We’ve stayed in the Tomamu Tower Hotel before and thought that was pretty nice, but the Risonare was a massive step-up. We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite that had a large twin room and a smaller twin room. The living area was very spacious and included sofas plus a nice comfie chair by the window to take in the views.

Then there was the ridiculously large bathroom with high ceilings that featured a big round spa bath with corner floor to ceiling windows so you could recline in the bath and gaze at the views. There was also a sauna and you could take in the views from that too. The shower seemed pretty minute in comparison to the bath. The whole bathroom made the suite feel uber-luxurious and I couldn’t wait to get home from skiing to get in the bath to warm up!

The rest of the suite was deluxe from a space perspective, although not luxurious as the furnishings were a little dated but very functional nonetheless and we had pretty of room to spread out and the heating was very easy to control.

LOCATION
The location was delightfully serene, tucked away at the northeast end of the resort base, and so easy to come and go from the ski slopes.

We utilised the covered walkways to get around parts of the resort and to get to the Ice Village. One evening we caught the shuttle over to Mina Mina Beach, which was overly popular with families with small children. I think we’d hit peak hour.

DINING
We went to the Nininupuru restaurant a few times (a 5 minute walk away), which is a massive buffet restaurant. There was a huge choice of quality food on offer, although it would have been nice to see a little more variety from night to night. Despite it catering to a huge number of people, it didn’t feel crazy and the forest views kept the atmosphere serene.

We went to Aki at the Risonare for breakfast one morning, and this was a lovely Japanese meal with a set menu plus a half buffet. The views from the 32nd floor were a lovely way to start the day.

People had mentioned there was a bar on the top floor of the Risonare which we couldn’t find, and the restaurant on the top floor wasn’t open either, which may have been due to Covid related staff shortages.

In the lobby area there was nice seating around the fireplace to gather, and on one evening they had a violinist playing.

SERVICE
The levels of service at check-in were excellent. There were a few staff that could speak reasonable English and it was nice that it was staffed wholly by Japanese people so that it still felt very Japanese.

Overall the Risonare was the perfect spot to stay and relax after big days at Tomamu chasing powder.
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