Hakuba

Take advantage of the purpose built snow carpet and kids park at Sakka Plaza. There are wide gentle slopes at Sakka with two easy to ride pair lifts, to help you gain confidence and balance, before you tackle the rest of the mountain. Once you're up to it, take the Sakka quad or gondola up the mountain and make your way down the windy cat tracks – the longest up to 8,000 metres long!

Happo One is an intermediate skiers' heaven; 50% of the runs are suited to your ski level. Our best advice is to explore the area from the gondola and below, as well as heading over to skyline area for great snowy cat tracks. The heading down between the Riesen quad and the gondola is good fun, you can choose to head back to the bottom of the gondola or Nakiyama base, it's sure to get the thighs burning!

Try your hand at the 1998 Olympic downhill and super giant slalom runs, any of the steep and well-formed mogul runs, or hike up above and beyond the top lifts for some steep and deep back country skiing. Those interested in off-piste and back country tour should contact Evergreen Outdoor Activity Office. With years of experience and dedication to safety, they run outstanding back country day tours with knowledgeable guides, aimed at various levels.

Goryu has a good base area geared towards those starting out skiing or boarding. Head to Iimori or Goryu Escal Plaza base area for some gentle wide groomed slopes. Take some lessons with well reputed Hakuba Snow Sports to get your riding legs ready for exploring up higher on the mountain.

Head straight to the top of Goyru to your intermediate-slope playground at Alps Daira. You're sure to enjoy the connecting runs over to Hakuba 47 Ski Resort where you will find even more intermediate terrains. Through Iimori area, too, you will find a number of well suited slopes.

Goryu only offers a few black runs, but amongst them, the steepest slope face in the valley, Champion Expert Course. On a powder day head over to Adventure Course linking 47 and Goryu resorts and do laps of the gondola.

Jumping the bounds is strictly frowned upon, but you can hike up past the top of Goryu from Jizo no Atama to access exhilarating lines through deciduous trees and down steep faces following the rive around to the bottom of the gondola. Do not head out without shovel, beacon and probe, even better, hit up the expert team at Evergreen Outdoor Centre for a tour catered to your ability level.

Beginners will concentrate mid mountain at the top of the gondola, with a spacious area to work on your core ski and board skills. Once your feeling a little more stable through the legs, take the lifts up to the top where you can cross over to Goryu Resort.

Hakuba 47 is heaven for intermediate skiers and boarders, with a number of slopes to choose from, and the Big Snow Park if you're up to it. The pristine groomed piste offers great opportunity to work on your turns and downhill speed. Head up to the top and enjoy the connecting runs to Goryu Ski Resort.

The predominantly north facing slopes ensure great snow throughout the day, but there's only two black runs on offer at the resort, three is you count the one connecting Hakuba 47 to Iimori resort. Those a little more daring can hike up past the lifts to experience unreal back country. Make sure you and your team are each carrying a rescue beacon, shovel and probe. Best done under the expert guidance of a tour leader from Evergreen Outdoor Centre, you'll experience a hug area of bowls, cliffs and lines between deciduous trees.

Hakuba 47 is home to the biggest and best park in the Hakuba Valley, with a 100-metre half-pipe, rails and table-tops, and varying sizes of kickers. Two lifts service the park area to get you back up and around in no time.

Iwatake offers some great wide open beginner tracks. Practice a few runs down low on the first pair lift, before heading up the gondola to the summit. You will find beginner runs pointing in all four directions down from the summit. It's an easy intermediate run to ski to the base of the gondola.

Iwatake is perfect for the blooming intermediate skier or rider. With most runs graded as intermediate, you'll have a blast doing laps of the gondola, or skiing the runs spreading out from the summit.

There are a few fun runs the advanced skier will enjoy especially the left side of the resort. Iwatake after a big dump is really fun and doesn't attract the crowds like other close-by resorts, with powder pockets through the tree-lined runs remaining for days after. As Iwatake spread in all directions from the peak, there is no back country skiing.

