Different Snow - Cheltenham

Dan M.

Nick at Different Snow was exceptional from start to finish. As I happen to live in the same town they’re located, Nick was more than happy to meet for a coffee to discuss what were, being a first time visitor to Japan, overwhelming options. Nick listened to my thoughts and asked lots of questions and then emailed me over a proposed itinerary. After a little tweaking this was finalised. Everything from flights, accommodation, transfers, lift passes, guides, CAT ski, and bullet train tickets were organised. Nearer to departure I received a comprehensive itinerary in a bespoke printed booklet with literally everything detailed and lots of guides, maps etc. Superb organisation.

The trip itself comprised 3 parts, snowboarding in Niseko, then Hakuba and then a couple of nights in Tokyo.

On check in to my hotel in Hakuba, I discovered an issue with my room - which was recently infested with black carpenter ants. The hotel told me two rooms were affected, and as they were fully booked they were unable to do anything.

I called Nick and explained the situation. Despite the 9 hour time difference, Nick got straight onto his many contacts in Japan to try to resolve the issue. Alternative accommodation was a challenge as this was peak season and pretty much everything was sold out. However, Nick pulled it out of the bag and managed to put me up in an apartment which was larger, newer, and right by the base lift of Happo 1. The accommodation was a significant upgrade and significantly more expensive than the hotel I’d been booked into but I wasn’t asked for a penny. There’s no way left to my own devices I’d have managed to find any other accommodation (and I spent some time looking) - everywhere I looked was fully booked.
This glitch aside, everything ran like absolute clockwork.
Aside from Nick’s obvious passion for and extensive knowledge of all things Japan, what sets Different Snow apart is their level of exceptional customer service and support. Other companies in this situation might have struggled to find a solution to the only issue that arose during my holiday.

I’m not sure it is - but even were it possible to book everything directly with a view to saving a few £, that would be a false economy in my experience. When everything goes smoothly that’s great, but the acid test is how a company deals with an issue when it arises. The peace of mind of having someone as conscientious and customer focused on the end of the phone, and who can seemingly pull the impossible out of the hat if needed, despite being a weekend, 6,000 miles away, and a 9 hour time difference, is priceless.

I cannot recommend Nick and Different Snow highly enough. Simply flawless customer focused service, second to none and a truly memorable fantastic trip which exceeded already high expectations.

Sarah R.

Different Snow are fantastic, couldn’t recommend them enough. They obviously know Japan so well and have put a lot of thought into their suggested itineraries because it really was the most amazing holiday. Part of the package included guides they had written, a separate one for each part of our holiday; these were invaluable, especially the hints and tips, and made the trip so much more enjoyable. Their attention to detail in our itinerary made the holiday go so smoothly and puts them streets ahead of other travel companies. Thank you Nick and Jess!

Ashley P.

I cannot explain just how great this company is!! We booked a 15 day ski trip to Japan and had the most wonderful time. The friendly and knowledgeable service was only topped by the attention to detail and communication. On a trip involving: international flights, 5 train journeys, 4 hotels, 3 private transfers, 1 local tour, ski hire X 2, and two different ski resorts - we didn't have a single issue!! Different class, thank you

Kevin B.

We had 10 day in Japan arranged by Different Snow and had an amazing time. The information received was informative and helpful, the hotel in Hakuba was exactly what we all wanted, in fact it exceeded my expectation. We are all experienced skiers however the back country guide arranged by Different Snow gave us all a far greater skiing experience that we thought we would get, took us safely to places we would not have ever ventured to. There was a slight misunderstanding over one of the booking however Different Snow where easy to contact and the issue was quickly and efficiently resolved. If I were trying to find anything to change I would have stayed closer to the station we took the bullet train from in Tokyo however this is such a minor point in what was a wonderful trip and I would have no hesitation to recommend Different Snow for anyone looking to book a ski trip to Hakuba in Japan

James L.

We booked a 10 day snowboard trip to Japan in March 2017 with Different Snow after giving them a rough brief for a holiday with plenty of snow and a taste of Japanese culture, they gave us some great advice and came up with a 3 main options for us to choose from.

We started with a BA flight to Tokyo where we were met by our a pre-booked taxi-bus for the transfer to our first resort of Hakuba, which is a very friendly and reasonably modern town at the base of a large selection of pistes, our lift passes were waiting for us on arrival at our hotel (Double Black, Hakuba).
After 3 days of great snow boarding in the Hakuba valley we took the local snow-shuttle (again, pre-booked) to our second stop at Nozawa Onsen, This is a much more traditional town and has a very authentic feel to it, an amazing place that really felt like "Japan".
After checking into our Hotel (Kiriya Ryokan) we collected our pre-paid lift passes from the ticket office using the receipts provided and we were off for 3 more days of fun in near-perfect boarding conditions.
Then off we went back to Tokyo on the bullet train, this cannot be pre-booked but clear instructions from the Different Snow guys made it simple to Navigate, as was the onward travel to our hotel.
After checking in to our hotel (Shinjuku Washington) we were free to explore the wonderfully insane city of Tokyo for a couple of days before returning home.

Japan is an amazing place and the Japanese people could not have been more welcoming, if you are looking for a different type of snow holiday to the usual European resorts you need to try Japan, and if you do then book with Different Snow.

Peter H.

Extremely well informed and helpful company. Used them a few years ago and still excellent service this time