My wife and I stayed at Furano Lofts and Chalet for 7 nights as the first leg of our honeymoon in Japan, and honestly couldn’t recommend it more highly, everything about our stay was fantastic.
Leon and Tim were hands down the best hosts we've ever had; helpful, friendly and really went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. Being native English speakers but having both lived in Japan for many years they were a great asset for our first time in Japan. They met us when we arrived and carried our bags, gave plenty of suggestions for restaurants and activities both in Kitanomine and downtown Furano, and even some for our next leg in Tokyo, helped us with booking taxis(very helpful when navigating the language barrier), shuttled us to the ski area each morning for our snowboarding lessons(I also highly recommend Furano Snow School), and made sure we had all the right info and knew how to navigate our bus journey to Asahikawa airport when we left. They even surprised us with a hamper of local wine, cheese, and crackers(all delicious) as a gift after we mentioned we were on our honeymoon, and gave us a fantastic souvenir to wish us well when we checked out.
It depends on personal preference but we found the location to be great; in a very quiet corner of town about a 10-minute walk to the Kitanomine slopes if you don’t want to take the shuttle, and 10-20 minutes to Kitanomine itself and lots of great local restaurants. Downtown Furano itself, where there are many more options, is about 5-10 minutes by car or about 45 minutes walk if you're up for it.
The accommodation itself was excellent; compact but comfortable and modern with great Japanese design touches. We were initially in a ground-floor Moto as booked, then generously moved to a second-floor Mori after it became available midway through our booking, which had an excellent mountain view from the bedroom and the addition of a loft area with some lounge chairs. Both had wet areas inside the door for taking off shoes and snow gear to keep the Japanese wooden floors and bedroom tatami matting in great condition. The bathrooms were well laid out, with a washer/dryer combo, a smart toilet and a large shower & bath setup separated by a glass door to keep everything else dry. The kitchenettes were small but had everything you'd need if you wanted to cook(we didn't with so much good food nearby), and there were separate bins for each kind of waste, which Japan is very strict on we were told. The accommodations were refreshed daily, with bed turndown, rubbish removal and restock of tea/coffee etc, which was a lovely bonus.
One of the absolute highlights was the private onsen, which we were told is the only one of its kind in Furano. It was a game changer after being bruised and battered from spending our mornings learning to snowboard, we used it every afternoon and absolutely loved it.
In summary we had an amazing time at Furano Lofts and Chalet and would absolutely recommend them to anyone visiting Furano, regardless of if you're there for snow sports, sightseeing, or just relaxing. It was the perfect start to our trip, and we’ll definitely be staying again...
Read moreMy wife and I stayed at Furano Lofts and Chalet for 7 nights as the first leg of our honeymoon in Japan, and honestly couldn’t recommend it more highly, everything about our stay was fantastic.||Leon and Tim were hands down the best hosts we've ever had; helpful, friendly and really went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. Being native English speakers but having both lived in Japan for many years they were a great asset for our first time in Japan. They met us when we arrived and carried our bags, gave plenty of suggestions for restaurants and activities both in Kitanomine and downtown Furano, and even some for our next leg in Tokyo, helped us with booking taxis(very helpful when navigating the language barrier), shuttled us to the ski area each morning for our snowboarding lessons(I also highly recommend Furano Snow School), and made sure we had all the right info and knew how to navigate our bus journey to Asahikawa airport when we left. They even surprised us with a hamper of local wine, cheese, and crackers(all delicious) as a gift after we mentioned we were on our honeymoon, and gave us a fantastic souvenir to wish us well when we checked out.||It depends on personal preference but we found the location to be great; in a very quiet corner of town about a 10-minute walk to the Kitanomine slopes if you don’t want to take the shuttle, and 10-20 minutes to Kitanomine itself and lots of great local restaurants. Downtown Furano itself, where there are many more options, is about 5-10 minutes by car or about 45 minutes walk if you're up for it.||The accommodation itself was excellent; compact but comfortable and modern with great Japanese design touches. We were initially in a ground-floor Moto as booked, then generously moved to a second-floor Mori after it became available midway through our booking, which had an excellent mountain view from the bedroom and the addition of a loft area with some lounge chairs. Both had wet areas inside the door for taking off shoes and snow gear to keep the Japanese wooden floors and bedroom tatami matting in great condition. The bathrooms were well laid out, with a washer/dryer combo, a smart toilet and a large shower & bath setup separated by a glass door to keep everything else dry. The kitchenettes were small but had everything you'd need if you wanted to cook(we didn't with so much good food nearby), and there were separate bins for each kind of waste, which Japan is very strict on we were told. The accommodations were refreshed daily, with bed turndown, rubbish removal and restock of tea/coffee etc, which was a lovely bonus.||One of the absolute highlights was the private onsen, which we were told is the only one of its kind in Furano. It was a game changer after being bruised and battered from spending our mornings learning to snowboard, we used it every afternoon and absolutely loved it.||In summary we had an amazing time at Furano Lofts and Chalet and would absolutely recommend them to anyone visiting Furano, regardless of if you're there for snow sports, sightseeing, or just relaxing. It was the perfect start to our trip, and we’ll definitely be staying again...
Read moreWe stayed a week in Furano Lofts in August. We stayed in the one bedroom unit and it was most pleasant. The unit has a fully equipped kitchenette, wash and dry laundry machine, powerful shower and a deep bath tub perfect for soaking after a long day of sightseeing. There is an onsite Onsen suitable for 2 persons and is available for booking. The location of the lofts is central and most restaurants that we went to are about 10-15 mins drive. There are good supermarkets esp, Forest and Furano Marche also about 15mins drive from the lofts. |Furano Delice, a famous patisserie is only 5mins walk up the road and another popular French restaurant is 5mins walk down the road. The charming Ningle Terrace is a 15mins drive away and so is the Cheese Factory/Pizza Factory (which serves the best pizza in Furano !)||Our hosts, Leon and Tim are most hospitable and most gracious. Tim is our go to guy for restaurants recommendations and they are all good. When we told him we wanted to go to Mt Asahi, he whipped out his smartphone and immediately check the weather/wind conditions at the mountain to make sure we won’t make a futile trip. He will give us places to shop that are so discreet and hidden that unless you are in the know, you will never find it. Leon will surprise us with goodies like freshly baked buns, local cheese and crackers, sake etc, which he brings over in a basket. This is the difference between staying in a hotel and a small privately managed residence. You receive personal attention and always come back to friendly chatter, genuine concerns and sound advice. ||I highly recommend Furano Lofts and Chalets if you plan to make Furano your base to explore the surrounding areas. They even have a larger luxurious and stylish chalet that can sleep 8 very comfortably. Perfect for families and friends. We look forward to returning with a larger group to stay in the chalet. ||What...
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