Hakuba

Hakuba is a village on the main Japanese island, Honshu. Sometimes Hakuba is also considered to be the largest ski resort on Honshu, but this is a truth with modifications. Skiing in Hakuba takes place at several different ski resorts along the valley that you can get between by bus. Although the ski resorts are separate and have different lift systems, it has been possible to buy season passes that are valid for the entire Hakuba Valley, an offer that unfortunately is only available as a season pass.

In the Hakuba Valley, there are usually 6 ski systems - Hakuba 47/Goryu, Happo One, Iwatake, Tsugaike Kogen, Norikura and Hakuba Cortina. They all have different characteristics and different rules about skiing, but in general it can be said that the rules around off-piste are gradually being relaxed and more and more are being allowed - something that is not obvious in Japanese ski resorts.

Historically, Hakuba and the ski resort of Happo One are best known for hosting the alpine events of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Why it landed in Hakuba and quite easy to understand, compared to many other Japanese ski resorts, Hakuba and Happo One deliver significantly greater vertical drop, just over 3280,8 feet lift-based, and there is also plenty of terrain above the tree line. There are simply far more Alp-like mountains in Hakuba than there are in many other ski resorts in Japan.