Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field is a ski area located in Hakuba Village in the northwestern region of Nagano Prefecture.
This ski area was previously officially known as just Hakuba Iwatake, and many people know it as just Iwatake.
Hakuba Iwatake has two main areas, the starting-point Village Side base area and the Mountain Side area which features Hikage Powder Zone, Iwatake Back Bowl and Five Side Powder Zone.
The two areas are connected by a gondola. A new gondola has been built beside the old one to open for the 2024-2025 season. Apparently, the new 10-person gondola takes 20% off journey time (6m/s speed) with a load capacity increase of 30%. One other boast of the new lift is a maximum distance of 431.68m between two support pillars (the 7th and 8th), which is a record-holder in Japan.
The ski area also features a 1652m quad lift and seven pair lifts (397m, 903m, 854m, 315m, 684m, 752m and 752m).
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1289
Vertical (m)
539
Bottom/base (m)
759
Beginner runs (%)
30
Intermediate runs (%)
50
Advanced runs (%)
20
Longest course (m)
3800
Steepest slope (°)
35
Number of courses
26
Ski lifts
9
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
1
Quad lift (4-person)
1
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
7
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Hakuba Iwatake usually plans to be open from mid-December until late March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening hours
Hakuba Iwatake is normally open from 8:00am until 5:00pm.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at this ski area.
Powder Zones
Hikage Powder Zone, Five Side Powder Zone and Iwatake Back Bowl are all in the Mountain Side of the ski area. There is also a snow shoe course (Nezuko-no-mura and cross country course at Iwatake.
Families & children
The Iwatake White Park is a 'snow outdoor area' located at an elevation of 1289m, suitable for people who do not ski or snowboard. There are a variety of attractions in several areas: Play Zone, Photogenic Relaxing Zone, Pet Zone and Snowshoe Area. There's a dog run too and snow shoe activities. You need to get the gondola up to this area and a ticket that includes entry, the gondola and use of the Number 5 lift is available (2,900 yen for adults, 1,600 yen children). There is a kids beginner run near the Village Side base.
Hakuba Mountain Harbour is a terrace area at 1,289m altitude with fine views of the surrounding mountains.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Hakuba Iwatake. There are also a number of independent ski and snowboard schools that cover the Hakuba area.
Family
Ski and snowboard equipment & wear rental is available.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day
Adult: 7,000 yen
Child: 3,700 yen
Senior: 6,000 yen
2 days
Adult: 12,200 yen
Child: 7,300 yen
Senior: 11,100 yen
Morning (until 1pm)
Adult: 6,500 yen
Child: 3,700 yen
Senior: 6,000 yen
Afternoon (from 12pm)
Adult: 6,500 yen
Child: 3,700 yen
Senior: 6,000 yen
Gondola return
Adult: 2,900 yen
Child: 1,600 yen
Various other packs and special 'Hakuba S-Class' VIP tickets are available.
Hakuba Valley lift tickets (2024-2025 season)
The below tickets are valid at all of the Hakuba Valley ski areas and can be used at multiple ski areas on the same day. Usage of the Hakuba Valley Shuttle Bus during the daytime is also included. The ticket is not valid for any night skiing or night time shuttle buses.
