Fresh Powder Niseko

This place was recommended to me by a friend who has stayed here before. It is walking distance to Grand Hirafu Mountain Center. So location wise it is quite good. But do note that Grand Hirafu Mountain Center is not that friendly for beginners as there are patches of flats for the green run. Hanazono Resort has a green run that is more enjoyable. There is a free shuttle every 20mins and the pickup/ drop off is just opposite Fresh Powder! Fresh Powder is managed by Niseko Portfolio which I have to mention, did provide great services, including some very useful suggestion on the slopes, etc. *Thank you Mark, Sam, Curtis and Wataro for our pleasant stay :) Do take advantage of the supermarket visit as we were able to grab some amazing stuff and cook our own meals. But was slightly surprised that soy sauce was not provided! It can get a bit chilly inside the apartment (about 19 degree Celsius). We were fine with that but do be aware. I found the futon provided for the 3rd guest to be uncomfortable. I was just thinking - why cant they get a simple sofa bed from IKEA? Slight issue with the washing machine, it was not straight forward to turn on the power but I did manage to figure it after many attempts. Strangely, it can be switched on after rapidly pressing the 3 power button, together with the water heater switch. Other than that the apartment was fine and it was clean when we checked in. Only two units are on the lower floor, we got the top floor so if you have heavy luggage, you will have to lug them up on 3 flights of stairs. No restaurant within a stone throw but we did find a couple, including the famous Niseko Ramen (with Potatoes) about 10min walk away. We had the one bedroom apartment which can accommodate 3 people but I understand the studio can too (but it was not available). That would be a cheaper option. They can also set up a Sony Playstation upon request. Overall, did enjoy our stay at Fresh Powder and liked the location. So will consider coming back again.