Heading to Japan to ski? This Hokkaido hotel is the place to check in to

Where: Nozo Hotel, 14-38 Kitanominecho, Furano, Hokkaido, Japan

How much: From $400 during peak season

Nozo Hotel is practically brand-new when I arrive for the start of the spring ski season in late February. The 78-room property, owned by a Malaysian property developer, opened in November 2023 after a full redevelopment of an ageing budget hotel. Now a stylish, modern offering, Nozo bills itself as an "international lifestyle hotel", aimed to attract foreign travellers, a goal, it appears from the Aussie-accented guests roaming the property, it has already achieved.

About a two-hour drive from New Chitose Airport, Nozo Hotel sits in the resort area of Furano, in the centre of Hokkaido. The hotel is a few minutes' walk to the gondola station, perfect for avoiding the arduous task of walking in ski boots. While it's best to take a taxi into the main part of town, a handful of konbinis (Japan's famous convenience stores) and eateries are walking distance.

The hotel's contemporary industrial style is softened with hanging plants and timber panelling throughout the reception and lobby bar. The bar is designed to be a "living room" for guests and centres on an open fireplace, with floor-to-ceiling windows to watch the snowfall. Plush lounges and armchairs with navy and tan upholstery give the hotel's main space a homely but chic vibe. Colourful artworks by local artists liven up the long corridors to the hotel rooms.

Across the three upper levels are eight types of rooms, ranging from the entry-level queen option through to family rooms. The interiors are a modern take on traditional Japanese style, full of light timber accents and touches like a bathroom door inspired by the wood and paper dividers usually found in Japanese tatami rooms. The queen room I'm staying in is small, with just enough hanging space for one person's clothing, but there's a clever nook under the bed for stowing away luggage. The saving grace for skiers and snowboarders is a large drying room on the ground floor of the hotel. Guests can store their equipment in their own dedicated locker that opens with a swipe of your room key.

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The hotel restaurant, Shirakaba, was still in its infancy at the time of my stay and offered a concise dinner menu of warming Japanese curries, rice bowls and pastas, plus a buffet breakfast in the morning. A more extensive dinner and lunch menu is in the works. Buna Bar and Lounge is the hotel's living room-inspired lobby bar, serving afternoon and evening drinks and snacks. For something on the go, Cou Cou Bakery serves freshly baked pastries and bread using locally sourced wheat flour.

Nozo Hotel's unbeatable location means you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast and still be on the mountain for first tracks. On your return, the hotel's onsen, Sugi Spa, is waiting with indoor and outdoor bathing options separated by gender. But winter isn't the only season visitors come to Furano and the hotel expects to be busy in summer with hikers, cyclists and adventurists, plus tourists flocking to see the city's iconic purple lavender fields.

Despite being an avid skier, I firmly believe the best part of a skiing holiday is the end of the day, when you've unclipped those strangling plastic boots, sitting by a fire, preferably enjoying a hard-earned glass of wine. The cozy fireplace in the Nozo Hotel's lobby bar, which boasts an extensive list of cocktails and wines at very reasonable prices, welcomes you home like a warm hug after a day on the slopes.

Explore more: nozohotel.com

The writer was a guest of Nozo Hotel.