Best time to book

[beanbag 0]

Hi there

 

Fantastic place this is. Good to be here.

 

Never been to Japan. Sitting here in London and thinking of going next season. Problem is, won't be able to book until November or December.

 

Is that getting a bit late in popular places (thinking Niseko or Nozawa/Shiga Kogen) and just wondering.

 

Cheers!

[stillnoprogress 0]

hakuba won't be a problem unless ur thinking new years or chinese new years

[Go Native 70]

beanbag if it's Niseko you are thinking of coming to then depending on the type of accommodation you want to stay in booking that late can be problematic to say the least. Most companies here already have a huge amount of booking requests fo next season. In fact booking requests for next season have been coming in all throughout this season. If you are thinking of coming in peak period (xmas to around end of Chinese New Year) then book as early as is possible.

[Mike Pow 52]

Or take a look at the Inghams web site.

 

Difficult to beat their prices to Niseko from the UK.

[2pints-mate 0]

We haven't been to Niseko but our Nagano reservations we had no problem at all in November / December. I'd say it was best to get it done as early as possible, but that's not always possible (as we know!)

[muikabochi 208]

I'd say that in this area as well there are empty places even on that weekend. There are just way too many hotels! But of course earlier is surely better and you'll get the choice.

[thursday 1]

Inghams won't have their prices until autumn. A lot of commercial negotiations go on until the last minute.

[rach 1]

I always have serious problems with work and knowing holidays. I just wish they were a bit more flexible and long-term in the way they sort them all out. It is very frustrating.

[skidaisuki 0]

If you can make it after New Year, say 3rd week in January, that's optimum. Snow should be great and the slopes less busy. Niseko is a special case because any time during the Aussie summer holidays it's going to be fairly busy. I would recommend J-First, which is right at the lift base at Hirafu, is comfortable and has great food and friendly staff.

 

If you are prepared to organise yourself (i/o booking a package) then the best bet would be to go to Hakuba at a similar time - flights to Narita are normally quite cheap into Jan / Feb after the New Year Holiday period. In my experience there is always some sort of accommodation available at short notice, depending on your flexibility. You could always consult Fattwins (he has a hotel) or numerous other backpacker-type places there. If you have more cash, then you will have more choice, naturally.

 

If you have a very specific place and time in mind then booking earlier is usually a better idea - but it can be done on a budget and packages are NOT always cheaper than simply booking direct.

 

Good luck

 

SDS

[beanbag 0]

Thanks for the comments. Will sit, wait, study and get excited.

 

I don't know why you mention it, but I'm not really interested in Hakuba.

 

Cheers.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Its the perpetual toing and froing on here...Niseko or Hakuba

 

don't worry about it!

[skidaisuki 0]

beanbag, sorry - I didn't see that Hakuba was off your list - as someone who's been there (and to Niseko) numerous times, I personally think that it should be somewhere near the top of it...

 

Anyway, that's up to you.

 

Shiga has rather more limited accommodation because there's no village as such, it is really a string of hotels and pensions along a high mountain road. Despite the lack of drinking places, I love it, but not sure how early you should book. You could always book your most likely dates and then cancel - giving fair warning - if you can't make it. That shouldn't cost you anything.

 

Niseko is very popular, we always book 3-4 months ahead, otherwise it is very difficult to get the place you want, and end up somewhere way down in the village.

[Go Native 70]

A good time to come is the last week of Jan. The Aussie school holidays finish near the end of the 3rd week of Jan and so the last week generally has a considerable drop in the numbers coming. It picks up again in Feb, especially for the Chinese New Year. So my advice is last week of Jan for great snow and less crowds.

[Mike Pow 52]

 Originally Posted By: thursday.

Inghams won't have their prices until autumn. A lot of commercial negotiations go on until the last minute.

Early bird brochure comes out in April.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Can you get direct flights from the UK into Hokkaido or do you have to transfer along the way?

[skidaisuki 0]

Tubby,

 

nope - not direct from the UK (thankfully, perhaps). You have to fly to Narita and then transfer to Haneda, or alternatively you may be able to fly London Heathrow to Kansai International (Osaka) direct and get a Chitose (Sapporo)-bound flight from there without having to change airports. There's a bit of a cost/benefit calculation to be done as flying to Narita would under most circumstances be cheaper.

 

SdS