travel from October 5, 2022 until December 31, 2023. The insurance will cover the cost of medical treatment required for injury from skiing and illness, including COVID-19, that occurs during their stay.