Hokkaido Explorer Ski Safari Customer Reviews

ANA are an excellent airline to fly with - we were lucky to travel back from Kyoto to Tokyo first class and then club class from Tokyo to Heathrow - not sure why but we didn't complain! The Shiba Park is also very good. They are helpful and the Japanese restaurant is excellent – we used it on the first night. The location is very good. We went out and about on our first full day and managed to get out of the centre far enough to discover that everything was in Japanese at the stations - only to be rescued by kind Japanese on two occasions without even asking them for help. We got the bullet train the following day down to Nagoya, about 300 miles and spent the day there. It was a great experience. The snow monkeys would have been a good thing to do, but it looked like rather a full day and a little risky with the buses at the other end etc. The Hilton is truly excellent. The restaurants are good and breakfast extraordinary. Staff very helpful. We enjoyed the onsen very much and the Japanese bath afterwards became one of the best parts of the day! The Granvia is the most fantastic building and well positioned. We went by train to Nara for our first day around the park with its many temples and shrines and then decided on a guided tour of Kyoto on our final day. The Japanese as I am sure that you are aware are a lovely people and so helpful and polite. Genuine values – refreshing change these days ( I can be rather grumpy on occasions! ) I wish that our trains and undergrounds were as punctual and clean, and people as nice. The holiday gave us a good look at the culture and we ate much Japanese food, some unidentifiable! All together I have become a complete Japanese fan and would thoroughly recommend the holiday. The Hilton is clearly the place to stay at Niseko.

This was a special trip for my 40th birthday. Rupert took all our requirements and created an itinerary that fitted perfectly. He arranged everything (where he could) and gave precise information regarding the things he could not (transfer from Narita airport to Tokyo for example). Every single step of the trip went exactly to plan and I was surprised nothing went wrong at all. We even got an upgrade to premium economy on the flight out which was very nice - we would pay for this on any future flights. ANA are an excellent airline and would not hesitate to recommend them. On the flight back from Osaka Itami to Tokyo Narita, we were upgraded to First Class - just a shame not for the 12.5 hour flight back to Heathrow. The standard of hotels just got better and were excellently located for all tourist and transport amenities. We are planning another trip within 3-5 years (just need to save up) and we would sacrifice the Hilton in Niseko to stay in Hirafu - the Hilton was fabulous for a first time visitor but after visiting Hirafu, we would prefer to save money on the hotel and stay in a lower budget hotel and be a bit closer to other eating and drinking venues. Rupert was extremely helpful and where he could not help, having the Ski Safari contacts in Japan was invaluable. We had no reason to contact them during the trip but knowing they were there should we need assistance was a great comfort. Every element of the trip was either arranged prior or we had the information so we could have a hassle free holiday. I cannot rate Ski Safari highly enough - thank you.