Cliff Bernstein, Proprietor

Cliff is a native New Yorker who has resided in Japan for over 20 years. Living in Tokyo he at first skiied exclusively at resorts around Honshu, and was initially skeptical of the claims of perfect powder from his friends who had been up to Hokkaido. Eventually (fortunately!), he was persuaded to give it a try. That was 9 years ago and the start of a love affair with Niseko that would see him purchase the Freedom Inn in 2007. Cliff was drawn to the beauty of Hanazono and the top class facilities at the Hanazono 308 Ski Centre just down the road. He can often be seen escaping the hustle and bustle of city life in Tokyo by sneaking out up the hill and grabbing some first tracks or wandering off into the backcountry with his snowshoes. Cliff enjoys sharing his local knowledge with our guests and one of his must-see tips is the soba restaurant, Raku Ichi.

Matt Stormont, General Manager

Matt was born and raised in London and, after graduating, travelled the Caribbean pursuing his love of Marine Biology. He has resided in Japan for the past 7 years - after initially planning to stay for just a few months he quickly fell in love with the country and decided to stay. Living first in the port city of Hakodate, after the birth of his son, he decided to look for somewhere where his family could enjoy being close to nature and chose Niseko. After a couple of seasons working in Hirafu he moved across to Hanazono to manage the Inn. During the summer months he enjoys hiking the various peaks around Hanazono, trout fishing on the nearby Shirebeshi river, and sampling the multitude of onsens (natural hot springs) that no visitor to Niseko should leave without trying. Matt's management of the Inn is encapsulated by a simple mantra "When you arrive at the Inn you are our guest, when you leave you are our friend, when you return you are family!"

Hirokazu Adachi

Adachi-san is a resident of nearby Kutchan town, where in the spring and summer months he works on his family farm growing wheat and potatoes. During the Winter he is the driving force (excuse the pun) behind our evening shuttle service, driving guests to and from restaurants and onsens in the evening. His cheery nature has made him very popular with guests and staff alike and he takes great delight welcoming back repeat guests and remembering everybody's names and where they live.