Food & Nightlife
Hakuba has a range of restaurants and bars spread around the various villages and the town of Hakuba.
Hakuba Restaurants The town of Hakuba has a wide choice of Japanese and Western restaurants, where you’ll find variability in the amount of English spoken, and the presence of English or picture menus. We enjoyed a restaurant where not one word of English was spoken, and we indicated that we were happy to eat whatever they brought to the table. Most traditional Japanese restaurants double as a bar, and have a very authentic and inviting atmosphere.
In the village of Happo, there are also a good selection of restaurants and bars that offer Japanese or international cuisine. Our favourite was Uncle Stevens (a little down the road from the Adam gondola) which is a festive Mexican restaurant with fantastic margaritas.
Hakuba Bars & Nightlife Après doesn’t appear to be a favourite pastime in Hakuba. There are restaurants that serve alcohol in the late afternoon, but many of the bars and “The Pub” don’t open until later. “The Pub” is an English pub in Wadano behind the Mominoki hotel. The Pub serves snacks, limited Japanese fare, Western meals and many drinks of course. We met a lot of Australians at The Pub, some of whom were quite strange and ate there every night because they hated Japanese food. How is that possible, when the Japanese cuisine should be a highlight of the trip?!
A favourite bar/restaurant was the izakaya style Unn bar just around the corner from the Pub, which was a cultural extreme to the Pub. The Unn felt very “Japanese” with negligible English spoken, simple Japanese fare, and many great drinks that warranted a lot of “kanpai”. One of the powderhounds claimed a case of food poisoning from this establishment, but perhaps it was just the excessive intake of great drinks?
Hakuba town also has a few bars, a beer hall, a nightclub and the essential Japanese experience of karaoke bars.
Hakuba CafesIf getting a great coffee is a priority then make sure you visit Bamboo, the only cafes in Hakuba specializing in Australian style espresso coffees. They offer a selection of cakes and snacks and offer free wifi internet.
Bamboo is also a bar with a great range of après drinks, and daily happy hours! There are two locations, just down the hill from Happo gondola and right outside Hakuba station.
Hakuba Food & Nightlife Listings
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Roots Cafe on Kokusai Course
Open from morning through Apres until 6:00pm. We often have lunch and apres DJ's or musicians. Twice a month we put on party events that go late into the night often with a skate or jib contest.
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