Tomamu is a ski resort located about 110km east of New Chitose International Airport.  Even though it’s only just over 100km, it’s a good 2 hr drive (more on that in the “You Should Know This” bit), probably way more in the winter so don’t expect to get there in a hour.  Not sure why we decided to go to Tomamu in the summer, regardless, the whole holiday was pretty good but not a place you’d say “can’t wait to go back there again”, and in fact, probably wouldn’t go back there in a hurry or anytime in the near or distant future.  Tomamu is one of those places you say you’re glad you went, but once is probably enough. Having said that, I’d be ok to go back in the winter for skiing but I think Niseko or Rusutsu is better in the winter.  We stayed at Hoshino Resorts, which a bit confusingly has two separate and somewhat distinct “resorts”.  One is Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, the Towers, which are two rather large, ageing and unsightly buildings and the other, and where stayed, Hoshino Resorts Risonare Tomamu, which is supposed to be the more fancy part, although that wasn’t anything you’d rave about either.

If you’re interested in going to Tomamu, you HAVE to hire a car and drive around different parts of Hokkaido, notably Furano which is famous for it’s flower “farms” and has some mediocre sightseeing and a few other bits and pieces you can do.  Tomamu doesn’t really have much, I don’t even think it’s an actual town and Tomamu refers to the ski resort for most people but it’s actually not a bad getaway in the summer.  If you’re not an impatient tosspot like me, you’ll like driving around the area as it’s quite pretty.

You can check out the Hoshino Resorts home page here.