Getting Here & Around β Transfer Planner
Arrival & departure
Transfer Planner
For guests at both Ramat Lodge and Snowgum Lodge. Once your flights are booked, pick your situation below, book your transfer, and send us your details.
2026/27 Resort Liner bookings are open. Our bus booking portal closes 9 days before you travel, so book 9 or more days ahead, and send us your details at least 2 weeks before you arrive.
Getting Here: Pick your situation
Tap the one that matches you. Most guests take the bus.
π I'll take the bus from the airport Recommended
Our bus booking portal closes 9 days before you travel, so book 9 or more days ahead. Arriving on 20 January? Book by 11 January.
Seats also sell out in peak season, so earlier is better.
- Drops you at the Hirafu Welcome Centre, just up the road from the lodge. We collect you from there, free of charge.
- About 2 hours 45 minutes from New Chitose Airport.
- Β₯6,000 per adult, Β₯5,000 per child aged 3 to 11, one way. Under 3 travels free, on a lap.
- One ski or snowboard set plus one bag per person, packed in a proper ski bag or case.
Will your flight connect with a bus?
Seven buses a day. The timetable shows every service with the latest you can land to catch it. The one hard line is the last bus: land by 6:45pm domestic or 6:10pm international.
How to book
Check your flight fits
Check your flight against the timetable first. Neither we nor the operator check your flight times for you.
Book your seat
Book through our bus booking portal, the button below.
Enter your flight number carefully. That is what gets you moved to the next bus if your flight runs late. Details are not checked when submitted.
Nothing more to send
Booked through our bus booking portal? We already have your details. Nothing more to send.
Inside 9 days, or the bus is sold out
Our bus booking portal closes 9 days before travel, so inside that window you book direct with the bus companies instead. Seats are often still there.
Booked with one of them? Send us the details so we know when to expect you.
No bus that fits your flight? Book a private transfer or take the train, both below. Stuck? Email info@ramatniseko.com.
When you get to the Hirafu Welcome Centre
The Hirafu Welcome Centre. Your bus stops at the door.
The day before you arrive we email you a pickup link. Tap it when you get there and we come and collect you and your gear. There is no charge and no need to book it.
No link or no signal? Call 0136-215-088, one number for both lodges. There is a payphone out the front, Β₯100 coin.
A van is usually there within 20 minutes. Look for the Ramat Niseko van with the blue logo, or wait inside where it is warm and we will find you.
Bring whatever you have, the van takes it all. Big group? Tell us how many and we will send enough vans.
π I have already booked my own bus
Booked directly with a bus company rather than through us? We still collect you, we just need your bus times.
- Arriving: follow your bus company’s instructions to the Hirafu Welcome Centre.
- When you get there, tap the pickup link in your check-in email. No link or no signal? Call 0136-215-088.
Full arrival steps: Bus Guide β Arriving at the Welcome Centre β
Heading home on your own bus? See Going home β
π I'll book a private transfer
Sky Station drives you door to door. No bus stop, no wait at the Welcome Centre.
| Vehicle | People | Price, one way |
|---|---|---|
| Compact Wagon 2 suitcases + 1 ski bag | 1 to 2 | Β₯50,000 |
| Mini Van 3 suitcases + 2 ski bags | 2 to 3 | Β₯56,000 |
| Luxury Van 3 suitcases + 2 ski bags | 2 to 3 | Β₯66,000 |
| Hiace 8 suitcases + 4 ski bags | 6 to 8 | Β₯60,000 |
| Luxury Hiace 6 suitcases + 2 ski bags | 4 | Β₯70,000 |
Need a child seat? Ask at least a week ahead.
Booked through our private transfer portal? We already have your details. Nothing more to send.
ποΈ I'm coming from Sapporo, not the airport
Our bus booking portal closes 9 days before you travel, so book 9 or more days ahead.
There is a scheduled bus from Sapporo city that drops you at the Hirafu Welcome Centre, the same stop as the airport bus. Book it through our bus booking portal.
Booked through our bus booking portal? We already have your details. Nothing more to send.
Full arrival steps: Bus Guide β Arriving at the Welcome Centre β
Inside 9 days our bus booking portal is closed. Take the train, see the train panel below, or email us and we will help you sort something.
Prefer the train?
Sapporo to Otaru, change there for Kutchan. Then a taxi on the GO Taxi app, or the local bus to Midtown Niseko. See the train panel below for the detail.
