Hakuba

Hakuba Hana Hotel a great place to stay

Hakuba was a pleasant surpise. Better terrain and more interesting, larger village than Niseko which we travelled to two years earlier.

Hana Hotel is aussie owned, beautifully renovated and the customer service was exceptional. The owners and staff readily drove us around for supermarket shopping etc, good cooked breakfasts provided each morning.

One recommendation for them would be to provide hair dryers in rooms. Be prepared to walk 200m+ to the ski slopes but most places in Japan are the same.

No onsen but one conveniently located in the hotel across the road.

Lots of restaurants within walking distance.

Sushi and Skiing the White Horse

Hakuba, or ''White Horse'' in Japanese, is the epitome of Japanese skiing.

Seven powdery ski resorts line the Hakuba Valley, with the monster Happo One rearing above the rest. Long runs, mogal bowls, excellent freestyle parks and spectacular views typify this ski area, making Hakuba Nagano the obvious choice for the 1998 winter olympics.

Not only is the piste experience world class, fine Japanese cuisine and hot springs await after a big day on the hill. With a charming rural train connecting each of the resorts, fresh tracks are almost guaranteed at the White Horse.

Fabulous Japan

Having skied in the North island of Japan at Furano and Rusutsu, too extremely different types of Japanese ski resorts, we were looking for a balance between a Japanese cultural experience and great skiing, restaurants and easy communication and we found it Hakuba. There is a fabulous variety of runs with three different mountains on the one ski ticket. We found great ungroomed powder runs, great terrain parks for the teenagers and plenty of variety to suit skiers of all levels.The hot springs at the hotel were an evening ritual, great for soothing the tired limbs and exchanging stories and restaurant reviews. There were plenty of restaurant and bars within easy walking distance and the temperatures were significantly warmer than we experienced in north. The hotel staff (at the Mominoki Hotel) were extremely helpful in booking restraints and trips to the snow monkeys and the next door ski hire shop had everything we needed and great backcountry trips. We took teenagers do didn''t need the ski school but it was almost directly over the road from the hotel and there was a bus each morning from outside the ski shop. Hakuba has a great mix of Japanese and western restaurants and fabulous sushi bars. Visit before it gets taken over by Australians.