There are many wonderful restaurants in the Niseko area, most of which can be found in Hirafu, the largest resort in the Niseko United area. The great thing about Hirafu though, is the variety in both choice and price and, except for the specialist experiences of Kamimura, the ability to find a similar quality restaurant if your first choice is not available.
Although each year brings new restaurants and sees some close their doors, some continue to produce great food year in, year out and I’ve listed my favourite places to enjoy Niseko Food at its best, that is if you can’t join us at Niseko Gourmet.
Wild Bills: Next door to The Lodge at Niseko is Wild Bills, Hirafu’s iconic 
restaurant and bar. Although it’s the only Tex Mex restaurant in the village, it is great value, authentic ‘American’ Tex Mex. You can enjoy your food either in the restaurant upstairs or at the bar. All the favourites such as Tacos, Fajitas, Enchiladas, Burritos and Wild Bills famous Buffalo Chicken Wings are on the menus but I can never go past the Chicken Fajitas with extra chili.
Rin: In the lower village, 50m from Yukoro Onsen is a local favourite held in such esteem that they don’t need to advertise a with phone number. Rin is an Izakaya, a Japanese eating and drinking restaurant that serves delicious bite sized, sharing style food that encourages lots of conversation around the table. My personal favourites here are the gobo sticks (burdock in English) and the Hoke (Atka Mackerel in English) which both are delicious with a cold beer.
Kamimura: Head Chef Yuichi Kamimura once trained under the famed 
Tetsuya Wakuda whilst living in Sydney. After returning to Sapporo, Yuichi brought his culinary skills to Hirafu in 2007 and the rest is history; fine dining at its best with an 8 course degustation menu and a rather impressive wine list to match.
Syokusai: Located in the Alpen Hotel, Syokusai is a must for sushi and sashimi novices or lovers. The menu is extensive, delicate and with many ‘must try’ dishes so it is naturally popular with well to do Japanese clientele; a sure fire way to judge a sushi and sashimi restaurant.
Del Sole: The best pizza in the Niseko area in tucked away in An’nupuri. Unfortunately, this means you need a car to get there unless you wish to take the Free Passport Shuttle bus (the big orange bus during winter). The pizza is thin crust, wood fired and has authentic homemade toppings with homemade pickles on the side. A very good Italian experience even down to their choice of still and sparkling water.
308: Built last season, and located exactly 1000m below the peak of Mt. An’nupuri, the 308 building 
is the first development to be completed in the re-design of the Hanazono ski area. In addition to lunch and apres-ski (there are live music acts each afternoon), there is a retail and rental store, information centre and a lift ticket office.
Torimatsu: As a Kutchan resident, this is my favourite place to have a bite to eat and enjoy a beer. They specialise in Yakitori (chicken on a stick) and it is an experience to just sit there and watch the chef flipping the sticks on the grill. Sometimes difficult to find, Torimatsu is on North 3, the same road as the 7-11 and West 1. I also recommend arriving early as it becomes very smoky as the night goes on due to the amount of grilling being done.
There are so many other restaurants that I haven’t been to on numerous occasions that could, and maybe should, be on the list but we are usually so busy over winter that it is not always possible. I’ll be updating this page regularly during winter so have a look closer to your visit and try some of these out if you haven’t already.
Happy eating, enjoy the amazing Niseko Food that’s on offer all year round.
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