HIKANIWA · OTARU · HOKKAIDO
A family holiday.
Yours, too.
Hokkaido powder for the skiers. Canal lights, beautiful food and slow days for everyone else. Come home to your own Otaru retreat.
EXCLUSIVE WHOLE-HOUSE STAY
UP TO 16 GUESTS
PRIVATE SAUNA
SPACE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Photograph credits
Festival photograph: t-konno, Otaru Snow Light Path Festival, 14 February 2014, CC BY-SA 3.0. Adapted photograph, shared under the same licence.
Considering Niseko? Meet Otaru.
Otaru, for more than a ski holiday.
On Hokkaido's western coast, Otaru brings snowy mountain days together with a historic canal, little glass shops and some very good reasons to stop for lunch. Old stone warehouses and softly lit streets give it a romantic, almost European feel, with a distinctly Japanese food scene.
Ski when you want to. On other days, browse for something beautiful, linger over seafood or follow the children to a sweet little café. The holiday doesn't have to revolve around the people wearing ski boots.
Designed by a mum. For the whole family.
You've thought of everyone.
We've thought about you.
A family holiday should feel like a holiday for the person who organised it, too. Hikaniwa was created by an Australian mum with a background in luxury beauty and wellbeing, around the details that make travelling together easier.
Toys and thoughtful little comforts for the children. A private sauna, a massage arranged at home and a beautiful place to put your feet up for you. Shared spaces when you want to be together, and room for different plans when you don't.
No one needs to ski or snowboard to have a wonderful week. Here, the whole family belongs in the holiday.
Start with a little time for yourself
Your own spa day.
Without going anywhere.
Arrange a massage in the garden-side treatment space, warm up in your private sauna and leave the evening deliciously unplanned.
Our Hikaniwa hosts can help arrange a visiting massage therapist, so a little time for yourself can come to you.
Their own adventures. You, still close by.
A little space for everyone.
Not a separate holiday.
The children's bunk room has a climbing wall and a separate Nintendo nook through its own door. The larger family room offers another child-friendly sleeping space, with a queen bed and two bunk beds for parents and children together.
Bunks & a climbing wall
A playful little hideaway, with bunks above and a climbing adventure of their own.
Nintendo favourites
A separate nook for Nintendo 64 and Switch games, through the children’s bunk room.
A film, close by
An enclosed movie room beside the living area, with blackout blinds and a 165 cm TV.
A mum's eye for the details
A little less to pack.
A little more peace of mind.
Toys for younger children, fixed stair gates and familiar little comforts. Our hosts can help with a cot, cot sheets, high chair and baby monitor, so you can leave a little more at home.
From a playful bunk room to cosy corners for a story, the house gives younger travellers little places to make their own. You can settle in, unpack a little less and enjoy being away together.
Four ski areas. One Otaru base.
Choose the mountain.
Keep the house.
Make Hikaniwa your home for Hokkaido snow. Kiroro, Sapporo Teine, Asarigawa Onsen and Otaru Tenguyama bring wonderful variety to a week in the mountains, from big days on the slopes to a little snow-filled adventure close to Otaru.
Kiroro is our family’s favourite for a snow day. Try a different mountain, follow a favourite run or make time for hot chocolate together. At the end of it all, your warm house and private sauna are waiting.
Kiroro
Mountain days in Hokkaido’s renowned powder country.
Sapporo Teine
Highland and Olympia areas, with a choice of slopes.
Asarigawa Onsen
A ski-area option in Otaru’s mountain landscape.
Photograph shows the ski area before snowfall.
Otaru Tenguyama
Skiing and ropeway views above the port town.
Explore the ski areas, prices and directions
A different mountain tomorrow. The same welcoming house tonight.
Mountain photograph credits
Kiroro Snow World ski slopes: SnowHoliday, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Sapporo Teine ski slopes: MIKI Yoshihito, CC BY 2.0.
Asarigawa Onsen ski area before snowfall: Wakimasa, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Otaru Tenguyama in winter: wakimasa, Public domain.
Via Wikimedia Commons. Adapted photographs retain their stated licences.
The heart of Hikaniwa
A Japanese garden.
Inside your house.
Bamboo, stone and the gentle sound of running water welcome you as you step inside. Framed by timber and shoji screens, this Japanese-style garden brings a tranquil heart to the house.
