About 90 minutes by car from Sapporo city and New Chitose Airport. Hokkaido largest all-season resort is full of fun！ In summer, the lush, green Rusutsu Highlands exudes a refreshing ambiance. We invite you to enjoy all the various activities and nature experiences set among Hokkaido's unspoiled natural environment, together with attractions like the Amusement Park and the expansive golf courses beside the hotels. Why not reward yourself to a getaway at Rusutsu Resort and discover the very best of Hokkaido? In winter, with 4 gondolas and 14 lifts servicing the 3 peaks, the skifield is home to 37 runs that range from gentle, wide slopes where everyone can safely ski and snowboard right up and challenging runs that satisfy advanced skiers. Rusutsu Resort combines dynamic, full-fledged winter sports with outstanding hospitality.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Family
Languages Spoken
English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean
Location
Izumikawa 13 Rusutsu Village, Rusutsu-mura, Abuta-gun 048-1711 Hokkaido
Name/address in local language
Rusutsu Resort
818 reviews
Getting there
Good for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We stayed at Rusutsu resort for 5 days in Dec 2023 from recommendation from a friend, however the resort was not quite up to our expectation. The rooms was really dated and we had an episode of blocked toilet was a bit disturbing. Food choice was reasonable though, and all of the restaurants within the resort are decent and reasonably priced for a ski resort. The onsen is said to be recently renovated and was quite good with a decent outdoor onsen area, unfortunately the rest of the resort isn't as new as their onsen. The eatery at the foot of each mountain offers good value meals.
As we are a family mostly beginners, we felt the resort and the associated ski school and slopes were not particularly friendly to beginners: * When we are there (towards the end of Dec) the magic carpet tunnel wasn't on, and there were only 2 small slopes for absolute beginners to practice and they are chock full of beginners and lessons, and lessons always take priority and blocks other beginners from practicing. So absolute beginners like me have nowhere else to practice except the walk way in front the hotel which could be quite dangerous, and at evening the walk way is filled with beginner skiiers trying to practice, kids with toboggans, and actual pedestrians or skiiers walking back to the hotel or just walking around. I have seen accidents multiple times on the walk way * The ski lesson forced us to buy a lift pass however in the end we were not good enough after 2-3 hours to go up the beginner slopes, so the lift passes for 4 of us are wasted. * the beginner slope was quite steep at few places, too fast for beginners that just learned the wedge and turning to come down safely * the staff sometimes give the wrong information (they told us we can't have breakfast at the Japanese buffet breakfast but in fact we could), and they took away everything in our locker one day before our check out date.
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1) The room cleaning is only replacement of towels, no tidying up of the room. 2) No cutlery, had to call for a teaspoon 3) upon checking out, we can't deposit our luggage at the lobby. Was told to go to coin deposit box, which is insane as we had 10large luggage. 3) We paid $1600 per night for 4 pax, this is unacceptable.
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Date of stay: December 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:The hospitality std is not worthy of the price. Train up yr staff pls..
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rusutsu Resort Hotel and Convention Marketing Team, マーケティング at Rusutsu Resort
This is my 2nd stay in Rusutsu Resort (first - 14 years ago in summer). This resort is huge, even though with huge crowd of people, it is never crowded.
The rooms were comfy and we had a good night sleep. Lots of variety for buffet in Oktoberfest (with Hokkaido snow crabs for dinner) and the food were replenished quickly.
We rented the ski equipment from the resort. The staff who attended me was very helpful and patient, though other staff who served my spouse not so.
The snow was powdery soft. It was snowing towards the evening, the place was lit up with lights, creating a beautiful scenery outside.
We visited the Kotobuki Hot Spring which was nice and comforting.
