Hakuba by public transport
|
Hakuba is a village about 43km to the west of Nagano City. The backdrop of North Alps mountains make for a truly spectacular settting.
Hakuba was host to some of the major events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics including alpine skiing events at Happo-one resort, ski jump events at the Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium and cross country at the Snow Harp venue.
Along with the ski and snowboard resorts in neighbouring Otari Village and Omachi City, now known collectively as 'Hakuba Valley', it is one of the major ski and snowboard resort areas of Japan.
|
|
|

What is Hakuba?
|
Hakuba is the name of a village |
Hakuba Village |
白馬村 |
|
Hakuba Valley is the collective name of the group of resorts located in Hakuba village, Otari village and Omachi village and used for marketing the region |
Hakuba Valley |
ハクババレー |
|
Many of the ski resorts in Hakuba, Otari and Omachi include the word Hakuba in their name (but not all of them are geographically within Hakuba village) Note: There is no ski resort that is called just 'Hakuba' |
Hakuba 47 Hakuba Cortina Hakuba Goryu Hakuba Happo-one Hakuba Iwatake Hakuba Norikura Onsen Hakuba Sanosaka |
白馬47 白馬コルチナ 白馬五竜 白馬八方尾根 白馬岩竹 白馬乗鞍温泉 白馬さのさか |
Getting to Hakuba by bus (from Narita Airport)
There are bus services that operate from Narita Airport and other starting points going directly to Hakuba.
|
Getting to the Hakuba area by train
|
Shinkansen bullet train: |
|

|
|
Hokuriku Shinkansen |
北陸新幹線 |
|
Nagano Station |
長野駅 |
|
Local trains: |
|
|
Oito-sen |
大糸線 |
|
Hakuba Station |
白馬駅 |
|
Kamishiro Station |
神城駅 |
The local Oito-sen train line travels through the valley from Itoigawa City in Niigata Prefecture to Matsumoto City north to south. Most people coming from the Tokyo region will arrive via Nagano Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen ('bullet train') line was previously generally known as the Nagano Shinkansen. A new extended section of line connecting Nagano with Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture was opened in the spring 2015, when the Shinkansen line took on its intended title - the Hokuriku Shinkansen.
This Hokuriku Shinkansen now connects Tokyo Station directly with Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture, stopping at Nagano Station on the way. The journey from Tokyo Station to Nagano Station takes around 90 minutes, depending on which train you catch.
There is no direct train line from Nagano Station to Hakuba Station, so most people heading to Hakuba take a bus from Nagano Station, whether it be arranged by their accommodation or one of the available public buses. The Hakuba bus stop is Number 6 and found on the East Exit of Nagano Station.
The journey to central Hakuba village from Nagano Station by bus takes around 1 hour.
From Tokyo
This journey is around 185km and usually takes around three hours.
From Nagoya
The Shinano Limited Express train on the Chuo Honsen departs from Nagoya Station and heads for Matsumoto where you can change to the Oito-sen which heads north and stops at Hakuba Station and the other nearby local stations in the valley including the Kamishiro Station near the Hakuba Goryu resort. (Some services are direct, some services require change at Shinano Omachi Station).
From |
|
To |
Train line |
Nagoya Station |
> |
Matsumoto Station |
Chuo Honsen |
Matsumoto Station |
> |
Hakuba Station |
Oito-sen |
This journey is around 185km and usually takes around three hours.
From Osaka and Kyoto
Take the Sanyo Shinkansen to Nagoya and then transfer to the Chuo Honsen, as above.
From |
|
To |
Train line |
Osaka Station |
> |
Nagoya Station |
Sanyo Shinkansen |
Nagoya Station |
> |
Matsumoto Station |
Chuo Honsen |
Matsumoto Station |
> |
Hakuba Station |
Oito-sen |
This journey is around 185km and usually takes around three hours.
Station name |
|
Prefecture |
Distance from Tokyo Station |
Distance from Nagano to Tokyo or Kanazawa |
Tokyo |
東京駅 |
Tokyo |
>>> |
222.4km |
Nagano |
長野駅 |
Nagano |
222.4km |
>>> |
Kanazawa |
金沢駅 |
Ishikawa |
450.5km |
228.1km |
Station name |
|
Prefecture |
Distance from Matsumoto |
Matsumoto |
松本駅 |
Nagano |
>>> |
Kamishiro |
神城駅 |
Nagano |
55.2km |
Hakuba |
白馬駅 |
Nagano |
59.7km |
Itoigawa |
糸魚川駅 |
Niigata |
105.4km |

