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. Hakuba area by public transport Getting to resorts from the station Hakuba Valley Shuttle Bus Hakuba area map Getting from Hakuba to nearby snow regions Joshinetsu region map Additional Hakuba resources on SnowJapan Hakuba by car Go to our guide for getting to the Hakuba area by car

What is Hakuba?

Getting to the Hakuba area by train

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).

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.

This journey is around 185km and usually takes around three hours.

Hokuriku Shinkansen Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagano Station and beyond >> Full Hokuriku Shinkansen details >> Diagram showing regional train line connections

Oito-sen Oito-sen from Matsumoto Station to Hakuba Station and beyond >> Full Oito-sen details >> Diagram showing regional train line connections

Getting to ski and snowboard resorts from stations in the valley

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

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.

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 >>