Tsugaike has Hakuba Valley's best beginner slopes for those starting out, with a ginormous 350-metre wide treeless patch of open run. With such gentle slopes and few obstacles, your confidence will sky rockets, then you can tackle some of the further beginner runs accessed by gondola mid station, and finally hit up the cat track "course through the forest."

Great opportunities are available for intermediate skiers with plenty of fun runs mid to high mountain. Hop on the gondola Eve, and ride past the mid station all the way to the top. Take one further pair lift to the top of the ridge and make your way down a new run each time.

Tsugaike has something for everyone, and whilst there are only a couple of black runs, you'll love the  off piste area, the powder pockets, and the terrain park that opens up later in the season.

Back country up top of Tsugaike is possible, never head out without taking a shovel, probe and beacon. There is heli skiing available for the thrill seekers, but the heli providers take all riders to the same drop-off point, so fresh tracks may be hard to find.

The wide open beginner run served by quad lift provides the perfect learning ground for practicing your skills. Due to the distance between main Hakuba Village, and Cortina, hiring English-speaking instructors to come out lessons is very expensive, so make sure to pick up the basics at lessons at Happo, Goryu, Iimori, or Iwatake Resorts before attempting on your own at Cortina.

You'll find plenty of terrain geared to your level, after warming up on the main Ikenotaira beginner slope, head to the top by either of the pair lifts and wind back down, enjoying the picturesque scenery and the grandiose Green Plaza Hotel. Norikura side of the mountain will have plenty of slopes perfect for your level.

On a powder day, this is heaven as the bowl protects snow from weathering away, and offers unbeatable tree and off-piste runs with a self-responsibility approach.  You'll also find one of the steepest slopes in the valley, peaking at 42 degrees! On a busy day, taxis and buses over to the resort from main Hakuba Village completely fill up, so consider staying a night at the ski-in-ski-out hotel to get first tracks.

There are three gates for back country access, with runs that take you down the valley, but as always, don't head out without an understanding of avalanche theory, and back country safety kit. Even better, hire an expert tour guide from Evergreen Outdoor.

Take your pick of gentle wide rollers to help boost your confidence and balance level, a fair surface area especially when paired with neighbouring Cortina.

There's a huge range of terrain suitable for the intermediate skier, and with sparse crowds even over the weekend, you'll have no hesitation zooming down the runs carving a new line each time.

The side country area at the top of Norikura is based on skiing at your own risk, but offers fun pockets of powder snow even a couple of days after the last dump. Once you  done with tree runs, try your hand at the half-pipe, one of the best in the valley.

Head up and above the ski resort for some exhilarating back country skiing in some of the deepest powder in the valley. Tours can be arranged through Evergreen Outdoor Centre with experienced guides.

Enjoy wide open slopes with a gentle gradient to work on your ski and board basics. The resort stays fairly empty even when other resorts are experiencing weekend crowds.

Enjoy breathtaking views of Lake Aokiko whilst hitting up the intermmediate slopes, and take your first shot at tree runs.

The SAJ accredited mogul run, and if it's your thing, the two big kickers, are attractive areas for the advanced skier, however most of the resort is beginner to intermediate level.

The main central Echo Course is a wide gentle slope, where you can work on your French fries and pizza turns, and once you feel stable enough, try either side of the course for further beginner runs.

Enjoy breathtaking lake views as you work to link your turns and get ready for the intermediate slopes.

You'll have a huge pick of runs at Kashimayari with long winding intermediate slopes. The night skiing is well geared for the intermediate skier and boarder, definitely get out there for a night.

There's a handful of black runs here which are generally ungroomed, you're sure to enjoy getting amongst the locals at "Kashima" , as they call it. The steepest run is called Tsukiodana, just underneath the #6 quad lift connecting Nakatsuna slopes to the main slopes and #2 pair lift. Usually Tsukiodana is closed because of the safety reason. Please ski or ride with caution and at your own risk.

There are a few back country opportunities from Kashimayari but this is generally frowned upon, so best to keep your back country localised in the centre of Hakuba with a well trained tour guide.