スノーボールシャレー斑尾山(Snowball Chalet at Madarao Mountain)

The Snowball Chalet was hands down one of the best ski trips our family, being from Vermont, has ever experienced and we love skiing. We actually tried to book at another resort because we have the Epic and Ikon passes but they were all full. We thought we were missing out on the other resorts, were we wrong. Snowball Chalet and Madarao Ski resorts exceeded our expectations. The "Dan Experience" was amazing. Dan & Andy offered warm and inviting accommodations, with delicious breakfast choices every morning and fun apres ski options coupled with great music and interactions with other guests. Dan had us pre-select dinner reservations at area restaurants that provided us with amazing food and cultural experiences. The skiing at Madaroa and Tangram was perfect thanks to mother nature and the wide variety of terrain and tree skiing. No lift lines. It was easy to access from Tokyo on the bullet train. I do recommend using Black Cat luggage service if you plan to bring your equipment. But rental ( ski hire) is also easy. We highly recommend taking off from a 1/2 day of skiing and visit the snow monkey park. Thank you Dan and all of your amazing staff.

Perfect stay for families! Delicious breakfast and fun area to hang out after enjoying a day on the mountain. Dan was super helpful arranging lift tickets, dinner reservations, and transportation. Hope we can come back to stay again soon!

Our three night stay at Snowball Chalet was perfect. Comfortable beds, great showers, everything we needed supplied, delicious breakfasts and gyozas in the evenings! Extensive drinks/cocktails. Dan and the team (Brandon, Hannah, Libby + others) made our stay so enjoyable, going above and beyond to make sure we had a great time. The lounge area was a comfy home away from home to enjoy with the fire going. The team sorted our dinner reservations, hire gear, lift pass and snow monkey tour (a personalised afternoon with the hilarious Brandon!).

There’s good reason that this accommodation scores full marks! Part of me doesn’t want to write the review as I want to keep this incredible lodge experience a secret! But Dan and Andy deserve to be credited on what they’ve created at Snowball Chalet. We just stayed four nights and have already booked in for 2024 and 2025 (and we are a group who’ve skied Niseko only for 14 years). The lodge is so cosy and comfortable but it’s Dan and his gorgeous team (Reade, Lena, misaki and I’ve forgotten other names) that make your stay unforgettable. The rooms are small but so comfortable and very clean, functional bathrooms. There are beautiful Japanese artefacts everywhere and the whole place is so beautifully and tastefully decorated. Dan provides incredibly personalized service from the moment you make contact. He booked all our restaurants in advance, secured lift passes and recommended an excellent ski hire place (Chill). Dan helps at every stage of your stay and is so generous with his time (babysitters, transfers, ski school). This makes the experience of staying in a new place completely seamless. Breakfast is first class; excellent coffee, egg and bacon rolls, homemade muesli, fruit, homemade yoghurt and jam in home made sourdough! Après starts from 4, where we’d all kick back in the lounge and be served drinks and snacks whilst listening to Dans awesome record collection. The season (snow wise) was poor but we had a 30-40cm dump on our second to last night and enjoyed awesome Madapow skiing. But despite the poor season (still a 2.5+m base!)the overall experience was still second to none and we can’t wait to get back.

A really wonderful time in a special place and exactly what a ski vacation should be. It's a rare experience to find somewhere you could happily come back to again and again over the years because it feels so comfortable and warm and is so much like being home that you feel part of the family. The chalet is super well located, walking distance to the runs (maybe 3 min max), and is very well appointed combining traditional Japanese elements from local craftspeople seamlessly with western comforts. Dan and Andy clearly devoted huge amounts of thought and care to every nook and cranny of this place, it is a labour of love throughout and it shows. In the warm and inviting lounge you can relax in big comfy sofas, have really good coffee (proper espresso!) and excellent breakfast in the mornings (both Japanese and Western options). In the afternoons you can listen to the record collection by the fire, sampling the excellent bar with everything from fine Japanese whiskey to chilled Sake to local distilleries. Paradise! The whole team make you feel welcomed from the moment you enter and are just terrific hosts - truly a level above. They are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the area, a joy to spend time with and get to know. But professionally they are excellent. They co-ordinated our ski gear and lift passes with a local supplier and had them arrive at the chalet so we had minimal time off the slopes. They offered excursions to snow monkeys, onsens and organized wonderful local dinners without us having to think about it. One night it was incredible Kaisekei, another a kitschy local tavern, all terrific. Even beyond that, knowing it was a valentines trip with my wife they made a gorgeous and complicated origami display in our room for when we arrived. In general it's clearly a well organized group that loves the service they provide and the special place they have created. Ski-ing wise in Madarao, there is plenty to do - large beginner areas and wonderful powdery tree skiing for more experienced skiers. Super easy to get to from Tokyo with a bullet train to Iiyama every couple hours, which is only 20 minutes drive away. I don't know what more to say - a stellar experience and one to remember, leagues above your typical ski hotel / chalet. I consider myself lucky to have stumbled into this gem and like most guests will be staying even longer next year, and hopefully for many more to come.

Our stay at Snowball Chalet was absolutely fantastic. In fact it was one of the highlights that made our snowboarding trip to Japan so special. Dan and Andi were amazing hosts. 10/10

Just WOW!! We recently completed a 10 day stay at Snowball Chalet, Madarao and couldn’t be more thrilled!! Dan, Andy, Rena and the entire Snowball Chalet team were incredibly hospitable from provision of pre-arrival information, snow equipment hire and tips, food / restaurant recommendation / bookings, and their overall care and consideration for every possible need during our stay as a family of four. Snowball Chalet is a charming 1980’s chalet that has been re-imagined from the footings up, whilst maintaining a traditional feel and ambience - the cosy lounge & fire-place, the stunning dining room with vista of the snow-capped trees and mountain range further enhances the appeal of the chalet - a place and experience we will surely come back to enjoy. The Snowball Chalet team made every breakfast and apres drinks session a joy, catering to all special dietary needs, with excellent coffee. The bar is so well stocked we sampled various gin, whiskey & beer - we would need many more weeks to sample the entire collection! The dedication of the team was further demonstrated when one of our children was injured in an unfortunate accident on the slopes requiring medical attention - all the team came together to support our family as we dealt with the incident in a foreign country ~ with some team members covering for each other on their day off - we are so humbled and grateful for the exceptional care and support we received (our son is 100% fine and recovered!!). We leave Snowball Chalet truly relaxed and refreshed and we well definitely be back. Dan & Andy have an infectious love of the Japanese culture, people, food and the Iiyama region - it is truly infectious and we look forward to a return visit. Thanks Snowball Chalet for a truly memorable experience! Paul & Kate - Australia

It was a great stay. I love the vibe and everything about the Snowball Chalet.