How to get there
Where is Hakkoda?
The Hakkoda ski area is in the Aomori Prefecture, the most northern part of Honshu (the main island of Japan), about 710km north of Tokyo.
Hakkoda is located near Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada District in the north of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Hakkoda is approximately 40 minutes by car from Aomori airport, 45 minutes from Aomori station (about 60 minutes by bus), and 45-50 minutes from Shin-Aomori station.
Flights to Aomori
The Aomori international airport has flights from Haneda Tokyo, Sapporo and Seoul.
Travellers from Australia and other parts of Oceania will find flying into Aomori via Seoul the cheapest and most convenient option (and often cheaper than just flying to Tokyo). Some flight schedules will require an overnight stay in Seoul in a 5 star hotel (which is included in the flight price). Flights with Korean Air (KAL) from Seoul to Aomori operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and take only 140 minutes.
Flights between Sapporo and Aomori take only 45 minutes, whilst flights between Tokyo Haneda and Aomori take 75 minutes. Be aware that most international flights into Tokyo arrive at Narita airport thereby necessitating a long bus trip across the city.
Our
Hokkaido travel page has some information about cheap domestic airfares which pertains to either Hokkaido or Honshu.
Train to Aomori from Tokyo
The brand new Shinkansen Hayate to the Shin-Aomori station was introduced in December 2010. The bullet train from Tokyo now only takes 3.5 hours and in the near future it will be even quicker. See
Hyperdia for timetables and fares (if you don’t have a
JR Rail Pass).
Train from Sapporo to Aomori
If you want to combine some
Hokkaido skiing with a powder odyssey at Hakkoda and don’t want to fly, it’s easy to get a train between Hokkaido and Aomori that travels between the islands through the Seikan tunnel. The trip time between Sapporo and Aomori varies from about 5:15 hours to 7 plus hours. There are standard trains as well as overnight trains with sleeper carriages. Check
Hyperdia for train timetables and fares.
If coming from
Niseko, you could catch a train from Kutchan to Aomori. Considering that Kutchan is on the Hakodate line, some trip times from Kutchan are less than those from Sapporo.
Getting from Aomori to Hakkoda
There are three buses to Hakkoda per day from Aomori train station (7:55am, 11:55am and 1:15pm) and Shin-Aomori (8:20am, 12:20pm and 1:40pm). The latter is the station where the Shinkansen from Tokyo arrives. The bus leaves from the number one bus stop just outside the east exit and takes from 60-90 minutes to get to Hakkoda. There are three buses per day from Hakkoda to Aomori and Shin-Aomori which are all in the afternoon.
If these times don’t suit you’ll need to get a taxi from Aomori to Hakkoda. There are plenty of taxis at the train stations and at the airport. Be aware that not all taxi drivers will want to take you to Hakkoda, particularly if the weather or road conditions are not ideal, but you should be able to find someone with chains who is keen for the fare. As a guide, a taxi from Shin-Aomori costs ¥7,500 (approx 2011 rates) and takes about 45 minutes depending on road and weather conditions. A taxi between Aomori airport and Hakkoda costs ¥6,500 and takes about 40 minutes.
The road up to Hakkoda closes in the evenings (at about 8:30pm) and also at other times when the weather is particularly foul.
Other Ski Resorts Nearby
Moya Hills ski resort is the closest ski resort to Hakkoda, about 15 minutes away in the suburbs of Aomori city. It’s just a small ski resort but is popular for night skiing.
Considering the speed and ease of the trains in Honshu, it’s easy to combine a trip to Hakkoda with many other
Honshu ski resorts.