π I'm driving, or coming by hire car or taxi
Send us your ETA and we will have the lodge ready for you.
Ramat Lodge
3-chΕme-20-10 Nisekohirafu 5 JΕ, Kutchan, Abuta District, Hokkaido 044-0086
Snowgum Lodge
3-chΕme-20-23 Nisekohirafu 5 JΕ, Kutchan, Abuta District, Hokkaido 044-0086
Or search “Ramat Niseko” or “Snowgum Lodge” in your map app.
Driving yourself? Check in with our staff for the best parking spot when you arrive. Be mindful of snow sliding off the roof. With Niseko’s snowfall parking can be tight, so you may need a short walk from your car.
Hiring a car at New Chitose Airport?
- Budget about Β₯10,000 to Β₯17,000 a day for a ski-ready car, or Β₯15,000 to Β₯23,000 for a family or group vehicle, on a week’s hire. Shorter hires cost more per day.
- Book 4WD and studless winter tyres. One does not include the other.
- Choose a plan with both CDW and NOC cover. CDW alone may not cover the Non-Operation Charge (around Β₯20,000 to Β₯50,000), tyres, wheels or towing.
- Collecting the car takes 30 to 60 minutes. You check in at the counter, then take a shuttle to the company’s depot.
- Airport counters close between 7pm and 10pm depending on the company. Landing late? Check the hours before you book.
- Bring an International Driving Permit as well as your licence. Australians need both. Check the rules for your country.
- An ETC unit in the car is not an ETC toll card. The card is usually extra, and so are fuel and tolls.
- A Japanese “five-seat” compact will not fit five people with skis. Two skiers should look at a crossover, families at a Sienta, Noah, Voxy or Serena.
- Japan has a zero alcohol limit for drivers.
- Book early with free cancellation. 4WD wagons and vans sell out first.
π
I'll take the train Not recommended
Three reasons we steer people away from the train:
- Ski gear is hard work on trains. No luggage hold, narrow aisles, and you carry it at every change.
- You have to change at Otaru, with a wait of anything from 5 minutes to an hour, bags and all.
- We do not pick up from Kutchan Station. You finish the trip by taxi or local bus at your own cost.
Take the train if no bus fits your flight, or if you are travelling from elsewhere in Japan by rail.
- Get off at Kutchan Station, not Hirafu Station. The two are easy to mix up and only one is right.
- New Chitose to Kutchan takes about 3 hours, depending on the train.
- From Kutchan Station: a taxi, about Β₯2,500, ordered on the GO Taxi app, or the local bus to Midtown Niseko and a short walk.
- Arriving late is no problem. We email you instructions, leave a note on the door, and it will be unlocked.
π I'm already in Niseko
Staying in or near Hirafu already? We can arrange a pickup on arrival or a drop-off on departure. Tell us where you are and when.
Staying further out? Make your way to the Hirafu Welcome Centre and we will collect you from there, or take a taxi straight to the lodge on the GO Taxi app.
Going home needs its own booking. Do it at the same time.
Going Home: Pick your situation
Departures book separately from arrivals, and the same 9 day closure applies.
π Bus back to the airport Recommended
Our bus booking portal closes 9 days before you travel, so book your return 9 or more days ahead. Easiest done at the same time as your arrival bus.
Buses leave from the Hirafu Welcome Centre. We drive you up from the lodge.
Will your flight work with the bus?
Six buses a day. The timetable shows every service with the earliest you can fly out after it. The earliest flight you can catch is 11:40am domestic or 12:45pm international.
On the day: be ready in the lobby 30 minutes before your bus and we will drive you to the Welcome Centre.
Booked through our bus booking portal? We already have your bus time. Nothing more to send.
Inside 9 days? Book direct with the bus companies β
π I have booked my own bus back
Send us your bus time and be ready in the lobby 30 minutes before it. We will drive you up to the Welcome Centre.
π Private transfer back
Same Sky Station vehicles and prices as the trip in, door to door from the lodge. Book through our private transfer portal.
Vehicles and prices: see the private transfer panel above β
π Driving out, or returning a hire car
Tell us your departure day and rough time so we can have the car cleared and the driveway usable. Snow clearing runs early and we would rather work around you.
Tips
- Allow more time than the map says. Winter driving between Niseko and New Chitose is slower than it looks, especially before dawn.
