SnowDog Village

No bus this time, was a very important part of my previous visits. Very difficult to negotiate surrounding areas.

Fantastic, wonderful staff!! Would love to have an outdoor hot tub, but if it needs/preferred to be solar powered I know it is challenging in the winter. Possibly a welcome beverage in the room and a small selection of tea/coffee for the first day before we had a chance to go shopping?

We stayed here for a week, a great apartment which is well equipped with welcoming staff. The rooms are super clean and comfortable, modern with good views. The only things to consider is there is no boot room so a bit annoying taking all the boots upstairs and the location defo needs a car to get around. Besides that was great. Would stay again.

The room was perfect for my snowboarding trip. Comfortable bed, great shower, and the kitchenette and washer / dryer in unit were perfect. Staff was communicative and very helpful. There is not much around the area as far as stores or restaurants, and transportation without a car requires some planning.

Postcard view from apartment! Wld be good to provide bottles of water in the room.

SnowDog’s ethos is all about a personalised experience with the feeling of a family business. The friendly staff were mostly locals who spoke excellent English and were hugely helpful with tips on where to eat, onsen and ski. We stayed in a larger sized studio which was perfect for our preference for simple comforts but no frills. The kitchenette meant we could have breakfast at home, the thermostat was cozy and the shower had great water pressure and heat. The layout is sleek but warm, cleverly designed with plenty of storage so it always felt clear. Looking out the window onto fresh powder every morning was a dream. A drying room near the reception meant we didn’t need to store our skis in our room, and the staff kindly gave us lifts to the local bus stop (5 mins walk away) in the mornings and afternoons. The location isn’t quite ‘ski-in/ski-out’- it’s a 15 minute walk to the closest chairlift, 10 minutes by bus to the main resort chairlift (Niseko Village), and 20 minutes by bus to the busier shops and restaurants of Hirafu. The high simple and comfortable rooms and high quality amenities paired with a warm personal feel from the staff made SnowDog perfect for us as a young early professional couple. The smaller room size and travel times to the slopes might be obstacles for others with different budgets.

This was our last stay on a short trip and it was the best, starting with the young man at reception it got better and better The apartment was 5 star quality bed facilities and the cleanliness of the bathroom was amazing The area around the village was beautiful and we were recommended to an amazing restaurant to finish the trip on a high Love to return to see it in winter