Hakuba Ski Travel Guide: The Best Family Ski Resort Japan
Best Family Ski Resort Japan: Hakuba, Nagano Region
We often hear about families going skiing in Japan with kids and have wondered what all the fuss is about… and now we know. It’s about the powder, cool ski villages and just the most fun experience.
Coming from New Zealand we don’t quite get the ski village atmosphere that many other resorts in Europe have. We don’t have ski in, ski out resorts and you don’t just hang out in the snow at the ski field.
In fact, our mountains are steep and rugged, there are some hairy ski roads where you need chains to access and you’ll often spend up to an hour driving there or taking a bus from your accommodation.
So skiing in Hakuba with kids was a blissful and relaxing experience, honestly, it was the best, so let me tell you how you can have this too. We didn’t book a Japan ski package, but travelled independently and it’s actually surprisingly easy.
Ski holidays to Japan – lets do this!
Table of Contents
- Why Ski in Hakuba with kids?
- How to get to Hakuba
- Hakuba accommodation
- What are the best ski resorts in Hakuba?
- How much does it cost to ski in Hakuba?
- Where to eat in Hakuba
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Why ski in Hakuba with kids?
There are many ski resorts in Japan but why ski in Hakuba you might ask? Here’s a few reasons that we chose it
Great Japan ski resort for families
- There are 10 ski resorts in Hakuba so you have variety and it is windy at some, others could be open, so you have options. With some of the biggest ski resorts in the country, you know you’ll have some of the best skiing in Japan
- They have a variety of terrain which is perfect for beginners to expert skiers
- It was the site for some events at the Nagano Winter Olympics, so that tells you the snow is usually good here
- It’s full of international travellers and workers, so if you’re a little worried about the language barrier, then you needn’t be
- It’s easy to get to from Tokyo so we didn’t need to fly to another part of the country. For us it was the best ski resort in Japan near Tokyo.
How to get to Hakuba from Tokyo
Most international tourists fly into Tokyo when arriving in Japan and there are a couple of ways to get to Hakuba from Tokyo
- Direct bus from Tokyo to Hakuba
- Shinkansen Bullet Train from Tokyo to Hakuba plus a bus.
Bus to Hakuba: Nagano Snow Shuttle
There is a bookable bus that leaves from Tokyo Narita Airport and connects straight to Hakuba. It takes about 6-7 hours which I know is a long time, but if you are heading straight from the airport to skiing, then you don’t have to transfer your gear at all or worry about negotiating train stations.
If you are bringing your own skis and travelling with kids, this would likely be the easiest option
Cost: Approx 10,500yen each with Nagano Snow Shuttle
Shinkansen Bullet Train to Hakuba
There isn’t a bullet train directly to Hakuba, but you can take a shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagano Station, then pick up a direct bus to Hakuba from there. This is what we did as we had been in Tokyo a week before going skiing.
It took about 80 minutes for the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagano, and then the bus was about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Our hotel collected us from the bus station and it was a painless process.
We booked our tickets with Klook for about $91NZD for adults one way for the bullet train. The bus tickets we collected from Nagano station and these were 2800yen and half that for kids 6-11 years old (yay kids under 6 are free)
We met a few people who were having trouble booking Shinkansen tickets online through the Japanese portal with their foreign credit cards, so we suggested they use Klook too and that worked for them. So I highly recommend the app.
**Do note that if you are coming from Narita or Haneda International Airport, you will still need to get from the airport to Tokyo Station to take the bullet train. You’ll need to factor in the time here too.
You can check out the shinkansen schedule and ticket prices here
Where to stay in Hakuba with kids
Gosh we lucked out with our Hakuba accommodation because I honestly think it was the best place to stay with family. Let me tell you about the Phoenix Hotel by the Hakuba Hotel Group
Phoenix Hotel Hakuba Review
We stayed in a 2 bedroom chalet at the Phoenix Chalets and the first thing to note was that it was huge! Anyone who has spent any time in Japan will know that hotel rooms aren’t large by any means but this is not something you need to worry about here at all.
Our chalet apartment was a duplex, 2 stories with one connecting wall to another apartment. Half a house if you wish. It had the master bedroom with ensuite, the kids room with next door family bathroom as well as a laundry downstairs. Upstairs was a spacious open plan kitchen, lounge and dining area as well as a half bathroom. Yes more bathrooms than we have at home
In a nutshell, here are the things we loved about the Hakuba Phoenix Chalets
- Underfloor heating because it’s really cold outside
- Laundry with washer and dryer and even detergent (so we didn’t have to go looking for it) Almost a week here and we left fresh as a daisy
- An oven in the kitchen. We spent a month in Japan and this was the only time we saw one. We could easily cook chicken, potatoes etc, just like at home here
- The most comfortable beds (Japanese beds are notoriously hard)
- So much space to relax. We weren’t living all on top of each other
- We just felt so at home, it wasn’t a hotel.
