Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Hakuba Valley that rank the ski resort and mountain town on a scale of one to five stars for attributes such as terrain, nightlife and family friendliness. See how Hakuba Valley stacks up in the reviews, on and off the slopes, from skiing and family activities to the après scene. Read up on pros, cons and other comments in reviews left by fellow skiers and riders. Don't forget to submit your own Hakuba Valley review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.
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Jamie O'Brien
I visited Hakuba Valley in early March for some spring skiing. It was raining in Nagano, but still snowing in the mountains enough to do the tree runs. Hakuba is a vast area of partially interlinked resorts with easily the steepest terrain in Japan. On and off-piste there are runs steep enough to satisfy those who find the rest of Japan’s resorts a little bit mellow. It’s not the most culturally Japanese destination, but there’s still a good mix of western and Japanese owned businesses. Hakuba has a European feel to it in that the resort villages are dotted along an actual valley and the terrain kind of gets more progressive as you go from the bottom of the valley to the top. It’s very spread out, and you need to drive or take the bus to travel across the whole valley, but you can get the lifts between Hakuba 47 and Hakuba Goryu or Cortina and Norikura. I rented an RV so I stayed at a campsite in Happo and drove to each resort. Parking was easy, but I think it might be tricky in high season. Norikura was fun with lots of self-responsibility tree runs off all the lifts, some being steep and short, but good for quick laps and it was deserted while I was there. Cortina was a definite highlight with beautifully steep black pisted runs with super steep tree zones in between. At least 40 degrees on piste and probably more in the trees. The whole resort is a giant bowl with 99% of it skiable. If you’re not having fun unless you’re a little bit scared, Cortina is the place to be. It was super busy at the base, but most people were sticking to the greens and milling about in front of the wonderfully weird gigantic mock-Swiss hotel. I also had a lot of fun on the unpisted runs at the top of Goryu.
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