Hakuba Valley, Nagano

Snow Quality: Over a full season, Hakuba gets it all, from the driest light powder, particularly on the higher parts of the mountains, to spring slush. For those hoping to maximize the powder experience, it is best to concentrate on the 3 week window from mid-January through the first week of February.    

Snow Quantity: Hakuba averages between 6 and 8 meters of snowfall annually. While respectable by any global standard, it does feel a bit paltry when compared to Japan’s northernmost legends. At the higher altitudes above the lifts, snow does pile deeper, and for dedicated backcountry adventurers, bottomless couloirs are bountiful.

The mountain owned ski schools tend to cater to the domestic customer base. A few independent ski schools with private instructors able to travel throughout the valley offer high quality instruction. Modern ski school base facilities have not yet been developed in Hakuba.

Hakuba has a robust range of retail and rental options, mostly concentrated at the Happo-one base area. Rhythm Snowsports, the behemoth Australian owned rental shop which imprinted the hyper-competitive Niseko market with a large footprint runs a large, perpetually packed shop next to the Momonoki and Hakuba Tokyu Hotels. Both Patagonia and Northface have established their own retail outlets, probably in recognition of Hakuba’s draw for 4-season mountaineers from both the Kanto and Kansai urban centers.

General Dining: Hakuba has spread throughout the valley a large range of restaurants ranging from wood-fired pizza to korean barbecue to sushi. Most shops are relatively small, so reservations are strongly recommended, particularly as the dining out crowds from Australia and greater China flood the resort in winter.    

Fine Dining:  Marquis dining options have not yet emerged in Hakuba, although the constant upgrading of the private lodging stock suggests that this may change in the future.  

It is 2-3 hours from Hakkoda to any airport, and international visitors usually arrive at either Tokyo or Narita Airport. Direct bus service (4 hours) to the resort from either airport is the most common means of transportation. For those who spend a night or more in Tokyo upon arrival in Japan, an 80 minute bullet train ride from Tokyo Station gets you to Nagano Station, from where there is regular scheduled bus service for the additional 1 hour trip to Hakuba. There are express bus services to and from Osaka and Nagoya as well. For those hoping to link their Hakuba and Hokkaido ski holidays together, the best access is to Toyama Airport, with direct bus service daily matching well to the flight to Shin-Chitose Airport.

While the Hakuba Valley itself is filled with a pastoral population acclimating from a traditional domestic mountain holiday town to an international one, richer exposure to Japanese culture is not far away. The Kai Alps hotel brings artisans onto its well designed grounds. The most popular tour is a visit to Nagano’s famous hot spring bathing snow monkeys combined with a visit to Nagano’s largest temple and a sake brewery. The magnificent town of Kanazawa is only an hour on the shinkansen from Nagano, and worth either a day trip or an overnight when taking a break from the slopes.