Nagano to Hakuba

How To Get There

Where is Hakuba?

The town of Hakuba is located 44km west of Nagano (about one hour drive) in the Nagano Prefecture. Hakuba is located on the island of Honshu (the main island of Japan), about 270km northwest of Tokyo. “Hakuba Valley” is the large area that encompasses the 11 ski resorts and various villages, but most people just refer to the area as “Hakuba”. The Happo village is the main tourist hub, which extends 1.5 - 2.6km west of the town of Hakuba.

Hakuba Travel – Getting There

There are three main options for getting to Hakuba from Narita Airport to Hakuba:

1. Train/train/bus combo – this includes a train from Narita to Tokyo (or Ueno), then a bullet train (Shinkansen) to Nagano, and then a bus to Hakuba. This is the fastest route. From the Tokyo international airport the total trip takes about 3.5 to 4 hours depending upon connection timing. The other advantage of taking the trains is that it’s a great insight into a part of the Japanese culture.
2. Direct transfer – this involves getting a shuttle bus or shared taxi transfer directly from Narita Airport to Hakuba, which tends to cost a little more than the train/train/bus combo. The trip takes longer, about 5-6 hours, but it provides the advantage of not having to lug your bags around the train stations and on and off trains and buses. This is also the transport of choice if you arrive at the Narita airport in the evening (so you can avoid having to overnight in a Narita hotel or Nagano hotel). You can book this transfer with Nagano Snow Shuttle which departs Narita at 8pm (NB you can’t book the trip a long way in advance. If it states that it’s not possible to make a booking for that date, check back closer to your travel time) or it can be booked as part of a Hakuba ski package.
3. Train and shuttle – this involves 1-2 trains from Narita Airport to Shinjuku Station and then a shuttle bus to Hakuba – takes about 5 to 6 hours.

Nagano Snow Shuttle Nagano snow shuttle is the ideal way to get to and from Tokyo (Narita) airport to Hakuba, Shiga Kogen orNozawa Onsen. Buses leave after 3pm & are only filled to 75% so plenty of room for luggage.

OPTION 1 DETAILS If you want flexibility to do a Tokyo stopover or side trips to other parts of Honshu, it’s probably worthwhile purchasing a Japan Rail Pass, which is a 5 day pass (non-consecutive days) to be used within a 14 day period for bullet and local trains. See our Japan rail travel page for more information or you can get your Japan Rail Pass voucher here. 

The cost of purchasing the JR East Pass is generally similar to the fares for the NEX (train between airport and Tokyo) and the Nagano Shinkansen (train between Tokyo and Nagano).

The information below outlines each of the steps in the trip.

From Tokyo (Narita) Airport
From Tokyo international airport, take the train (Narita express) to Tokyo (Shinjuju) station which will take about 1 hour. These trains depart the airport rail terminal frequently.

Option 1B): If you don’t plan to purchase the Japan Rail Pass because you’re only going to Hakuba, the other option is to pay as you go and catch the Keiser Skyliner train that goes from Narita to Ueno (a station on the Nagano side of Tokyo) in a very speedy time of about 35 minutes!

International Rail - JR East International rail is a specialist rail travel company. Buy JR East Rail Passes online. Non-Japanese residents only. Must be purchased outside of Japan.

From Tokyo Station (or Ueno) to Nagano
The Tokyo train station is a tourist destination in itself, with the fascinating rush of people bustling about, the many food options to choose from, and the endless souvenir shops. Trains from Narita Airport arrive at underground platforms #1-4 so there’s quite an eye-opening hike up to the Shinkansen Bullet trains which leave from platforms #20-23. The Nagano bullet train (Asama Shinkansen) departs Tokyo Station regularly throughout the day (you can checktrain timetables here), and the super speedy trip (at over 200kph) takes only 90 minutes.

Option 1B): At Ueno you have to swap from the local train station to the Shinkansen train station, a walk of about 150 metres. This station isn’t quite as chaotic as Tokyo and offers the advantage of a faster trip time.

From Nagano Station to Hakuba
There are various options to get from Nagano to Hakuba which all take about one hour:

• a) Alpico buses from Nagano to Hakuba run every hour from 8:20am to 7:40pm (Friday night 9.00pm) and cost about ¥1,500 one way (children ¥700). Buses depart from the East (Higashi) exit of Nagano Station from bus stop 6. Most people use this option.
• b) You could get a taxi directly to your hotel for about ¥18,000, although you and the taxi driver might need to be creative in accommodating your ski/board bag.
• c) You can catch a local train to the Hakuba Station. 

From Hakuba Bus Terminal to your Accommodation
If you are coming to Hakuba via bus for part or all of the trip, your bus is likely to end up at the Happo Information Center. There is not much accommodation within walking distance of the bus terminal, so it’s likely you’ll need onward transport. The staff in the centre speak English so they’ll be able to help you with this.

Many of the Hakuba accommodation providers offer transport from the Happo Info Center if pre-arranged, or there are lots of taxis.

Getting Around the Hakuba Ski Resorts

Resorts close to Happo One include others in the Hakuba Valley such as: Hakuba 47 (2km away); Goryu (4km away), Hakuba Iwatake (3.5km away), Tsugaike Kogen (9km away) and Cortina (16km). To get between the different ski resorts, there are hotel-run shuttles and well as the free public bus system that operates along the valley. There are also buses around Happo, Wadano, and Echoland that connect the accommodation areas with the Happo One slopes.

The ski shuttle buses are pretty regular but for some routes (e.g. from Upper Wadano, or to Cortina, Kashimayari or Jiigatake) you may need to first change buses at the Happo Information Centre. You can get Hakuba bus timetables and route maps from the information centre or your accommodation.

Getting Around the Hakuba Villages in the Evening

It is possible to walk between Wadano, Happo and Hakuba town, but the walks can be fairly long. And this is probably not the place to wear your glamorous après boots because the roads can get rather sloppy!

The other option is a taxi, or from late afternoon there is a paid shuttle service called "Genki-Go" which runs around Happo, Wadano, Hakuba town, and the Echoland area. It only costs 300 yen per trip. The bus stops are numbered - at each stop there is a small route map and the timetable for that route. The Genki Go buses only tend to run in peak season (pre-Xmas to the end of February).

Getting Between Hakuba, Nozawa Onsen and Shiga KogenIf you’re sampling multiple Nagano ski resorts on your trip, there are shuttle buses between Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen, and Hakuba and Shiga Kogen withNagano Snow Shuttle.  The inter-resort transfers leave early in the morning and buses depart or arrive at Hakuba at Happo, Echoland and Goryu. You can check timetables and rates here. (NB often it’s not possible to book the transfer a long way in advance. If it states that it’s not possible to make a booking for that date, check back when the season is about to start).


Source: http://www.powderhounds.com/Japan/Honshu/Hakuba/Getting-There.aspx