Ski In Hakuba，near Tokyo
Saturday, February 7th, 2009
A client just came back from Japan, who had a quick ski trip to Hakuba, near Tokyo, her feedback is:<br>
Skiing in Hakuba was a ‘must return’ experience. The scenery was breathtaking, the skiing extensive (over 60 runs on the mountain all accessed with the one lift pass) and quiet (we went mid January and mid week, sometime we were the only people on a run, and NEVER a queue for the chair lifts), the accommodation (HAKUBA HOTEL OUGIYA) a genuine Japanese experience and the food amazing. When we were planning the trip we wanted something close to Tokyo as we only had a few days to squeeze in some skiing and didn’t want to waste time travelling, and we couldn’t decide between Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen. I had read a lot about Nozawa but from going to Hakuba and hearing the reports of other skiers and snow boarders who had been to both, everyone said the skiing at Hakuba was better and the village is actually smaller and still very sweet. Hot tips – find the pizza place on the mountain for a slice of pepperoni pizza and a beer for lunch – you’ll go back every day. Find accommodation with an onsen (hot spring) – it makes the experience truly Japanese to have a soak at the start and end of each day. The little saki and grill bar (ask around) in the village is the best find for dinner.
Skiing in Hakuba was a ‘must return’ experience. The scenery was breathtaking, the skiing extensive (over 60 runs on the mountain all accessed with the one lift pass) and quiet (we went mid January and mid week, sometime we were the only people on a run, and NEVER a queue for the chair lifts), the accommodation (HAKUBA HOTEL OUGIYA) a genuine Japanese experience and the food amazing. When we were planning the trip we wanted something close to Tokyo as we only had a few days to squeeze in some skiing and didn’t want to waste time travelling, and we couldn’t decide between Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen. I had read a lot about Nozawa but from going to Hakuba and hearing the reports of other skiers and snow boarders who had been to both, everyone said the skiing at Hakuba was better and the village is actually smaller and still very sweet. Hot tips – find the pizza place on the mountain for a slice of pepperoni pizza and a beer for lunch – you’ll go back every day. Find accommodation with an onsen (hot spring) – it makes the experience truly Japanese to have a soak at the start and end of each day. The little saki and grill bar (ask around) in the village is the best find for dinner.
Kate Nixon