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Date of stay: December 2022
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rusutsu Resort Hotel and Convention Web Sales Team, 営業 at Rusutsu Resort
Responded 29 Dec 2022
Dear paulynyyy, We sincerely thank you for choosing Rusutsu Resort and appreciate taking your precious time to share your experience with us. However, we apologise that one of our ski rental staff who served your spouse was not helpful. We will share your comment with the ski rental section and re-educate regarding hospitality. We will keep making our best efforts for all guests to stay more enjoyable and look forward to welcoming you again in future. Best regards, Rusutsu Resort Hotel & Convention
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
While there are some fun quirky parts to the hotel it is very run down. The rooms are tiny and have not been updated since they were built. The room toilets smell, there is very slow wifi and despite having smart TVs, there is no apps like Netflix and you can’t screen mirror!! The restaurants are also old and tired with average food. The skiing is amazing but stay at the Vale or Westin.
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Date of stay: January 2025Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Stay at the Vale or Westin
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stay here for 2 nights. The room is clean and large as well with the all towels is clean. The view from the window is snow hill where peoples do skateboarding, play ski and they have a playgroud as well. Wonderfull stay with my wife. Thank you 🙏
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Date of stay: February 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Use the right shoe and jacket everytime. Snow here until end of April
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very large resort hotel, essentially in the centre of Rusutsu. This is a fairly sprawling place with a Disney feel to it. I would say that it is suitable for families with small children. Also very expensive, but I suppose that is Japan!
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Date of stay: January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Web Sales Team Rusutsu Resort Hotel and Convention, Sales at Rusutsu Resort
Responded 19 Oct 2020
Dear Allezlesrouges, We sincerely thank you for choosing Rusutsu Resort and appreciate your post about your stay with us. However, we are apologize for the slow reply. We hope you had enjoyed staying at our hotel, one of huge snow resorts in Hokkaido, Japan. We will keep making our best efforts for all guests to stay more enjoyable and look forward to welcoming you again in future. Warmest regards, Rusutsu Resort Hotel & Convention
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The hotel is old , the room (3 beds +Sofa, ), bathroom are old . Clean though . No room service even after a call , still didn’t happen. Had to change two blankets as there was stain on them Staff are polite and friendly but short staff. Food not great and expensive, even though multiple eatery . Dont rely on ski shop but great resource for last minute or missed ski stuff. Snow and ski is unbeatable . Even with all the issues , if they could at least improve the room service it would have been 4.5-5 star.
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Date of stay: January 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Excellent with family and if you enjoy ski
Night ski is fantastic and ski in and out
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were at Rusutsu resort on the first week of December 2024 and decided to sign up for ski lesson in the resort. Rusutsu is amazing! Location and facilities are perfect.
We were fortunate to have Mr Joe Yardley with us as our ski instructor. He was incredibly patient and enthusiastic in teaching us. He imparted valuable knowledge through his teaching. We had an amazing 2 days with him! Would totally recommend to sign up for ski classes at Rusutsu and request for Joe!💪🏻
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Date of stay: December 2024
Value
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Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
[Note to serious skiers - as an unathletic person and first-time skier, my review is not likely to be helpful to you if you're interested in the skiing part of the experience.]
We stayed at Rusutsu for three nights during the week before Christmas 2013. It was the beginning of the ski season so the resort was very quiet and room prices low. We stayed in a western style double room in the North Tower with two beds and a balcony. I think the resort was built in the 1980s, and it shows in the style and feel of the place. But it has been very well maintained and the rooms are well-appointed and comfortable. There is a separate room for the toilet, a mini fridge, water boiler, tea and tea cups, couch, coffee table and TV. I found the beds and pillows a little hard, but got used to it.
The most important aspect for me was the food, since we're Muslim and finding halal food when traveling can be a challenge. Rusutsu has several restaurants, and one of them has recently been certified as halal by the Malaysian Halal Corporation. This was one of the primary reasons we picked Rusutsu. The restaurant is called Sekkatei, one of the Japanese restaurants. The restaurant website advertises two halal set meals that can be pre-ordered. However, I contacted them in advance and asked if we could also pre-order breakfasts and lunches, and they arranged amazing halal Japanese meals for us three times a day, ranging from chicken udon sets to some special miso nabe with loads of seafood and meat. Everything was absolutely phenomenal. I lived in Tokyo for two years in the past and enjoyed the high quality of Japanese cuisine there (this was before I converted to Islam so I was eating everything) - the food we had at this restaurant is among the best Japanese food I have had. Every part of each meal was of the highest quality - from the rice to the seafood. My husband, who has never tried Japanese food before, has become the biggest fan of Japanese food since this trip. The service throughout our stay was top notch. The restaurant staff service was exceptional (if you don't mind being fussed over. I don't). Just a note for the budget conscious - the cost of each meal was fixed, around JPY 2000 for lunch and JPY 5000 per dinner per person. Breakfast was included in our package. But for the quality I thought the price was a good deal.