1 day ticket: 9,700 yen (5,600 yen child, 6-12 years) [valid on the day of use]
2 day ticket: 19,000 yen (10,900 yen child) [valid for 4 days from the first day of use]
3 day ticket: 28,200 yen (15,900 yen child) [valid for 6 days from the first day of use]
4 day ticket: 37,400 yen (20,900 yen child) [valid for 8 days from the first day of use]
5 day ticket: 46,600 yen (26,100 yen child) [valid for 10 days from the first day of use]
6 day ticket: 55,900 yen (31,300 yen child) [valid for 11 days from the first day of use]
7 day ticket: 65,100 yen (36,500 yen child) [valid for 12 days from the first day of use]
8 day ticket: 74,300 yen (41,600 yen child) [valid for 13 days from the first day of use]
9 day ticket: 83,500 yen (46,300 yen child) [valid for 14 days from the first day of use]
10 day ticket: 92,700 yen (51,400 yen child) [valid for 16 days from the first day of use]
The following 10 ski areas are included in the Hakuba Valley group:
ABLE Hakuba Goryu
Hakuba 47 Winter Sports Park
Hakuba Cortina
Hakuba Happo-one
Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field
Hakuba Norikura Onsen
Jigatake
Kashimayari Family Park
Tsugaike Mountain Resort
White Resort Hakuba Sanosaka
Historical snow depth data
The following ski season and official snow depth data have been independently compiled by SnowJapan for publication on this website. Where available, the data is updated annually after each ski season.
First and last dates of recent seasons
2025-2026 season: 19th December - 29th March (101 days)
2024-2025 season: 20th December - 30th March (101 days)
2023-2024 season: 22nd December - 24th March (94 days)
2022-2023 season: 16th December - 26th March (101 days)
2021-2022 season: 17th November - 27th March (101 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 260cm on 31st January - 3rd February
2024-2025 season: 385cm on 9th February
2023-2024 season: 210cm on 9th-11th and 13th March
2022-2023 season: 220cm on 11th-12th February
2021-2022 season: 270cm on 22nd-24th February
2020-2021 season: 220cm on 11th and 18th-20th February
2019-2020 season: 130cm on 11th-12th February
2018-2019 season: 200cm on 29th January - 19th February
2017-2018 season: 230cm on 29th January and 12th-21st February
2016-2017 season: 240cm on 10th-14th March
2015-2016 season: 180cm on 10th February
2014-2015 season: 305cm on 14th March
Resources
Daily weather & snow reporting on SnowJapan
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [links open in new window]
SnowJapan Directory: accommodation listings in the region
Hotel Hakuba Hifumi (about 3km)
Hotel Taigakukan (about 3.4km)
Alps View Chalet (about 3.7km)
Winterstorm Apartments Hakuba (about 4km)
Hakuba Tsugaike Espoir-Misawa (about 5.1km)
Hakuba Alps Hotel (about 7km)
Hakuba Royal Suites (about 8.6km)
SnowJapan Directory: travel services listing in the region
Introduction to the region
Nagano Prefecture is located in the Chubu region of the main island of Honshu. It is one of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, bordered by Niigata, Gunma, Saitama, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Toyama.
Nagano Prefecture is sometimes referred to as 'the roof of Japan' because of the steep, rugged terrain of the many 2,000-3,000m mountains that comprise the Japan Alps. The Northern Alps are located along the northwestern region bordering Gifu and Toyama. The Central Alps are in the southwestern region, and the Southern Alps are along the southeastern border.
After Hokkaido, Nagano Prefecture is home to the second-largest number of ski areas in Japan. It has multiple world-class winter sports resorts within its boundaries, and some were venues for the main events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. There are ski areas throughout the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, but the majority are in the northern and central regions.
Ten individual ski areas within Hakuba Village, and neighbouring Otari Village to the north and Omachi City to the south, are collectively promoted as 'Hakuba Valley'.
The region is in the northwest of the prefecture, about an hour west of central Nagano City. It has become one of Japan's most popular winter-sports destinations for overseas visitors, giving it an increasingly international feel. The spectacular mountainous surroundings and associated outdoor activities make it popular year-round.
About the information on this page
SnowJapan independently researches, checks and updates the information on this page at least once each year, in the lead-up to every ski season. We also update it whenever we become aware of other changes. The information published on SnowJapan is based on independent research using official Japanese-language sources and is not supplied by ski areas. If you are planning to visit a ski area, we recommend checking the official ski area website for the latest operational information. We take great care to keep the information on SnowJapan accurate and up to date. However, SnowJapan accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on information published on this website.
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