- Returning a hire car? Have it back at least 60 to 90 minutes before your flight.
π
Train out from Kutchan
We do not run lodge transfers to Kutchan Station. Order a taxi on the GO Taxi app, about Β₯2,500, or take the local bus from Midtown Niseko.
Change at Otaru for New Chitose. Allow plenty of time, the connection can be a long wait, and you carry your gear at every change.
Have a very early departure? Talk to our staff once you are here and we will help you plan it.
More detail in the Train Guide β
β° Early flight, no bus that works
The first bus of the day reaches the airport at 10:40am, so it will not get you to an early flight. The train is the usual answer.
- Train from Kutchan. Change at Otaru for New Chitose. Trains run earlier than the buses, so this is what most early departures use.
- Getting to Kutchan Station. Order a taxi on the GO Taxi app that morning, about Β₯2,500. We do not run transfers to the station.
- Or a private transfer direct from the lodge, booked in advance. See the private transfer panel above β
Going home on an early flight: Train Guide β
Have a very early departure? Talk to our staff once you are here and we will help you plan it.
Send us your details, then you are done
Use the Transfer Information form at least 2 weeks before you arrive. Tell us how you are getting here and how you are leaving, with times.
You do not need to send us your details
- Booked through our bus booking portal or our private transfer portal? We already have your details. Nothing more to send.
You need to send details
- Bus booked elsewhere
- Private transfer booked elsewhere
- Car, hire car or taxi
- Train
- Already in Niseko
- Departure plans not booked through us
- Travel agent booked it for you. Most agents send them on, but not all do.
If your plans change
What a change costs depends on who caused it. Email us either way, it is written down that way. Call only if you cannot.
I want to change or cancel my transfer.
Email us your new details, flight number, date and arrival time, and we change it with the operator.
Changing 9 or more days before you travel: No charge.
Changing inside 9 days: a Β₯3,000 administration fee applies, plus the cancellation fee below. This is the operator’s scale and it applies whatever the reason, including a booking that was entered incorrectly.
| When you change or cancel | Fee |
|---|---|
| More than 5 days before departure | No fee |
| 4 to 3 days before | 30% |
| 2 days before | 40% |
| 1 day before, departure day, or no-show | 100% |
info@ramatniseko.com Β· full terms: Resort Liner Terms and Conditions β
My flight has been changed or cancelled by the airline.
Different situation, and none of the fees above apply. Email us with which flight was delayed or cancelled, and for the flight you are now arriving on, the flight number, date and arrival time. The bus company asks for all three.
We update the bus company. They rebook you on the next bus with space, or refund you if nothing fits.
The bus company only tracks the flight number on your booking, so if an earlier connecting flight is delayed they will not know until you tell us.
Your room is held either way. Your stay is prepaid, so nothing is at risk while you sort out flights.
I did not book 9 days ahead.
Our bus booking portal closes 9 days out, but the bus companies take bookings direct. See Inside 9 days β in the bus panel above, or take the train instead.
Already travelling? A delayed flight on the day, a missed bus, waiting at the Welcome Centre, that is all in the Bus Guide β If it goes wrong
Common questions
How and when do I pay for the bus?
The full cost is due at the time of booking. Pay by card or PayPal through our bus booking portal.
What time is check-in and checkout?
Check-in is 2pm and checkout is 10am.
Can I leave my bags before check-in or after checkout?
Yes. Leave them in the lobby and head out for the day. The lobby is not locked, though we have never had anything go missing.
We are travelling with young children.
Child seats on the bus must be pre-booked with your bus booking, so ask for one when you book.
Our lodge van does not carry child seats.
Prams do not count against your luggage allowance. They travel in the hold under the bus.
Our group is arriving on different flights.
Make one bus booking per flight, not one combined booking. Each booking carries its own flight number, which is what protects that group if their flight runs late.
Arriving on different buses on the day is fine too. The Bus Guide covers what each group does at the Welcome Centre.
My travel agent booked my transfers.
Follow the Bus Guide on the day, nothing changes for you.
Most agents send us your transfer details, but not all do. Send them anyway, it takes a minute and it helps us plan the day. A duplicate does no harm. β Transfer Information form
I am having trouble booking online.
Send us a screenshot and your flight details and we will sort it out. Email info@ramatniseko.com or message us on WhatsApp.