Replying to People who have been skiing in japan- Need help, pls.

Just got my final paycheck that will allow me to buy some plane tickets to Japan for next winter. However, from doing my own research, it's been really hard to figure out what information is trustworthy and updated and what is resort-company-speak.

Myself and a friend are planning on flying into sapporo for 2 weeks, and we plan on trying to ski Asahidake, Niseko, Rusutsu, maybe Kiriro or one of the many other medium powvilles on the north island.

So now for some questions:

Do you have to make hotel reservations? We're already getting a few nights in sapporo so we have somewhere to crash as soon as we get there, but we weren't sure about the resorts. Here in the US you can often find the best deals at motels outside big resorts, is this the case in Japan? Or should we be booking all our hotels too?

What is the shuttle/bus service like? Everything mentions it vaguely but I'm wondering what the logistics of getting around are really like.

What are clubs/bars/girls/nightlife like?

How expensive is food?

Anything else we wouldn't think of?

Did you really choke on pow?

Is it better to go through a booking agency that will handle everything, or put it together yourself?

Thanks NS, I'm sure I'll get lots of serious replies.