Aomori City (approx 45 mins drive)
Because the weather can be terrible for days up at the Hakkoda ski area,
Aomori City can be a good alternative to staying at or near the ropeway; at least you will be able to explore the city and the area and you will have a reasonable selection of restaurants & bars, not to mention a lot greater selection of accommodation and cheaper prices. Having a car would be ideal. See
Aomori city hotels here.
Kuroishi Hotels
On the outskirts of
Kuroishi City is the Kuroishi Hot Spring Village, which has various ryokan and Japanese inns that have onsen baths. As there are no restaurants in the area, you'll want to get a meal plan with breakfast and dinner included. It’s only 22km (30 min drive) from the Kuroishi hot spring village to Hakkoda. Google maps will try to take you around the long way, but it’s possible to utilise route 394 and 103 to reach the Hakkoda Ropeway. Or if you want to ski at Aomori Spring Ski Resort, it is 43km to the west of the onsen village.
Hakkoda Accommodation Options
There are a couple of options for Hakkoda accommodation near the ropeway and ski area, as well as a two lovely Hakkoda hotels just a short drive from the ropeway (shuttles between the hotel and Hakkoda ski area provided). Staying in Hakkoda is very quiet and other than having dinner and an onsen, there isn't much to do after skiing and snowboarding. If you have a car, the other option is to stay in the nearby city in one of the
Aomori hotels or in Kuroishi City in the
Kuroishi Hot Spring Village which is only 22km from Hakkoda.
