Koa Niseko — Hotel in Niseko

Beautiful townhouse but somewhat tricky location if you want to ski Hanazono or Hirafu (which in my opinion are the best to ski). It’s a few minutes walk up the road (say 5-10min) to some of the lifts at Niseko Village. To get to the Hilton requires you to take a short bus ride a bit further up the road. Unless you are with little kids, from the Hilton you can take the Gondola up and ski to the other side of the mountain but it’s a slight walk uphill at the top and not doable / recommended if with younger kids.

H2 Life, who operate the Koa Townhouses, offer a free shuttle but only to Hilton Niseko which is unfortunate as would be more beneficial to have a free shuttle to Hirafu Welcome Center so you can be more connected to the main village with all the restaurants. It’s a long drive into the main town (not a few minutes as they advertise) and the good lessons for kids are in Hanazono which is about 30-40min drive away. The Niseko Bus flat out sucks and is not a real option unless you are desperate and have loads of time on your hands (end of day once take 1.5 hours from Hanazono to Koa townhouse).

As noted above, the actual townhouse is beautiful with very nice amenities and is lovely to come back to after skiing. There were actually some nice restaurants around the area but you had to know where to find them. There is a really nice small restaurant behind the townhouse (you need to book a day in advance), and we also loved Lucky Fingers (they can arrange their car to pick you up and drop you off but for a charge - trust me it’s worth it!).

I must say that we found the support from H2 to be at many times inadequate. Sometimes they were unresponsive and other times when they did respond, it wasn’t helpful and they missed lots of low hanging fruit to make it a great experience, instead making it a stressful experience. However, once we raised our concerns with the manager (Jason), he was very understanding and took the extra steps to try to make things right, which was greatly appreciated.

Overall, I would recommend if you are looking for a lovely townhouse, are happy to be away from the main town in Hirafu, and you are either not fussed about renting a car to get around, or you are happy to ski around the Niseko Village side (which again, is missing a lot of what Niseko has to offer in terms of great skiing which is more on the Hanazono side or at least Grand Hirafu from which it’s easier to ski across...

The house is beautiful and spacious, with a garage that makes it very convenient during the snowy season—no need to worry about shoveling snow off the car. Right by the entrance, there’s a designated area to hang your clothes and store ski equipment, with heated floors in that area to keep everything dry and warm. Inside, there's a cozy TV corner to relax, and two bedrooms on the lower floor, along with a bathroom and separate toilet.

Upstairs, you’ll find a spacious open kitchen that’s fully equipped for cooking, though the only seasonings provided were salt and pepper. What I liked the most was the fireplace in the upstairs living room, with a large window offering a beautiful view of the falling snow. The master bedroom is also on the second floor, with an en-suite bathroom.

Though housekeeping doesn’t come daily, there’s a dishwasher and vacuum cleaner provided. The village is just a 5-minute walk from the bus stop, but there are no nearby restaurants or convenience stores. Communication with the reception via WhatsApp wasn’t always very reliable—it’s sometimes slow or quick to respond. There’s a shuttle service to Niseko Village once a day during the winter season, but it’s limited and needs to be booked in advance.

Overall, the villa is very nice, quiet, and well-designed, though it is a bit far from the main town. A taxi ride to Niseko Hirafu takes about 15 minutes and costs around 4,500 yen. There’s also a bus every hour for 500 yen (in winter). Overall, it’s...

Koa Niseko felt like a home away from home during our winter getaway. After a fun day in the snow, we loved coming back to the cozy space and cooking meals together with fresh ingredients we picked up from Lucky Supermarket. The Townhouse has everything you need to cook for the family, from stove to cutlery and crockery. Having a car was definitely essential—it made it so much easier to explore the area and stock up on everything we needed. The location, the comfort of the accommodation, and the little moments like sharing meals made our stay...