What a great experience. Even before I booked the property, Fujimi was friendly and immediately responsive to all of my inquiries, and that level of communication was a constant throughout our stay.
After picking us up from Niseko train station, she took the time to present us with info about the house and the local area, with recommended restaurants, onsen, grocery stores, gas stations, etc., as well as answer all of our questions.
The house itself was gorgeous. Full size refrigerator, dishwasher, washer/dryer, bathrooms, closets, etc., plus all of the towels, soaps, dishes, cooking supplies and everything else you need to feel at home. It was definitely a nice change from the stereotypical, tiny Japanese hotel rooms in the cities, and had tons of space for our group of 7 adults to spread out and get comfortable. My favorite feature was probably the heated flooring in the entryway - walking in and warming up immediately after a full day in the snow was incredible. Plus your gear is dry and toasty for the next time you need to use it.
Having the van to use was a huge bonus. Knowing the shuttle stop was a few minutes' walk from the house, we showed up expecting to catch the local shuttle bus everywhere and not worry about driving in Japan for the first time (in heavy snow no less). However, it ended up just the opposite. We NEVER caught the bus, though we did walk to several of the nearby restaurants/bars. The van was spacious enough for all of us plus our snowboarding gear and was super easy to drive despite the weather conditions. Seriously, the van made it so easy to get around! There's no reason to walk to the bus stop and wait around in the cold.
The house is conveniently located off the main street that leads to the base of the Niseko Village ski/snowboard area (Niseko Hilton), and it's less than a 5 minute drive from the house to the parking lot. As mentioned before, there are some restaurants and bars nearby, but if you want more variety you can easily jump in the van and head to Hirafu, about 10 minutes away.
Our group loved staying here! Our only regret is that we were only there for 4 nights with 3 full days of boarding, and we weren't able to spend more time relaxing and enjoying the house and Fujimi's home cooked meals. Oh well, I guess that means we'll have to come back! Thanks again Fujimi and Tom!