Hakuba, Nagano
| Hakuba 白馬村 | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Location of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture | |
  Hakuba Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates: 36°42′N 137°52′E / 36.700°N 137.867°ECoordinates: 36°42′N 137°52′E / 36.700°N 137.867°E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region |
Chūbu Kōshin'etsu |
| Prefecture | Nagano Prefecture |
| District | Kitaazumi |
| Area | |
| • Total | 182.34 km2 (70.40 sq mi) |
| Population (October 2014) | |
| • Total | 8,912 |
| • Density | 49/km2 (130/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) |
| Website |
www |
Hakuba (白馬村 Hakuba-mura) is a village located in Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is located at the center of one of Japan's largest winter skiing and mountain recreation areas.
Town
As of October 2014, the village has an estimated population of 8,912.
Hakuba is an internationally renowned ski resort town in the northern Japan Alps. As the surrounding valley has an annual snow fall of over 11 meters, it is the central hub for 10 ski resorts with more than 200 runs. The village was the main event venue for 1998 Winter Olympics (Alpine, Ski Jump, Crosscountry).
Hakuba and surrounding municipalities were impacted by a reported 6.7 magnitude earthquake on 22 November 2014. The quake hit at 10:08pm at a depth of 5 km causing a number of residential properties to collapse and injuring at least 41 people.[1] Despite some localized road damage and a suspension of rail services on sections of the Ōito Line, there was however no major impact on hotels or ski tourism related infrastructure.[2][3]
Hakuba was once part of the route called the Salt Road used to bring salt and other marine products from the coast.[4]
Accessibility
Hakuba is located west of Tokyo, and north of Nagoya. The Nagano region can be accessed easily from Tokyo via the Nagano Shinkansen, the Chuo Main Line or express bus. In the winter ski season long-distance express busses are also available from Narita Airport. Hakuba is also easily reached via bus and rail from Nagoya.
The closest regional airport is Matsumoto Airport.
Weather
Hakuba has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with cold, extremely snowy winters, and warm, rainy summers. With temperatures cooled by the elevation, monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −3.0 °C (26.6 °F) in January to 22.6 °C (72.7 °F) in July.
| Climate data for Hakuba Village | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1.4 (34.5) |
2.2 (36) |
6.3 (43.3) |
14.5 (58.1) |
20.3 (68.5) |
23.4 (74.1) |
26.7 (80.1) |
28.6 (83.5) |
23.4 (74.1) |
17.5 (63.5) |
11.2 (52.2) |
4.8 (40.6) |
15.0 (59) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3 (27) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
0.9 (33.6) |
7.6 (45.7) |
13.4 (56.1) |
17.5 (63.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
22.6 (72.7) |
18.1 (64.6) |
11.4 (52.5) |
5.3 (41.5) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −7.5 (18.5) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
−4 (25) |
1.7 (35.1) |
7.5 (45.5) |
12.9 (55.2) |
17.3 (63.1) |
18.4 (65.1) |
14.2 (57.6) |
6.8 (44.2) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
4.7 (40.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 144.9 (5.705) |
134.9 (5.311) |
143.5 (5.65) |
118.3 (4.657) |
144.6 (5.693) |
214.9 (8.461) |
289.4 (11.394) |
170.0 (6.693) |
184.3 (7.256) |
121.5 (4.783) |
109.8 (4.323) |
128.7 (5.067) |
1,904.7 (74.988) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 220 (86.6) |
180 (70.9) |
111 (43.7) |
8 (3.1) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (0.4) |
21 (8.3) |
132 (52) |
668 (263) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 79.7 | 102.1 | 142.0 | 178.1 | 178.4 | 137.7 | 138.0 | 165.1 | 113.7 | 127.0 | 110.8 | 84.6 | 1,554.9 |
| Source: 気象庁[5] | |||||||||||||
Snowfall
Hakuba receives approximately 11m of snowfall annually, with most snowfall occurring in the months of January and February.
Resort
Hakuba consists of seven main ski areas. At the southern end of the Hakuba Valley are the resorts of Hakuba 47, Goryu, and the Olympic ski resort Happo-One (pronounced O-ney). To the north are Iwatake, Tsugaike, Norikura, and Cortina resorts.
- Goryu
- Hakuba 47
- Hakuba Happo-one
- Highland Snowpark
- Iwatake
- Minekata
- Sanosaka
Due to Japan's geographic location, the town is a popular vacation destination for Australian tourists looking to Ski and Snowboard.
Surrounded by the Japan Sea (northward), Nagano City (eastward) and the Tateyama Kurobe Dam area (southward), Hakuba is also a popular summer vacation area which offers a variety of outdoor activities at an altitude of 700–800 metres, e.g. hiking, rafting/shower climbing, paragliding, mountain bike, bird sighting etc.
Sister towns
In popular culture
The ski resorts and village of Hakuba were the setting for the 2008 Japanese film "Gin Iro No Shiizun" (銀色のシーズン).
Hakuba is shown in episodes 21 and 22 of the anime Great Teacher Onizuka.
References
- ↑ "Magnitude 6.7 quake injures at least 41 in Nagano". Japan Times. Kyodo, AP, Staff Report. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
- ↑ Nakamichi, Takashi (November 23, 2014). "Strong Earthquake Hits Central Japan, Destroying Buildings in Ski Town". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
- ↑ Kondo, Yukio. "Hakuba ski resorts quell rumors of quake damage". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ Hakuba Homepage. Tourism Commission of Hakuba. Accessed November 1, 2007.
- ↑ "平年値（年・月ごとの値）". Kishōchō. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
External links
Media related to Hakuba, Nagano at Wikimedia Commons
 |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hakuba. |
- Hakuba Village official website (Japanese) (English)
- Hakuba Tourism official website (English) (Japanese)