Let the pace soften here, with morning tea, lantern light and a quiet moment between the day’s adventures.
Make a day of staying in
Some of Japan's best moments
can come to you.
A sushi-making afternoon, a matcha ritual or a special dinner at home. Make space for the experiences you can enjoy together, without organising another outing.
Sushi, made together.
Shape character sushi, try a seasonal design and sit down to something you've made as a family.
Kimono & matcha.
Dress in kimono for a special photograph, then slow down for matcha in the private tea space with your visiting host.
Dinner comes to you.
Arrange a private chef for an evening in, with time to enjoy the table and each other's company.
Our Hikaniwa hosts can help organise a visiting therapist, a class, kimono and matcha, or a private chef. Tell us what would make your stay special and we’ll help bring it together.
Under one roof
Bring the family.
Make room for yourselves.
A dedicated children's bunk room, a larger family room, a master bedroom, a flexible twin room and a media-room sofa bed give your group different ways to settle in. The house is booked as a whole, never by the room.
Find a favourite room for everyone, with flexible bedding and thoughtful spaces for settling in. Our hosts can help you plan the arrangement that feels right for your group.
A room that adapts.
Two single beds, kept separate or joined by arrangement. A little flexibility for your kind of stay.
Their own adventure.
Bunks, a climbing wall and the Nintendo nook beyond. A real little holiday world, inside the house.
Find your room
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The split room
Find your room
Not every day needs a lift pass
Canal lights.
Little discoveries. Something delicious.
Pause by the steam clock outside Otaru Music Box Museum, then spend a slow morning browsing little glass shops and music boxes. Make a sweet little detour for Miffy, Snoopy or Chiikawa, try a craft class or arrange a glass-blowing experience, then wander towards the seafood market when lunch calls.
Leave room for LeTAO cheesecake and Hokkaido milk ice cream. Follow the smaller streets, find a cosy café and let the day's plans stretch a little. In winter, a walk beside the illuminated canal is a lovely way to finish, with the Snow Light Path festival adding its own candlelit magic on its scheduled dates.
Otaru is made for slow family days, with just as much for Mum to fall in love with. For the food lover, the non-skier and the person who simply wants to go somewhere beautiful, this is a holiday in its own right.
Sapporo adds another choice for a day of shops, restaurants and city exploring.
HIKANIWA, IN DETAIL
Explore these spaces.
Choose a space to see its photographs.
Your own spa time5 photographs
The private sauna1 photograph
Bunks & climbing wall3 photographs
The Nintendo nook2 photographs
Gather by the windows4 photographs
Your own spa time
A garden-side space to unwind. Our hosts can help arrange a visiting massage practitioner at the house.
The private sauna
Warm timber and a quieter moment after the mountains.
Bunks & climbing wall
Cosy bunks and a colourful climbing wall in the children’s room.
The Nintendo nook
A separate little space reached through the bunk room, with Nintendo 64 and Switch.
Gather by the windows
Leather sofas, garden light and room to settle in together.
A little easier in winter
Two cars.
Under cover.
Two private garage spaces with electric roller doors give your group somewhere to park off the road. Return from the mountains, unload under cover and leave the cars sheltered while you settle into the house.
A little less to organise
The practical things.
Already considered.
One house, just your group
Room for up to 16 guests, with flexible sleeping spaces to make your group feel at home.
Thoughtful for little travellers
Fixed stair gates, an upstairs children’s bath and thoughtful little comforts. Ask our hosts about a cot and high chair for your stay.
Snow equipment, without the clutter
Two garage bays, ski and snowboard storage, a drying room and boot dryers make returning from a ski day easier.
Slow mornings. Fast Wi-Fi. Fixed-line NTT broadband and a four-node TP-Link Wi-Fi network keep you connected for video calls, family streaming and cosy movie nights. More about staying connected.
Two ways to be here
Find your season.
The same private house, two very different holidays. Choose snowy days and warm evenings indoors, or longer light and time by the coast.
Glass shops, seaside drives and Sapporo outings, with garden light and unhurried meals at home.
Ski days, snowy canal walks and a sauna or movie night back at the house.
HIKANIWA · OTARU · HOKKAIDO
A holiday to actually look forward to.
One private house. One group at a time. Find a stay with room for the children, time for yourself and something for everyone to look forward to.