Early December in Rusutsu and Kiroro

Both resorts are less than an hour from Niseko so they're easy to do as a day trip, or if you want to ski there more you can also stay at either resort as a twin-centre ski holiday. Here's how they currently look, plus a bit more information on Hokkaido's lesser-known resorts.

In case you think only Niseko has got a lot of early snow this winter, Kiroro and Rusutsu have it too! This is Kiroro's main hotel, The Tribute Portfolio, which has heaps of snow outside already.

It looks like mid-winter already in Kiroro, and all lifts and the gondola have been operating since last week. By the way, I have hardly ever seen such a bluebird day in Kiroro in winter. There were less than 10 sunny days last winter from December to February! Normally it is snowing heavily, you never see blue sky but you do see heaps of powder everywhere.

I have been impressed by how Kiroro improves their service every year. The Ice Hotel & Bar is new in Kiroro this winter, it is still under construction but will be ready by Christmas. I will definitely come back and visit the bar when it's completed.

One thing I really enjoy in ski resorts in Japan (other than powder and carving) is hot ramen noodles on the mountain. All resorts have ramen noodles, and I enjoy tasting different ones in different resorts.

It was snowing when I left home in Niseko, but as I approached Rusutsu the skies were clear. Rusutsu usually gets more sunny days than Niseko, which also means it is not as snowy, but I think it's still a lot of snow anyway!

Rusutsu consists of three mountains called West, East and Isola. West Mountain and East Mountain have car parks at the base areas. Locals usually start skiing from the East base area as the car park is located right next to the slope. The West base area is the main base area and is where you'll find the hotels, car parks, a shopping mall and even a merry-go-round!

Rusutsu's East Mountain base area is less busy than West Mountain so you can access powder much faster.

The largest of Rusutsu's three mountains is Mt Isola. You have to take at least two lifts to get there from the East base area - look at the wide and nicely-groomed runs.

When you get to Mt Isola, you can see one of the most popular tree runs on the East Mountain as well as Mt Yotei and Niseko in the distance. The tree runs have not been opened yet this winter as they need a bit more powder to be safe.

You can see Lake Toya from the top of Mt Isola. It's more than 30km away but it looks much closer.

Rusutsu has a lot of tree runs, not as many as Niseko has, but it's still a lot. The resort doesn't have as much snow as Niseko so far, but it will be piled up soon and it's just as dry as Niseko.

Almost all base areas in Rusutsu have a restaurant or cafe, so it's very easy to have a break anytime you want.

Rusutsu has a lot of partner ski resorts all over the world, and some restaurants and runs are named after them, including Steamboat and Heavenly, which may be familiar to some Ski Safari customers!

Most skiers/snowboarders want to visit Japan because of powder, but another great thing about Rusutsu is the wide, long and nicely-groomed runs. Tree runs, wide and long groomed runs and blue skies. What else could you want? I think that is why Rusutsu has won the best ski resort in Japan in the 2017 World Ski Awards.

Whistler Blackcomb may have the famous "Peak-2-Peak" gondola, but Rusutsu has a "base to base" gondola instead! This gondola is for access between the East and West Mountains.

The West Mountain is the original mountain of Rusutsu Resort and has the main base area with hotels, main kids ski school and some other facilities. The buses from Niseko and the airport stop at the West Mountain base area.

Which other ski resorts have an indoor merry-go-round?

I'll be sharing more updates from Hokkaido throughout the season. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to make sure you don't miss them.