- We had access to the Japanese onsen for free at the Happo Hotel. (a really cool experience, one I highly recommend)
Bar the actual accommodation, the thing we loved most was the excellent service. One thing that set this Hakuba accommodation apart was its Whatsapp concierge. I could just message the front desk to ask a question, arrange a ski shuttle or get restaurant recommendations. There was nothing they couldn’t help with and even sent someone over to help us work the Apple TV at 9pm.
It felt like nothing was a bother which just made the most relaxing break.
** We were hosted by the Hakuba Hotel Group but our opinions are our own. We honestly think you’d have such a great time here skiing in Japan with family
Check out the dates and prices at the Phoenix Chalets Hakuba here
Best Place to ski in Japan as a family: The Hakuba Ski Resorts
So you want to know a little about where to ski and how its going to work? Well first things first, let’s get you some gear
Hiring Ski Gear in Japan: Rhythm Japan
The Phoenix Hotel recommended Rhythm Japan to hire ski gear from. They dropped us off and the team at Rhythm sorted us out with skis, boots and helmets. The team there were super efficient, like a pit crew and we were sorted in no time.
From home you will ideally want to bring
- Ski pants and jacket (you can hire those though if you wish)
- Gloves
- Goggles (I forgot ours so everyone got a new pair for Christmas)
- Buff/Face mask
As at 2024, gear hire prices looked a bit like this
- Boots, poles and skis/boards: 5500 yen for standard gear, or 7500yen for premium gear for adults and 4000yen for standard and 5000 for premium gear for kids per day
- Helmets for 2000yen per day
- The price per day decreased the longer you hired.
We hired gear in the afternoon and our rate started from the next day. Rhythm also had shuttles to drop us (and our gear) back at our hotel
Should you bring your own gear or hire it?
This will depend on how long you plan to ski and how long you will stay in Japan. We have our own gear at home in New Zealand but because we were only staying for 5 nights in Hakuba and had a whole month in Japan, we figured the pain of carrying the gear everywhere, plus extra luggage on the plane, made it worth it just to hire it.
If we were heading to Japan where the main aim was to ski only (or only another stop or 2) and we were going to spend maybe a week or two skiing, I would probably bring my own gear. Then I would make sure at least one way was directly to the airport to avoid lugging our gear everywhere. Ski gear is a lot to manage along with actual luggage with young kids.
I also think anything is doable if you want to make it happen, but that’s my two cents.
Ski Lessons at Hakuba
We didn’t try out any ski lessons in Japan as the kids ski at home in New Zealand, however these are available at the ski resorts in Hakuba. Many of the ski schools such as Evergreen International Ski School who operate out of Happo One and Tsugaike operate in English and the same with Hakuba Snow Sports at Goryu Resort.
In general, kids group lessons for skiing are available from 5 years old and for snowboarding, from 7 years old. Under 5 lessons may be possible with a private lesson.
Many of the ski instructors are from around the world and it’s not unusual to be taught by a New Zealand or Australian instructor.
Where to ski in Japan: Hakuba Ski Resorts Japan
Family skiing in Japan couldn’t be easier than at Hakuba as you have a range of resorts to choose from and you are never far from your accommodation.
In fact, if you have young kids, you could take them home for lunch or a nap and not lose out on the day.
There were only a few resorts open on day 1 of the ski season and we took the chance to visit two of them: Hakuba Goryu Ski Resort and Happo-one Ski resort
Hakuba Happo One Ski Resort Japan
Hakuba Happo-one ski resort is one of the 10 biggest ski resorts in Japan at 220 hectares, and in layman’s terms that means there’s a ton of skiing to be done. We skied here and it was a little too early in the season to experience all it had to offer, but the runs that were open had great powder and it was enough to whet our appetite for more.
We based ourselves at the Kurobishi Quad which had access to a wide intermediate run. It had a good spot to watch the boys go down the expert runs through the trees and we ate at the Kurobishi Bears Cafe (with tons of huge stuffed bears – only in Japan right?)
There were no beginners runs open when we were there, so can’t comment on those unfortunately. But from what we saw from the gondola, it honestly looks like some of the best family skiing in Japan for beginners (I just loved how long the runs were)
It has 22 lifts including a gondola to mid mountain and about 16 official runs.
For those with young kids or complete beginners, the Nakiyama Snowland area at Happo-one has a magic carpet and play area that is ideal for little ones. It wasn’t open when we were there as there wasn’t quite enough snow so double check the estimated opening times if this is something you’d like to do.
Tips
- Hakuba Happo One Ski Resort has great deals for early season. It was NZS15 for my 8 and 10 year old to ski for a day and $45NZD for an adult in the early season. Under 6s are free
Hakuba Goryu Ski Resort Japan
When the weather turned super windy, Hakuba Goryu was the only ski resort in the Hakuba Valley that was open so we were stoked to just get on the mountain. And while we needed a neck gaiter to shield our face from the bitter cold especially in the morning, we had a great day on the mountain.
