How to get there
Where is Hakuba?Hakuba is located on the island of Honshu, a one hour drive west of Nagano, which was made famous for hosting the 1998 Winter Olympics. Hakuba is 350kms from Tokyo, Japan.
Other Ski ResortsResorts close to Happo One include others in the Hakuba Valley such as: Hakuba 47 (2km away); Goryu Toomi (4km away), Hakuba Iwatake (2km away), Hakuba Norikura (4km away) and Tsugaike Kogen (6km away).
Shiga Kogen is an hour northeast of Nagano, so this ski area could be combined with a trip to Hakuba.
Getting to Hakuba The fastest route from Tokyo is by bullet train (called Shinkansen) to Nagano, and then a bus from Nagano to Hakuba. From the Tokyo international airport the total trip takes about 3.5 to 4 hours depending upon connection timing, and from Tokyo it takes one hour less. This option is not cheap at ¥20,000 for the rail travel and ¥3,000 for the bus return trip (
convert currency here: 2008-09 rates).
If you are travelling from Narita (Tokyo international) airport, it’s probably worthwhile purchasing a Japan Rail Pass, which is a 4 non-consecutive day pass for bullet and local trains, and allows flexibility if you want a Tokyo stopover or side trips. It costs ¥20,000 (¥10,000 child) and is valid for one month. You can purchase a voucher before arriving in Japan through your
International Rail, or at the railway station. You can check out
timetable information here.
The information below outlines each of the steps in the trip, with costs associated with the individual components.
From Tokyo (Narita) airport
From Tokyo international airport, take the train (Narita express) to Tokyo (Shinjuju) station which will take about 1 hour and cost ¥3,000 (¥1,500 for children) if you’re not using the Rail pass. These trains depart the airport rail terminal frequently. Apparently there are ATMs in the airport but they are a little hard to find, so it might be wise to arrive with cash.
From Tokyo station
This station is a tourist destination in itself, with the fascinating rush of people bustling about, the many food options to choose from, and the endless souvenir shops. Trains from Narita Airport arrive at underground platforms #1-4 so there’s quite a hike up to the Shinkansen Bullet trains which leave from platforms #20-23. The Nagano bullet train (Asama Shinkansen) departs Tokyo Station regularly throughout the day, and the super speedy trip (at over 200kph) takes only 90 minutes. Nagano’s the end of the line, so there’s no uncertainty about which stop to get off at. A one way ticket costs ¥8,000.
From Nagano Station to Hakuba
There are various options to get from Nagano to Hakuba which all take about one hour:
a) Alpico buses from Nagano to Hakuba run every hour from 8:30am to 8:20pm (Friday night 9.20pm) and cost ¥1,500 one way (children ¥700). Buses depart from the East (Higashi) exit of Nagano Station from bus stop 6.
b) You could get a taxi directly to your hotel for about ¥16,000, although you might have a little trouble finding a taxi large enough to accommodate your ski/board bag.
c) Some tour packages will include a private transfer service from here. From Hakuba Bus Terminal to your Accommodation If you can’t walk to your accommodation, you can catch a taxi (approx ¥1,000 depending upon distance), or many hotels will come and pick you up if you ring them.
Alternative Travel Options to Hakuba
An alternative approach to the whole trip is to catch a bus from Narita airport to Hakuba, or bus from Tokyo station (about 4.5 -5 hours depending upon weather) which are cheaper but the trip takes far longer. As an indication, the latter costs ¥4,700.
Another cheap option is to catch the Super Azusa Train from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo directly to Hakuba Station, which adds another 1 to 1.5 hours to the trip.
Another option is a taxi limousine from Narita Airport directly to your door, which takes about 5-6 hours. This might be required if you arrive on a late flight. It will cost about ¥13,000 and can be arranged via travel agents.
From Osaka or Kyoto
There are chartered buses departing from hotels in Osaka or Kyoto that take about 5.5 to 6 hours.
Alternatively catch the Sanyo Shinkansen (bullet train) to Nagoya, then the Chuo limited express (Shinano) to Hakuba (4.5 hours).
The Ski Areas of Hakuba It’s a little difficult to get oriented to all the areas of
Hakuba Valley. There’s the town of Hakuba, the ski resort of Hakuba 47, the village of Happo, and the ski resort of Happo One. And if that’s not confusing enough, where are the villages of Wadano, Echoland and Misorano? To familiarise yourself with the village areas and the town of Hakuba check out
this map. See
map of the ski resorts for more detail about the location of resorts in the area.
Getting To the Hakuba Ski Areas There are resort and hotel-run shuttle buses which operate between Happo-One, Goryu Toomi, Hakuba 47 and Iwatake. Hakuba 47/Goryu Toomi is about a 10 minute drive from Happo. There is also a public bus service that operates along the valley, providing access to all of the ski resorts. A return trip costs ¥500.
Getting Around the Hakuba Villages It is possible to walk between Wadano, Happo and Hakuba town, but it’s a fairly long walk. The other option is a taxi, or from mid afternoon to 11pm there is a paid shuttle service called "Genki-Go" which runs around Happo, Wadano, Hakuba and the Echoland area. You have to pre-purchase tickets for ¥200 from local shops or hotels, as the drivers don’t take cash. The bus stops are numbered - at each stop there is a small route map and the time table for that route. We found it incredibly frustrating to understand the shuttle buses and the differences between the inter-resort buses, the night buses, the direction of the loop they were travelling, and other hotel buses. There were subtle differences between the buses such as an illuminated snowman sitting in the front seat. It’s probably just easier to ask your accommodation host for a comprehensive orientation, or it might take you three days and trips to wrong destinations to figure it out. Alternatively you might find the
bus route and
timetable useful.
The other challenge we faced was when we were given a couple of village maps that had subtle but important inaccuracies that lead to us getting somewhat lost. Use the tourist maps as a vague guide only.
Hakuba Transport Listings
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Nagano Snow Shuttle
Nagano snow shuttle is the ideal way to get to and from Tokyo (Narita) airport to Hakuba, Shiga Kogen or Nozawa Onsen. Buses leave after 3pm & are only filled to 75% so plenty of room for luggage.
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International Rail - JR East
International rail is a specialist rail travel company. Buy JR East Rail Passes online. 5 or 10 consecutive days or 4 days in a 30 day period. Non-Japanese residents only. Must be purchased outside of Japan.
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