Hakuba
白馬村36°42′ N 137°52′ EVillagePop. 8,621Nagano
Hakuba is the ski village at the foot of the Northern Alps where most visitors to Hakuba Valley stay, with Happo-one, Goryu, HAKUBA47 and Iwatake inside the village and a valley pass that covers ten resorts. The trade-off is spread: lodges and lifts sit kilometres apart, so you live by the shuttle timetable.
Photo Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Who should base here
Stay in Hakuba if you want the widest choice of mountains in Japan on one pass and a big English-speaking après scene. Pick your lodge by its shuttle stop and plan on buses or a car, since nothing in the valley is compact.
The name
shirouma
代馬The name comes from Shirouma-dake, where a dark horse shape shows through the melting snow each spring as the paddies are prepared for planting.
japanese
The Heibonsha historical place-name dictionary says farmers read the horse as the shirouma (代馬), the horse that harrows the flooded fields, and called the peak Shirouma-dake. The prettier characters 白馬 (white horse) took over, and the village and station adopted the reading Hakuba, so the mountain is still correctly read Shirouma.
Eat in Hakuba
Drink in Hakuba
Things to do in Hakuba
Hakuba Village stretches along the Matsukawa and Himekawa rivers under a wall of peaks close to 3,000 metres high. The mountain the village is named after, Shirouma-dake, stands at 2,932 metres on the Toyama border. Most visitors base around the Happo area below Happo-one or in the forest lodges of Wadano and Echoland, then ride the free valley shuttles out to Goryu, HAKUBA47 and Iwatake on days they hold a valley pass.
Getting here from Tokyo takes about 2 hours 50 minutes at best, by Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano and then Alpico's express bus, according to the Hakuba Valley tourism board. That bus runs 43 to 60 kilometres up the valley and takes from 1 hour 10 minutes to just over 2 hours depending on the stop. The JR Oito Line reaches Hakuba Station from Matsumoto, and the Hakuba Tokyu Hotel's own directions put the Happo bus terminal about 1 hour 15 minutes from Nagano Station by express bus.
The valley gets crowded in January and February, and the queues bunch at Happo-one's gondola on powder mornings. Spread your days: Goryu and HAKUBA47 share one mountain a short shuttle south, and Tsugaike and Hakuba Cortina sit to the north in neighbouring Otari village. Book dinner ahead in peak weeks, because the restaurants near Happo fill early.
Worth knowing
- Choose a lodge within a few minutes' walk of a valley shuttle stop, because walking between areas in ski boots is a long, cold business.
- Book Nagano to Hakuba bus seats in advance on peak weekends, since the reserved services sell out.
Quick answers about Hakubaよくある質問
How do you get from Tokyo to Hakuba?
Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano and change to Alpico's express bus to Hakuba. The fastest connection takes about 2 hours 50 minutes, according to the Hakuba Valley tourism board.
How long is the bus from Nagano Station to Hakuba?
Alpico's Nagano to Hakuba express bus takes from 1 hour 10 minutes to just over 2 hours, depending on which Hakuba stop you get off at.
Which ski resorts are in Hakuba Village?
Hakuba Happo-one, Hakuba Goryu, HAKUBA47 and Hakuba Iwatake sit inside Hakuba Village. The wider Hakuba Valley adds Tsugaike Kogen and Hakuba Cortina in Otari and resorts in Omachi, ten in all.
What does the name Hakuba mean?
Hakuba comes from the local name shirouma, meaning the name comes from Shirouma-dake, where a dark horse shape shows through the melting snow each spring as the paddies are prepared for planting. The Heibonsha historical place-name dictionary says farmers read the horse as the shirouma (代馬), the horse that harrows the flooded fields, and called the peak Shirouma-dake. The prettier characters 白馬 (white horse) took over, and the village and station adopted the reading Hakuba, so the mountain is still correctly read Shirouma.
Is Hakuba a good place to stay?
Stay in Hakuba if you want the widest choice of mountains in Japan on one pass and a big English-speaking après scene. Pick your lodge by its shuttle stop and plan on buses or a car, since nothing in the valley is compact.
Within 12 km
Places to stay nearby宿
Within 12 km
Places to eat and drink nearby食
Within 12 km
Sights nearby見どころ
In the journal and guides
Read more about Hakuba特集
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Should you stay in Nozawa Onsen instead of Hakuba?
Nozawa suits riders who want to walk from the inn to the lifts in the morning and to a free village bath at night, on one big mountain at ¥7,800 a day. Hakuba suits anyone who wants ten resorts on one ticket and Epic Pass days.
Practical guide · 8 min read
Should you ski Hakuba or Niseko?
Hakuba suits riders who want big alpine vertical and ten resorts on one ticket, a train ride from Tokyo. Niseko suits riders who want four linked resorts, lift-served gates under one set of rules and lights on every evening.