Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Yeah that's a good point, for accommodation.....especially early, the places on here will be happy to deal with you. Also....Sapporo is an ace destination for snow....lots of hotels of all ranges, lots of snow, near the airport and easy daily access to 4 or 5 ski hills that range from an easy 20-30 minute shuttle bus from downtown to a free 2hr bus to Rusutsu. My local hill is Sapporo Teine and between the Olympia area and Highland area, there is enough to keep all skill levels happy. It's 30 mins by shuttle bus from the downtown hotels, you could go up n ski all day, return and eat in some of the thousands of great restaurants and bars in the city. Different to staying in resort Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Yeah, you are using foreign sites and they do give the impression of things being full up BUT Japanese agencies won't have their winter brochure/packages ready.....they'll prob only have just organised their summer ones!! In my experience they hold back a lot of rooms for the domestic market, it's unusual for locals to book a year in advance which is why you can't find cheap flights more than 3 months before the date. Also ANA and JAL have very competitive package deals, flight + accommodation, but again they won't be available until autumn at the earliest. If you have people over here who could check and or book for you in Japanese from a Japanese website you may find it's not as full as you were lead to believe Wow. Yeah this is all an eye opener for me. Thank so much for all those tips! Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Just in case you didn't know about it: http://www.snowjapan.com/japan-places-to-stay Thank you, I did see that page. It's a springboard, I'll admit. But still a daunting task ahead. Thanks again! Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Yeah that's a good point, for accommodation.....especially early, the places on here will be happy to deal with you. Also....Sapporo is an ace destination for snow....lots of hotels of all ranges, lots of snow, near the airport and easy daily access to 4 or 5 ski hills that range from an easy 20-30 minute shuttle bus from downtown to a free 2hr bus to Rusutsu. My local hill is Sapporo Teine and between the Olympia area and Highland area, there is enough to keep all skill levels happy. It's 30 mins by shuttle bus from the downtown hotels, you could go up n ski all day, return and eat in some of the thousands of great restaurants and bars in the city. Different to staying in resort That's great stuff, I'll be sure to check it out (foreign and local booking). It sounds great. Thanks very much! Link to post Share on other sites
manfredk 2 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Pick any ski resort, have fun in the snow all day, get a private onsen/hot bath bottle of champagne....pop the question(NAKED) then go out for dinner.. It wont be the town that makes it romantic it will be the situation with the 2 of you? Just a thought! Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Pick any ski resort, have fun in the snow all day, get a private onsen/hot bath bottle of champagne....pop the question(NAKED) then go out for dinner.. It wont be the town that makes it romantic it will be the situation with the 2 of you?Just a thought! Oh trust me, after wracking my brain and eyeballs looking at every hotel, mountain, snow report, hotel review, photos, prices and amenities I wish there was a clear cut answer for "any ski resort". Actually there were a lot but then I get a "sorry the last room was booked a day ago". I'd love to get this done, trust me. But with you advice, and the others above, I'll try my best. Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
manfredk 2 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Thats because they dont have the 2015 prices out yet,im guessing. they will tell you that there are no rooms available for your selected dates... sound familiar? Dont panic .Listen to what tubby said. I booked my accom, last year in July, and I was" very early" as my host mentioned, but I like to be organised. Hakuba is easy to get to, lots of english signs and english spoken. Nagano is great to check out and the bullet train is great. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I'm doing all of the legwork, or fingerwork, via booking.com/agoda/trip advisor. Seems you've had more luck than me. Last hotel I checked was something called Appi Grand and it was booked solid. You're looking at Appi? The Appi Grand has a listing here: http://www.snowjapan...otel-appi-grand There is contact information (e-mail, phone) on that page, so you can contact them directly and inquire. I seriously doubt they are booked solid -- probably just not set to accept online bookings that far ahead. Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Thats because they dont have the 2015 prices out yet,im guessing. they will tell you that there are no rooms available for your selected dates... sound familiar? Dont panic .Listen to what tubby said. I booked my accom, last year in July, and I was" very early" as my host mentioned, but I like to be organised. Hakuba is easy to get to, lots of english signs and english spoken. Nagano is great to check out and the bullet train is great. Wow, it's like the knot at the back of my neck loosened up, thank you and everyone else that informed me that that is how hotels operate in Japan. And thanks for the added tips! Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 I'm doing all of the legwork, or fingerwork, via booking.com/agoda/trip advisor. Seems you've had more luck than me. Last hotel I checked was something called Appi Grand and it was booked solid. You're looking at Appi? The Appi Grand has a listing here: http://www.snowjapan...otel-appi-grand There is contact information (e-mail, phone) on that page, so you can contact them directly and inquire. I seriously doubt they are booked solid -- probably just not set to accept online bookings that far ahead. Yes Appi Grand, I saw that page and went to booking.com that said "no rooms on your specified days". But I'll believe you and try again in July, thanks a lot! Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 You could e-mail them now, most likely. Or any time between now and December, for that matter. (I would honestly be shocked if they ever reach 100% occupancy in recent years. That is a big hotel...) Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 You could e-mail them now, most likely. Or any time between now and December, for that matter. (I would honestly be shocked if they ever reach 100% occupancy in recent years. That is a big hotel...) Oh that is wonderful news. I was really getting worried. Kinda stupid that agoda or booking.com would say they don't have rooms. They could have just said "rooms can only be reserved _ months in advance". But anyway, thanks again! Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan 178 Posted May 23, 2014 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 23, 2014 Do please mention SnowJapan if you do contact them (lots of people seem to forget). Thank you and good luck with it all. Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Do please mention SnowJapan if you do contact them (lots of people seem to forget). Thank you and good luck with it all. I most certainly will. Link to post Share on other sites
manfredk 2 Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 You could e-mail them now, most likely. Or any time between now and December, for that matter. (I would honestly be shocked if they ever reach 100% occupancy in recent years. That is a big hotel...) Oh that is wonderful news. I was really getting worried. Kinda stupid that agoda or booking.com would say they don't have rooms. They could have just said "rooms can only be reserved _ months in advance". But anyway, thanks again! just for reference the booking companies dont set the details for room rates and availability. thats up to the hotels ect. Link to post Share on other sites
Brian168 0 Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 You could e-mail them now, most likely. Or any time between now and December, for that matter. (I would honestly be shocked if they ever reach 100% occupancy in recent years. That is a big hotel...) Oh that is wonderful news. I was really getting worried. Kinda stupid that agoda or booking.com would say they don't have rooms. They could have just said "rooms can only be reserved _ months in advance". But anyway, thanks again! just for reference the booking companies dont set the details for room rates and availability. thats up to the hotels ect. Noted, many thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
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