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.