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Hakkoda resort snow
Lat Long: 40.68° N 140.83° E
Ski Japan - Aomori

Hakkoda Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Hakkoda Ski Resort

Hakkoda Ratings

Overall: 2.6. Based on 8 votes and 4 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.7

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Hakkoda is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 2.9

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Hakkoda has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.8

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 3.4

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 4.1

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Hakkoda

Public Transport: 3.4

  • There are no buses or taxis to Hakkoda
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 2.5

  • No places to stay in/near Hakkoda
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 2.2

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 2.8

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Hakkoda

Ski in/Ski out: 3.4

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 1.1

  • There are no child care facilities at Hakkoda
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 1.0

  • Hakkoda relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 1.6

  • There are no snow groomers at Hakkoda
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Hakkoda are groomed daily

Shelter: 2.6

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Hakkoda is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 1.4

  • If snow conditions are poor at Hakkoda, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.1

  • Hakkoda usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 3.8

  • The staff at Hakkoda are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Hakkoda are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.0

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 1.6

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 2.4

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 1.6

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 3.0

  • No intermediate terrain at Hakkoda
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.6

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 1.2

  • Not even a kicker at Hakkoda
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 1.5

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Hakkoda
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 1.0

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Hakkoda has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 2.9

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 2.9

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 1.2

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 1.0

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 1.5

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 2.4

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.2

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.8

  • Overall, Hakkoda is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 4.0

  • Overall, Hakkoda is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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February 15, 2020
Local Gaijin from Ski Japan - Nagano Japan - Nagano
Time for an update. First of all, Hakkoda is not a resort. It is a set of mountains in a national park, one of which happens to have a ropeway/gondola. There are no amenities, no shops, no bars, no restaurants, no nightlife, no parties. Just mountains, onsens and snow. Except for the negligible tiny little old ski center at the foot of one of the mountains, there are no ski trails. Most winter days, the conditions at the top of the ropeway are stormy, with high winds and extremely low visibility. When the winds reach over 25m/s (which happens often), the ropeway suspends operations and there are few if any alternatives for skiing/snowboarding that day. Bring a book or two. There are no real / groomed ski trails from the top. There are lots of creeks, holes, treewells and windlips, which, in zero visibility represent significant challenges. Furthermore, if you are not intimately familiar with the geography of the area, the odds of getting lost, spending the night alone in the mountains and requiring (expensive) rescue are significantly high. The skills, physical strength and knowledge required to ski/ride at Hakkoda are not what you typically get from simply resort skiing/riding, even if you go every weekend. Again, this is not a resort. Do not come here if you are not properly prepared (and I don't mean simply buying the gear).
October 19, 2014
powdernator from Ski Japan - Nagano Japan - Nagano
Hakkoda is the most unique set of mountains with no groomed slopes, light dry constant powder and a road that goes around all the mountains making the back country wide open. But without a guide (who provides a pick up) you can not get back and you will be relegated to the front side. Japow is no longer in operation, but hakkodapowder.com has English speaking guides and there are Japanese guides if you can speak the language.
September 11, 2010
Japow from Ski Japan - Nagano Japan - Nagano
Hakkoda is a backcountry playground, for guides check out japowtours.com
December 12, 2009
Misawa_ from Ski Japan - Nagano Japan - Nagano
Hokkado doesn't have beginner runs. There are a few groomed runs with normal chair lifts but Hakkoda is known for it's backcountry. Take the ropeway gondala to the top and you can take the direct or forest course down for the backcountry experience. This is not a resort, it is really for the experienced skier or snowboarder.