Skiing in Japan – Part One

We visited Japan in January and Februay 2025, and we skied at four resorts. The 2024/2025 ski season was a record breaking snow year for Japan, so we hit it at the right time. We first skied in Hakuba Valley. Hakuba is located just under 4 hours from Tokyo.

You can travel to Hakuba via car, train, or bus. Hakuba Valley consists of 10 different resorts. There is a shuttle bus that stops at each resort and the fare is included in an All Mountain Season or Day Pass.

We first skied at Hakuba Cortina, This resort receives the most snow in Hakuba Valley and is known for tree skiing and powder. There is also a ski in/ski out lodging at the Hotel Green Plaza. We didn’t stay there, but we wish we had; it looks like a great option. Ski tickets for the day: $75 for 2! We did not buy the All Mountain Pass because we just planned to ski Cortina for the day. The ticket covered both Cortina and Norikura resorts. We went over to Norikura but ended up at a part of the resort where most of the lifts were closed. We heard later on the bus that Lift 11 was awesome over there, but we didn’t get that one.

We had an epic day! Powder run every run, and we were tired out before the resort closed. We did have to wait a bit for the shuttle to return to our accommodations, so we probably should have skied a few more runs. The shuttle is known to be late in the area, but it always shows up.

We ate lunch at the Hotel Green Plaza–$15 for 2 meals.

We hit Happo One (pronounced Hap-poh-oh-nay) another resort in Hakuba Valley the next day. The sun was out, and it was a beautiful day. The snow wasn’t powdery, but we still enjoyed a day on the slopes. This is the place where one of the Nagano 1998 ski events took place. $104 for 2 day tickets. Lunch was $25 for 2 people at Bears Cafe.

Skiing is much less expensive in Japan compared to the United States. But it does show, the resort buildings and equipment are older in most of the resorts. Also not very many branded gear like shirts, hats, et. ceteral like you find in the United States.

Many skiers come from Australia and New Zealand.

We stayed closer to the Tsugaike Resort at a place called Summer Leaves. It was a short walk to the shuttle stop, but not close to anything else. The lodge did provide a dinner shuttle to the Tsugaike area where there are several restaurants. Summer Leaves was a basic 2 star accommodation. They have private rooms with private bathroom as well as private rooms with shared bathrooms. There was a washing machine for guests to use and hangers to borrow to hang and dry your clothes. That was an important amenity for us. They also provided a ski storage area.

Since we used points for our other hotels in Japan, this was the most expensive out of pocket cash stay! Ha! And the least nice. I booked it through Booking.com for 3 nights for a total of $500. The owners are kind but a little busy, and they forgot to tell us some key information like the Dinner Shuttle information. They also sent a message to us the day before arriving that encouraged us to bring our own toothbrushes and towels. We have our own toothbrushes but we did not pack towels from home. Fortunately, they did provide towels for us. Breakfast included, no housekeeping service, a ride from the bus or train station is included. Communication through What’sApp.

Book early for your skiing trip, I waited a little long to book our Hakuba stay, and there weren’t as many available options, I think if you book 6 months or a year out, you will find many great options.

Check out the post about skiing in Hokkaido.