Skiing and Snowboarding in Hakuba

Hakuba Happo-one Snow Resort – The Olympic Mountain - is where the alpine ski racing disciplines Downhill & Super G and the Ski Jumping events of the 1998 Winter Olympics took place. Happo is the biggest and best known resort in the Hakuba Valley. The number and variety of runs, together with the great views, are the reason that so many visitors are attracted.

Hakuba47 Winter Sports Park is interlinked with Hakuba Goryu and Iimori ski resorts. It's situated on the north side of the mountain and one lift pass covers all three ski resorts. The name 47 means 4 seasons 7 days. It has probably the best half-pipe and snow park, which explains the popularity among snowboarders together with Goryu.

Hakuba Goryu Snow Resort and Iimori are on the south-east side of the mountain which it shares with Hakuba47. Escal Plaza is the main building at the bottom of the resort and hosts rental shops, souvenir shops and restaurants. Iimori is ideal for beginners and has a very good ski/snowboard school with English-speaking instructors.

Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort presents itself at the top with a panoramic view of the Hakuba mountain range. The 4-person gondola will take you to the top of the mountain. Iwatake is a smaller (but beautiful) resort with courses for all levels which suit skiers and snowboarders alike. There is also a small snow park at the top and some cross-country ski trails at the bottom of the resort.

Tsugaike Kogen Snow Resort is well known for its beautiful mountain scenery. The slopes at the bottom are quite wide, which makes them well suited for beginners, but there are also great runs, including tree runs for the advanced powder riders. The gondola is with 4km the longest in the Hakuba Valley, enough time to relax and enjoy the view.

Hakuba Norikura Onsen Snow Resort, with its wide ski slopes, is beginner friendly but a steep course of 38 degrees makes it also attractive for the more advanced skiers and snowboarders. There are both groomed and ungroomed slopes with awesome powder snow conditions. From here it is easy to crossover to Cortina as well with a combined lift pass.

Hakuba Cortina Snow Resort is the place with the heaviest snowfall among the resorts in the Hakuba Valley. This, combined with the open tree runs, makes it a very popular place to visit, especially for the expert powder skiers and snowboarders. It is also worth a visit just to see the large Hotel Green Plaza and to enjoy their onsen facilities.