Hakuba is one of Japan’s best-known ski areas, and it is made up of several resorts rather than one. This guide explains how the Hakuba Valley area is laid out, how to get there from the big cities, how the all-mountain lift ticket works, how to compare two hotels using their own official information, and how Nagano’s accommodation tax works.

Step 1: Understand Hakuba Valley

According to the official Hakuba Valley website, Hakuba Valley is the name for the Hakuba area, which covers Omachi City, Hakuba Village and Otari Village. It has 10 ski resorts, and the site calls it Japan’s largest international mountain resort area. The area hosted events at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. The 10 resorts are Jiigatake, Kashimayari Family Park, White Resort Hakuba Sanosaka, Able Hakuba Goryu, Hakuba47 Mountain Resort, Hakuba Happo-one, Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field, Tsugaike Mountain Resort, Hakuba Norikura Onsen and Hakuba Cortina.

Step 2: Plan how to get there

Hakuba Valley lists the fastest travel times from major cities: about 2 hours 50 minutes from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen and express bus, about 4 hours 50 minutes from Osaka, about 3 hours 30 minutes from Nagoya and about 2 hours 40 minutes from Kanazawa. These are the fastest times, so allow extra time for transfers and winter weather. The resorts are connected by shuttle buses, so you can stay near one resort and visit others.

Step 3: Understand the lift tickets

The Hakuba Valley all-mountain lift ticket covers all 10 resorts on one pass. For the 2026-27 season, the official price list shows a one-day adult ticket at 11,100 yen (about $70) and a one-day child ticket at 6,400 yen (about $41). A five-day adult ticket is 53,400 yen (about $338), and a 10-day adult ticket is 106,100 yen (about $672). Adults are junior high school age (13) and older. Prices include tax.

A few rules from the official page are worth knowing. On the days you use the ticket, you can ride the free shuttle buses between all the resorts. The ticket is not valid for night skiing or the night shuttle bus. The ticket’s days start counting at your first lift ride or your first Hakuba Valley shuttle bus ride, and riding only the shuttle bus still counts as one day. You can buy online and pick up the ticket with a QR code at a ticket counter or kiosk.

If you hold an Epic Pass, Hakuba Valley says you can collect a free five-day Hakuba Valley ticket once during the 2026-27 season. It covers all 10 resorts, is for the pass holder only, and you may be asked for photo ID. Check the Hakuba Valley Epic Pass page for the list of eligible passes.

Step 4: Compare two hotels

Hakuba has many places to stay, and the two below are in different parts of the valley. All facts are from each hotel’s own website, and rates are not listed here. Check current availability on the booking page.

THE ALPS HOTEL HAKUBA. This hotel is in Otari Village, at the Hakuba Norikura Onsen ski resort, and its website describes ski-in and ski-out access. The website says the hotel will hold its grand opening on December 15, 2026, after large-scale renovation work that is due to finish by the end of November, and that it is already taking reservations for stays after the reopening. Facilities listed include guest rooms for 1 to 7 guests, an onsen with men’s and women’s baths, an open-air bath and a sauna, a spa with a jacuzzi and steam room, an outdoor heated pool, ski and snowboard rental, and a ski school. The hotel lists a restaurant, THE ALPINE TABLE, and a cafe-bar, THE RIDGE HAKUNORI. It says a shuttle runs between Nagano Station or Hakuba Happo Bus Terminal and the hotel, with advance reservations required, and gives about 2 hours 30 minutes from Tokyo.

HOTEL HAKUBA. This hotel is in Hokujo in Hakuba Village. Its website says it is in the center of Hakuba, with shuttle buses in winter and summer to the Happo, Iwatake and Tsugaike gondolas, and the Hakuba Jump Stadium is within walking distance. The hotel lists a public bath and an open-air bath fed by Himekawa Onsen, with sodium chloride springs. Guest rooms include a 27 square meter twin room, a 60 square meter deluxe twin room that was fully renovated in the summer of 2023, and a family room of 54 to 60 square meters for up to six people. The website says every room has a view of the Northern Alps and a mini kitchen. The restaurant offers a buffet of seasonal Shinshu ingredients.

Step 5: Check the cancellation terms

Before you pay, read each hotel’s cancellation terms on its booking page, and check how your lift tickets and shuttle plans fit your dates. Because THE ALPS HOTEL HAKUBA is newly reopening, also check the current opening date before you book flights.

Step 6: Understand the accommodation tax

Nagano Prefecture introduced an accommodation tax on June 1, 2026. According to the prefecture’s official page, the tax is 200 yen (about $1.30) per person per night for the first three years, until May 31, 2029, and 300 yen (about $1.90) after that. It is not charged when the room-only rate, before tax, is under 6,000 yen. The prefecture also says that some municipalities, including Hakuba Village, charge their own accommodation tax, so the amount can be different.

Hakuba Village’s official page lists its own table for stays in the village, which includes the prefectural tax: 200 yen (about $1.30) for a room-only rate of 6,000 yen to under 20,000 yen per person per night, 400 yen (about $2.50) for 20,000 to under 50,000 yen, 900 yen (about $5.70) for 50,000 to under 100,000 yen, and 1,900 yen (about $12) for 100,000 yen or more. HOTEL HAKUBA is in Hakuba Village, so this table applies there. THE ALPS HOTEL HAKUBA is in Otari Village, and the Otari Village website directs visitors to the prefectural accommodation tax page. Check the tax with your hotel when you book.

Where to book

You can compare hotels in Hakuba on Trip.com. The two buttons below go to each hotel’s page. Check the cancellation terms before you pay.

Dollar amounts in this guide are approximate, at about 158 yen to the dollar on November 1, 2026. Exchange rates change, so check the current rate.

Sources: Hakuba Valley official website (access, lift ticket and Epic Pass pages, in Japanese); Nagano Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture Accommodation Tax (updated July 21, 2026, in Japanese); Hakuba Village, accommodation tax guide (in Japanese); Otari Village, Nagano Prefecture accommodation tax (in Japanese); THE ALPS HOTEL HAKUBA official website; HOTEL HAKUBA official website. Photos: SnapShot Academy, Shashank Brahmavar (Pexels).

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