Hakuba Cortina, often known as just Cortina, is a ski area located in Otari Village in the northwestern region of Nagano Prefecture.
This ski area often receives some of the heaviest snowfall in the region and is popular for its 'self-responsibility' powder tree run areas outside the main specified courses. Its relatively compact bowl shape means most ski runs end up back at the base area.
Hakuba Cortina is connected with the Hakuba Norikura Onsen ski area. A shared lift ticket used to be available in addition to stand-alone tickets. Since the 2023-2024 season, all the main lift tickets are valid at both Hakuba Cortina and Hakuba Norikura Onsen. The joint area offers 15 ski lifts and 30 ski runs.
The origins of skiing at this location date back to the 1950s, when it was initially known as Ikenota Ski Area. Development involving ski lifts started in 1970, and the name was changed to Hakuba Cortina Kokusai. In the early 2010s, the 'Kokusai' (meaning international) was dropped, leaving us with the current name, Hakuba Cortina.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1402
Vertical (m)
530
Bottom/base (m)
872
Beginner runs (%)
40
Intermediate runs (%)
30
Advanced runs (%)
30
Longest course (m)
3500
Steepest slope (°)
42
Number of courses
16
Ski lifts
6
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
2
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
4
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Hakuba Cortina usually plans to be open from mid-December until late March or early April. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening hours
Hakuba Cortina is normally open from 8:30am until 4:30pm.
Night skiing
Night skiing is on Saturdays in January and February 2026 and also 27th December through 3rd January, 11th January and 22nd February 2026 (5:00pm until 9:00pm).
Powder areas
There are 'self-responsibility' ('powder snow' and 'tree run') areas outside of the official ski runs. These areas are entered entirely at ones own risk.
Families & children
There are two kids areas at Hakuba Cortina. The Kids Park Area is by the base hotel and open from 9:00am until 4:00pm. There is snow tubing, a sledding area and a 'playing in the snow' area. Some activities are charged. The Yuki Asobi Park or Snow Park Area is open on weekends and holidays only in the main season. Various activities on offer. There are also special lessons for young children.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Hakuba Cortina. There are also a number of independent ski and snowboard schools that cover the Hakuba area.
Rental
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: 6,200 yen
Child: 3,500 yen
Seniors: 6,200 yen
4 hours
Adult: 5,400 yen
Child: 3,000 yen
Seniors: 5.400 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 1,300 yen
Night skiing
Adult: 2,500 yen
The lift tickets are all valid at Hakuba Cortina and the connecting Hakuba Norikura Onsen ski areas.
Night skiing is on Saturdays in January and February 2026 and also 27th December through 3rd January, 11th January and 22nd February 2026.
Cheaper tickets are available until 19th December 2025 and from 16th March 2026.
Hakuba Valley lift tickets (2025-2026 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: 10,400 yen (6,000 yen child, 6-12 years) [valid on the day of use]
2 day ticket: 20,400 yen (11,700 yen child) [valid for 4 days from the first day of use]
3 day ticket: 30,200 yen (17,000 yen child) [valid for 6 days from the first day of use]
4 day ticket: 40,100 yen (22,400 yen child) [valid for 8 days from the first day of use]
5 day ticket: 50,000 yen (27,900 yen child) [valid for 10 days from the first day of use]
6 day ticket: 59,900 yen (33,600 yen child) [valid for 11 days from the first day of use]
7 day ticket: 69,800 yen (39,100 yen child) [valid for 12 days from the first day of use]
8 day ticket: 79,700 yen (44,600 yen child) [valid for 13 days from the first day of use]
9 day ticket: 89,500 yen (49,600 yen child) [valid for 14 days from the first day of use]
10 day ticket: 99,400 yen (55,100 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: 13th December - 30th March (108 days)
2024-2025 season: 14th December - 30th March (107 days)
2023-2024 season: 22nd December - 31st March (101 days)
2022-2023 season: 17th December - 29th March (103 days)
2021-2022 season: 18th November - 3rd April (107 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 345cm on 3rd February
2024-2025 season: 480cm on 11th and 19th-20th February
2023-2024 season: 300cm on 10th March
2022-2023 season: 300cm on 22nd February
2021-2022 season: 450cm on 22nd-23rd February
2020-2021 season: 330cm on 19th-20th February
2019-2020 season: 230cm on 11th February
2018-2019 season: 310cm on 29th-30th January and 17th-18th February
2017-2018 season: 380cm on 18th-19th and 22nd February
2016-2017 season: 380cm on 22nd February and 11th-12th March
2015-2016 season: 265cm on 11th February
2014-2015 season: 530cm on 21st February
Resources
Daily weather & snow reporting on SnowJapan
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [links open in new window]
SnowJapan Directory: accommodation listings in the region
Hakuba Alps Hotel (about 3.1km)
Hakuba Tsugaike Espoir-Misawa (about 5.3km)
Hotel Hakuba Hifumi (about 12.9km)
Hotel Taigakukan (about 13.3km)
Alps View Chalet (about 13.6km)
Winterstorm Apartments Hakuba (about 13.8km)
Hakuba Royal Suites (about 18.7km)
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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