For skiing, we rented equipment from the resort and took two private lessons from the on-site school. Lots of English-speaking instructors, all very patient and good teachers. We were able to try a couple of runs on the beginner's slope after two lessons. All of our needs were met, we felt like we were in safe hands and overall really enjoyed our experience - so much so that we're planning to return this winter. On budget: lessons and rentals were not cheap - you can check out the price list for rentals and lessons on the Rusutsu website, so something to keep in mind. There's an independent rental shop across the street from the main entrance which appeared to have lower prices.
A few observations about the atmosphere (which some others have also noted) - there's not much of a nightlife here - it's very quiet at night; there may be a bar or two but they're so tucked away and quiet I didn't even notice. Also, the entire place is a little campy and 70s - like the singing tree at the bus drop-off lobby, animatronic singing dog jazz band, carousel with what appeared to be demon farm animals, and some kind of medieval themed shop fronts. There's also a large arcade room in the basement. I for one liked the campy-ness - it was a bit surreal yet charming, and I also enjoyed the quiet nights. I think this would work well for families, but may not be for everyone. Also, I don't think there's much of a town that's easily accessible from the resort. Although there's a ski rental shop and a few convenience stores across the road - 7 minutes' walk in the snow. There are also decently-priced convenience and souvenir stores in the resort.
One final note. We took the Big Runs shuttle bus to/from Chitose. On the way back to Chitose, my husband left his glasses in the bus. I sent them an email from Tokyo (where we were staying for a few days after) to ask if they could return it, and we got them within a few days for a reasonable delivery fee. I think they had even cleaned the lenses for us, since they looked cleaner than before! The bus was clean and on-time, with no fuss. No toilet on board, but we did stop each way for a bathroom break.
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Date of stay: December 2013
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel: We stayed in the Tower which was very spacious, even by Western standards, and bright with great views. The firm beds and pillows (good quality) took a few nights to get used to, but apart from that and the lack of a few hooks at the front door to hang jackets etc., we loved our apartment. Take a knife if you fancy making sandwiches etc., as the kitchenette only has tea/coffee making facilities and a small fridge. There is a seicomart and 7/11 on the Tower side of the main road which also sold wine and spirits at a very reasonable price. It's also close to where you'll find 2 private ski hire equipment (near Villa Hueset B+B) operators which are cheaper than the hotels but of course not as convenient.
We used the Tower onsen each day which was lovely, but do take note of all the onsen rules and health requirements before you use it. The Japanese completely scrub themselves clean before use which keeps the water very clean (unlike the Western spa pools which need to be heaviliy chlorinated).
The Tower hotel room/apartment has 2 types of robes (white and brown), but neither can be worn outside the room to the onsen or elsewhere (they will ask you to return to your room if you try to make your way to the onsen wearing the robes). You can only use your white slippers inside the hotel room and the brown sandals outside the room but not in the restaurants or on the monorail. Remembering this will save you some embarassment.
I expected to have to take the monorail to the ski area, but from the Tower you can walk to the Tower Pair lift (about 200 easy steps) which will take you to the biggest ski area (East Mountain and Mount Isola).
As you come back to the hotel in the afternoon you will notice a log cafe to the left which serves apres ski drinks and snacks and where the kids can play in the igloos and make snow caves. It's also where you can book snow mobile rides (they have kid size ones too).
