Visitors to Niseko will be pleasantly surprised at the mountain dining options and the very reasonable prices charged for food. Unlike many resorts in Australia and North America, the food in Niseko is very affordable. A large lunch with soft drink will cost around ¥1100 (≈$11AUD). Even better the service is fast and the food is not only very tasty most of the dishes are very healthy. Below are a selection of the restaurants on the Hirafu side of the resort closest to Fresh Powder where most of our guests choose to eat.

This is perhaps the most popular dining option on the mountain so it is worth getting in to find a seat well before midday. The restaurant offers a smoking and non-smoking section and most of the vacant seats that can be found at lunchtime are in the smoking section. After selecting your meal and paying at the counter located in the middle of the restaurant guests take their ticket to the main serving counter and hand it to the friendly staff. The meals arrive shortly thereafter. Our recommendation for the King Bell Hutt is “Katsodun”, fried pork schnitzel, covered in egg and served on rice.

The Mountain Hut Café is the place to get a good latte or hot chocolate on the mountain. The café is nicely tucked away in the corner of the king bell hut, immediately on the left hand side as you walk through the main doors. The café shares seating with King Bell Hut patrons, so it tends to get very busy around midday. The café specializes in small gourmet pizzas which are very tasty but perhaps a little on the pricey side. However the lattes are divine and the hot chocolate, complete with a marshmallow, are sure to warm you up.

Using local Niseko ingredients the Ace Hill Rest house produces some mouth watering European cuisine. As the name suggests the rest house is located at the top of the ace hill quad chair on the right hand side as you disembark. The rest house tends not to get as crowded as King Bell Hut and therefore may be a better option during busy periods in Niseko. If you feel like a ice cold beer the restaurant serves local organic heartland beer which is definitely worth a try. If you get stuck on a few beers then you may have to drink up as the café closes at 3:30pm.

After a hard morning skiing strawberry fields, blueberry fields and the legend of Shinya the Hanazono café is like an oasis. Set at the foot of the snow tubing park about a 100 metre walk from Hanazono hooded quad 1 base station, Hanazono café can be found inside the demountable housing. What it may lack in appearance it more than makes up for in service and cuisine. The food is well priced, the service fast and more often than not seating is not a problem. The hard part is getting back out on the slopes.

Once inside the 1000m hut you cannot help being drawn to the warmth generating from wood fire stove located in the middle of the room. Although the hut does not serve any food or drink it does provide a welcome refuge from the cold outside. If you are thinking of packing your lunch for a day on the slopes then the 1000 m hut is the perfect location to sit down for your meal.