What we were surprised at though, was how many chairlifts were just pairs. A huge resort with only little double lifts which did mean that the lines were quite long. This problem may have fixed itself though when the whole mountain is open in peak season as I imagine everyone is spread out across the whole resort.
Another thing that surprised me was they didn’t push two people onto each lift. If you were a single, then you could just sit by yourself. Even if the next person was a single, they would also sit by themselves. For a place that is super efficient at everything, this completely surprised me. Also a little frustrating as the line could have been cut by about ⅓ with all the free seats heading up, but that was my only gripe.
We loved having some longer runs skiing between the trees which isn’t even possible in New Zealand, a real novelty for us. We also liked how there was real food on offer at the ski resorts, compared to the majority of fried food offerings here in NZ. Full curry and rice meal sets for about $15 was pretty reasonable I thought.
Tips
- Buy your ski pass online prior to arriving to save about $10 per person
Comparison of Ski Resorts in Hakuba: Family Friendly Ski Resorts Japan
If you’re wondering where to ski in Japan for beginners at Hakuba, have a look below, but I also realise that some ski families ski advanced trails too, so here is a brief comparison of all the Hakuba Ski fields to narrow down your choices.
- Happo One Ski Resort: Great all mountain resort for everyone and the best for advanced skiers. 2nd biggest ski resort in Japan, 52km of trails. Also on the Nakiyama side of Happo, you can stay at the best ski in ski out hotel, the Marillen Hotel (also by the Hakuba Hotel Group) where we had the best German dinner (so good!)
- Happo Goryu Resort: Another great all mountain resort for all levels
- Hakuba 47 Ski Resort: Very popular with boards, has a great snowpark and half pipe
- Tsugaike Ski Resort: Popular with families as there are lots of beginners slopes as well as some intermediates
- Iwatake Ski Resort: Mostly intermediate slopes. 4th biggest ski resorts in Japan: 50km of trails
- Cortina Ski Resort: Tons of powder, known for long runs through the trees, good beginners slope at the bottom
- Sanosaka: Small resort with lakes views, ideal for intermediates
- Norikura: Good powder alternative to Cortina and is less busy
- Kashimayari: Least busy resort, medium sized
Crazy to think there are so many ski fields in the area, making Hakuba one of the best snow resorts in Japan.
Cost of Family Skiing: Japan
You may be wondering “is skiing in Japan expensive?” The answer will probably depend on where you usually ski. In New Zealand a day pass can be around $150 for a commercial field, compared to here in Hakuba where it was about $80.
Ski hire was comparable to New Zealand so if you were hiring for a lengthy amount of time, it may be worth bringing your gear from home.
Ski Resort restaurants are always at inflated prices around the world however I found the quality of food at Hakuba was much more preferably to the fried or fast food style options available in New Zealand.
So for us from New Zealand, it was cheaper skiing in Japan and we were pleasantly surprised.
I know a lot of families look at skiing in Japan packages and although these can be very easy, it’s sometimes cheaper to separate out your costs like accommodation and ski passes and this gives you some flexibility too. It’s worth doing the maths on these.
Where to eat in Hakuba
We loved having self catering accommodation in Hakuba which meant we could cook some familiar foods and just chill at home on some nights, but we did try out three different restaurants in the Hakuba Valley and here’s our little review
Bernds Keller Restaurant Hakuba: This German themed restaurant is after large hearty meals. Seriously you won’t leave hungry from this spot. We loved the cheese fondue, which even our french neighbours said was excellent (and they would know right?) The pork schnitzel is perhaps some of the juiciest that I’ve ever eaten and the kids meals were all well sized. Prices are similar to what you’d pay in New Zealand for meals out. 10/10 all around for us.
Blizzard Hakuba: Blizzard offers wood fired pizzas and pastas and is your local italian joint. The pesto pasta was really tasty and the pizzas were pretty good. A solid 7/10 from us
The Rabbit Hole: Your classic Australian pub right here in Hakuba. If you’re craving a burger and fries, this is the place to be. You’ll find native english speakers taking your order and its a top spot to head for a bit of nightlife (well thats what the staff tell us, we were at home with the kids of course)
Self Catering: There are a number of corner stores and supermarkets in Hakuba. We used Acoop Hakuba which was a decent sized supermarket like home. We could get all the essentials such as bread, milk, even porridge oats and a small range of cereal. Pork and chicken were much cheaper than beef and there was a big range of fruits and veges.
If you’re looking for a great family ski holiday, Japan won’t let you down. For us, Hakuba was the best place to ski in Japan with a family as it was pretty close to Tokyo, had such a great range of fields, was easy to get around and of course, the powder was epic! I know we will have more Japan ski holidays in our future.
If you have questions about what we consider the best skiing resorts in Japan for families, DM us over on Instagram and we are happy to help.
Jennifer
Founder of Backyard Travel Family
Jen is a super organiser when it comes to travel. Having travelled extensively in Europe and Africa, has lived in London and the USA and holidayed in many parts of Asia, she is not a newbie to the travel space
Jen has three young children, 10 and under and travels around New Zealand with them.
