WORDS: Scout Petersen PHOTOS: Hiroya Nakata
It’s identical to each ski city, besides fully totally different. Nestled throughout the Nagano prefecture’s Ushiro Tateyama Mountain Vary, Hakuba Valley stands as a skier’s sanctuary. Hakuba Valley is comprised of 10 resorts dotting the bottom of the vary—suppose huge open faces, cliff drops and trails that wind by way of steep, powdery tree groves. Generally known as the Japanese Alps, it options foothill mountains with towering peaks, all interconnected by a short bus or taxi experience. This winter wonderland is a world epicenter for snowboarding, a swift bullet prepare and bus experience away from the center of Tokyo.
When you’re flying from the US, your journey is prone to start in Tokyo, a metropolis that intertwines Japanese customs with futuristic expertise. Earlier than hitching a experience up the hills, take a day or two to discover the town’s fish market, arcades and insane dance golf equipment. You’d be remiss to skip the life-sized Godzilla on a visit to Tokyo. Professional tip—for those who’ve flown together with your gear, snag a storage locker on the prepare station so you possibly can keep away from lugging skis throughout city.
The journey to Hakuba Valley is as a lot part of the journey because the snowboarding itself. Don’t be shocked whenever you arrive at your bus or prepare and it’s full of fellow skiers. The quickest path to Hakuba Valley begins with a bullet prepare from Toyko to Nagano, house of the 1998 Winter Olympics. From Nagano, the drive continues with a scenic hour-long bus experience to Hakuba’s Central Station, the place you possibly can ogle on the views alongside the way in which. Echoland, between Hakuba 47 and Happo-one (pronounced oh-nay, not “one”), is a superb house base, the place the occasion rages and hostels are plentiful.
The ski season in Hakuba mirrors that of the US, with the very best situations being from early December by way of mid to late April. With 400 inches of common snowfall a 12 months, you may expertise what Japan calls’ JAPOW—the low humidity powder that solely occurs right here. Execs descend on this area yearly for Japowuary, a two-month span when Hakuba will get pounded with essentially the most snowfall on the globe. Enterprise onto the terrain, and also you’ll rapidly see why Happo-one snagged a spot as a qualifier occasion for the Freeride World Tour in 2023. Because the resort with the most important skiable space, most lifts, highest elevation and longest runs, Happo-one must be in your must-do’s.
Don’t communicate Japanese? Not an issue in Hakuba. The realm’s seen Australian and US ski vacationers for years, so that you’d be shocked by the quantity of English you’ll hear.
Epic Go holders have entry to Hakuba Valley’s 10 resorts by means of 5 consecutive days of snowboarding, sans blackout dates, throughout the valley. Every resort seamlessly connects by way of the Hakuba Valley bus system, so you possibly can bounce from base to base as you please. One of the best half? Rides are complimentary with a Hakuba Valley carry go or Epic Go; in any other case, it’s a ¥600 fare every approach, which equates to about $4.
Whereas it’s tempting to solely hop throughout the ten resorts, take into account designating a day or two to backcountry snowboarding, a realm finest explored with the steering of pros like Kazuya Furuse at Locus Information Service. “The snowboarding can get critical right here, with sometimes-fickle snow situations, terrain traps galore and large terrain generally; that is no place for an informal dip out of bounds,” explains Furuse. “Carry a information and your wits, since you’ll want each.” Having somebody prepared the ground in another country means much less stress and extra slopes. Plus, it opens up a world of untouched terrain, removed from carry strains and crowded runs.
Not often are you able to discover a spot the place a merchandising machine spits out beers mid ski slope. Want a carry drink? Straightforward. Toss the machine a couple of Yen and also you don’t must spend the day lugging round cans. Similar to in Whistler or Chamonix, the après ski tradition at Hakuba is alive and effectively. If the solar units and your ski itch isn’t fairly scratched, it’s essential to give evening snowboarding a strive. Get pleasure from sizzling sake and ramen whereas native snowboarding groups rip till 9:30 p.m. earlier than heading to Echoland to swapping tales and revel in a pair chilly ones.
And when it’s time for the inevitable down day, Hakuba’s quite a few onsens, the Japanese model of a sizzling spring, beckon. Soak within the largest sizzling spring within the valley, Mizubasho Onsen, whereas surrounded by snow-capped peaks.
Hakuba Valley isn’t only a ski vacation spot; it’s an immersive locale that blends journey, tradition and pure magnificence and can depart able to e book your return journey.