The restaurants in the hotel were good but a little expensive so we headed out to some local ones with our favourite being the Pirate Man http://stayrusutsu.com/our-village/izakaya-pirateman. To get there from the Tower, you can take the monorail to the hotel's main reception, walk out to the left, across the carpark, past some apartments, down a small road and to the left. You can also walk from the Tower but watch out for cars on the narrow roads. Anna and Glenn were great hosts and the food was excellent. There are a few more nice local bars and tiny restaurants just down the road from Pirate Man. Be sure to book anything before you head out into the cold night air as the places are tiny and mostly full.
The Resort: We loved this resort and the snow was the best I've eve skied on - dry and cold and the lift operators were so efficient and polite and we hardly stood in a line our entire 10 days. There was almost no need to hang out our gloves at the end of the day to dry. It feels very safe as there are not big cliffs or rocks to fall down and onto like in some other resorts. Because the snow conditions are so good, even double black runs felt safe. I love sking along the tree line so this resort was perfect. The lift system is good and the covers on most of the the chairlifts were appreciated as it's very cold (hence the pefect snow). The best mountain restaurants were at the bottom of the Isola Gondola and the Steamboat chair and try the yummy miso ramen noodles.
Ski school: One thing worth noting is that the Rusutsu ski school doesn't offer English speaking instructors past beginners level. We tried to get our kids to join the Japanese more advanced groups but because of communication issues we weren't allowed to do that. We instead had to book them into private lessons in the same class together and we chose the 4 hour lesson with an hour and a half lunch included. Although far more expensive than group lessons, we noticed how well the kids did with just the two of them in a class and it also meant we could choose our times and pick up and drop off point right outside the Tower hotel. Very convenient! Special mention must be made of their excellent and friendly instructors Glenn, Paul and Connell. At ski school both Kapri and Tomo were efficient replying to all my questions and arranging everything for us.
I would definitely recommend the Tower rooms/apatments at Rusutsu and the ski resort if you like a nice, quiet resort with a lovely Japanese experience (most of the guests are local), friendly, efficient, kind staff and of course great snow. If you want a busy nightlife and a more Western experience then Niseko would probably be best. We will definitely return to enjoy all the above again!
ps: We stopped in Tokyo for a night and day on the way to Sapporo and stayed at the Mecure in Narita village. Narita is great little town with beautiful Temples, bars and restaurants and from the Mecure you can walk everywhere. Sapporo's airport (New Chitose) has lots of little shops and restaurants in domestic departures including a very yummy sushi restaurant, so if you have time to kill there you can enjoy a good meal.
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Date of stay: January 2014
Value
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Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Smileyquek,
Thank you for your messages.
I am pleased to answer your concern.
Skiing will start on 26 Nov 2022 (According to snowfall). And you can make reservations online for ski pass, ski equipment rental, and ski lesson in advance even before you come.
Online reservations for Ski pass will start several times according to the type of tickets. Promotional advanced ticket 25+5hrs ticket starts from 1st Nov, 25hrs ticket starts from 26th Nov, 5hrs ticket starts from 10th Dec, and 1day ticket starts from 17Dec.
Thank you.
Rusutsu Resort
Dear Sunshine21134501427,
Thank you for your messages.
Our staff in the shuttle bus department will deal with lost items. So excuse me but would you send the email to the shuttle bus reservation service desk And if you’ve already reached it, you may receive the same message.
Thank you.
Rusutsu Resort
Yes you can choose your booking between North and South wing. North wing is newer than South wing. I personally disliked the service at the South wing and I suggest if ski-in ski-out isn't your top priority, you should definitely stay at the Westin instead, which is 5 min away by a private monorail and bus. Westin and Ruusutsu are owned by the same owner. If you do stay at Ruusutsu, pick the North wing!
There are more places to choose from in the Rusutsu-mura area.
PRICE RANGE
HK$2,265 - HK$7,091 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
rusutsu hotel rusutsu-mura, rusutsu resort hotel and convention, rusutsu hotel mura, rusutsu hotel convention
LOCATION
JapanHokkaidoAbuta-gunRusutsu-mura
NUMBER OF ROOMS
530
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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