The Best Hotels In Hakuba Japan For Every Traveller

Revel in Japan’s legendary powder by skiing – and sleeping – in the shadow of Olympians. A string of ski resorts are scattered over the peaks of the Hakuba Valley, host of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. An annual snowfall that tops 11 meters grants plenty of chances for a powder day, but the region also snags more sunshine than other Japanese ski resorts. Whether you’re looking for a traditional stay with a hot spring or western-style lodgings, book one of our top recommendations below.

1. Hakuba Landmark Iwatake Lodge

Lodge

This lodge is only a five-minute walk to the Hakuba Iwatake gondola, and closer still to chairlifts. Eight of its ten rooms are Western style, simply appointed with room for gear and ensuite bathroom, while a few echo traditional Japanese style, with tatami mats. All rooms look out on the surrounding mountains and snow-draped trees. Wake up to an American-style breakfast – French toast, omelettes, fried eggs – included.

2. Hakuba Tokyu Hotel

Hotel

With provided nightwear and slippers, as well as a Japanese green tea set in every renovated room, guests can comfortably taste a local tradition in the rooms at the Hakuba Tokyu Hotel. For quirky fun, book the Pique-Nique room, with forest wallpaper and beds tucked into playhouse structures. After dark you can search out the constellations traced onto the ceiling. Stock up on souvenirs and ski gear at the hotel’s shop, or rent skis on site.

3. Sierra Resort Hotel Hakuba

Hotel

Twenty-five acres of North Japanese Alpine forest envelop the Sierra Resort and more than 200 liters of pale green mineral water run through Mizubashou Onsen per minute, making it the area’s largest hot spring, built more than a century ago. Upscale rooms invite the woods indoors, with accent walls and stone chimneys. Indulge in Kobe beef, a hot pot noodle bowl or sashimi at the resort’s restaurant.

5. Hotel La Neige Higashi Kan

Hotel

La Neige was designed with the vision of becoming a hotel surrounded by acres of forest: some of the trees were already more than 100 years old when the hotel opened in 1983. Frank Lloyd Wright inspirations blend with Japanese influences and British style notes – think European marble floors and stone fireplaces in some of the rooms. As intended, windows fill with a screen of trees and glimpses of Mount Norikura, best observed from the whirlpool baths.

6. Mominoki Hotel

Hotel

Japanese- and Western-style rooms drink in larch forest views at the Mominoki, and the open-air onsen draws water from the second most alkaline spring in Japan, which is said to rid the body of toxins. The hotel boasts its own helipad, and eating options include a Japanese grill buffet and English pub.

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