Getting to ski and snowboard resorts from stations in the valley
Resort name |
Distance from Hakuba Station |
From the nearest local station |
Shuttle bus information |
Hakuba Happo-one 白馬八方尾根 |
about 2.5m |
- |
Resort specific bus information will be added here before the season begins |
Hakuba Iwatake 白馬岩竹スノーフィールド |
about 3.8km |
about 2km Shinano Moriue Station |
Hakuba 47 Winter Sports Park HAKUBA 47 ウインタースポーツパーク |
about 5.5km |
about 5.5km Kamishiro Station |
Hakuba Goryu 白馬五竜 |
about 6.2km |
about 1.5km Kamishiro Station |
Tsugaike Kogen 栂池高原 |
about 8km |
about 3.5km Hakuba Oike Station |
Hakuba Sanosaka 白馬さのさか |
about 8km |
about 1km Minami Kamishiro Station |
Kashimayari 鹿島槍 |
about 14km |
about 700m Yanaba Station |
Hakuba Norikura Onsen 白馬乗鞍温泉 |
about 10km |
about 5km Chikuni Station |
Hakuba Cortina 白馬コルチナ |
about 13.5km |
about 6km Chikuni Station |
Jigatake 爺ガ岳 |
about 26.5km |
about 8km Kita Omachi Station |
Hakuba Valley Shuttle Bus information
The Hakuba Valley Shuttle Bus connects all of the resorts in the Hakuba Valley group. This shuttle bus service is free of charge except for the Konayuki line bound for Hakuba Cortina which costs 500 yen. There are four different lines (routes) covering the area.
This information will be updated before the start of the upcoming season
Route name |
Area covered |
Stops |
Alpen Resort Line Free |
Hakuba Goryu Escal Plaza <<>> Tsugaike Kogen
|
Hakuba Goryu Escal Plaza Hakuba no mori Goryu Bus Stop Hakuba Happo-one (Nakiyama) Hakuba Happo-one Bus Terminal Hakuba Iwatake resort Sierra Resort Hakuba Jizomae Ochikura Tsugaike Kogen resort |
Sanosaka Escal Plaza Iimori 47 Line Free |
Hakuba Sanosala <<>> Hakuba Happo-one Bus Terminal
|
Hakuba Sanosaka resort Hakuba Goryu Escal Plaza Hakuba Goryu Iimori Hakuba 47 Hakuba Happo-one Bus Terminal |
Omachi Line Free! |
Hakuba Happo-one Bus Terminal <<>> Jigatake resort
|
Jigatake resort Kurobeji Kashimayari resort Goryu Bus Stop Echoland Gymnasium Hakuba Happo-one Bus Terminal |
Konayuki Line 500 yen adult 250 yen child |
Hakuba Station <<>> Hakuba Cortina resort
|
Hakuba Station Hakuba Happo-one Bus Terminal Tsugaike Kogen resort Hakuba Norikura resort Satomi Hakuba Cortina resort |

See also:
>> This map alongside googlemaps >> Hokuriku Shinkansen >> Oito-sen train line >> Nagano Expressway >> Joshinetsu Expressway >> Hokuriku Expressway >> Chuo Expressway >> On the above map click on the resort names and train line for more details

Getting from Hakuba to nearby snow resort regions
Important: The times shown below are simple guidelines to indicate the train journey times between the stations mentioned and may vary depending on the trains and connections used. The lower number indicates travel time, the higher number indicates a sample journey including connecting times. Times from stations to ski resort areas are not included. Please check for specifics.
|
|
|
Hakuba to central Nagano City (Nagano) |
110-150 minutes
|
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba Station to Itoigawa Station Hokuriku Shinkansen from Itoigawa Station to Nagano Station Taking a bus is much quicker! |
Hakuba to central Matsumoto City (Nagano) |
65-100 minutes |
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba Station to Matsumoto Station.
|
Hakuba to Sugadaira (Nagano) |
120-160 minutes |
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba to Itoigawa Station Hokuriku Shinkansen from Itoigawa Station to Ueda Station. Sugadaira is about 25km from Ueda Station. >> SnowJapan Sugadaira Travel Guide - By train : By car |
Hakuba to Madarao (Nagano) |
100-150 minutes |
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba Station to Itoigawa Station Hokuriku Shinkansen from Itoigawa Station to Iiyama Station. Madarao Kogen is about 11km from Iiyama Station. >> SnowJapan Madarao Travel Guide - By train : By car |
Hakuba to Shiga Kogen (Nagano) |
from just under 3 hours |
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba Station to Itoigawa Station Hokuriku Shinkansen from Itoigawa Station to Nagano Station. Nagano-sen (Nagaden) from Nagano Station to Yudanaka Station. The nearest area of Shiga Kogen (Sun Valley) is about 13km from Yudanaka Station. >> SnowJapan Shiga Kogen Travel Guide - By train : By car |
Hakuba to Myoko (Niigata) |
120-180 minutes |
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba Station to Itoigawa Station Hokuriku Shinkansen from Itoigawa Station to Joetsu Myoko Station Myoko Haneuma Line from Joetsu Myoko Station to Myoko Kogen Station >> SnowJapan Myoko Travel Guide - By train : By car |
Hakuba to Nozawa Onsen (Nagano) |
100-150 minutes |
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba Station to Itoigawa Station Hokuriku Shinkansen from Itoigawa Station to Iiyama Station Nozawa Onsen is about 13.5km from Iiyama Station (and about 7km from the local Togari Nozawa Onsen Station on the Iiyama-sen) >> SnowJapan Nozawa Onsen Travel Guide - By train : By car |
Hakuba to Yuzawa (Niigata) |
over 3 hours |
By train: Oito-sen from Hakuba Station to Itoigawa Station Hokuriku Shinkansen from Itoigawa Station to Takasaki Station Joetsu Shinkansen from Takasaki Station to Echigo Yuzawa Station >> SnowJapan Yuzawa Travel Guide - By train : By car |

See also:
>> Regional expressways connection map >> Regional train lines connection map >> On the above map click on the resort names, train lines and expressway names for more details

Additional Hakuba resources on SnowJapan
For detailed information on how to get to Hakuba by car, please go to this section.
SnowJapan Travel index >>
|