Pension Fullnote

Liked the comfy beds and the spacious room. Liked the breakfast room, with the home-cooked option feeling very old-fashioned in a good way. Yum Brekky. Showers and Bathroom were closer to hostel standard but very clean and definitely adequate.

The ski room was under the entrance stairwell, so it was a major pain to put them in there. Not a big thing. The main detriment was that the bar underneath was pretty loud. Some fantastic singing that was had there. Didn't affect sleep or anything and we were arguably the closest room to it.

This pension has a bar "half note" in the basement & the same staff run the bar & the accommodation. This gives the place a really fun vibe, but also it's being run by young people that seem perpetually hungover. The other standout item was the feather doonahs - so airy and warm - some of the best sleeps I've had in months despite the challenging conditions. There's a communal fridge in the kitchen and a washing machine in the basement with powder supplied.

The heater in my room (two floors above the bar, next to the street, pictured) had some kind of exhaust leak. I had to leave the window on the opposite wall ajar to keep the air breathable. It's not because the vent on the outside becomes blocked but you also have to monitor that if there's a lot of snow. The bar closes at 11:30 and the patrons leaving are noisy, but if you sleep with ear plugs it's not an issue. You also can't hear the music through the floor which is kind of impressive actually. They have parking and it's mostly staff vehicles. With a little more snow removal and organisation each vehicle could have its own spot & remove the car shuffling problem for guests. It looked like the floor to the toilets was not cleaned for the week that I was there.

Location

Could have had fresh sheets part way through stay

The breakfast each morning was decent. The quality was good, but the portions were very, very tiny. If you wanted more, then the only option was cereal or toast.

It was way too noisy. I didn't realize that the rooms are above a bar, and not just any bar, but what seemed like a destination for Australians, who were constantly yelling until 12:30 am or 1 am, congregating in the streets outside the rooms, and occasionally even loudly hanging out in the hallways until 3 am. They clearly didn't come to Niseko to ski, but rather only to party. And it's not even that cool of a bar. It's just a bunch of loud Aussies and some Americans who want to be in a place that feelsl just like their home country, and not like Japan (which is pretty lame). The staff is mostly made of up Austrailians who must get free room and board or something, but they were pretty indifferent about providing good service.