Hakuba

Hakuba is a skiing resort in Nagano Prefecture, in the Chubu district of Japan. Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium is a ski jump hill in Hakuba, Japan. It was used as arena for ski jumping and Nordic combination for the 1998 Winter Olympics. The stadium holds a maximum of 45,000 spectators, and was built in 1992.

Hakuba is a stop on the JR Oito Line. From Shinjuku in Tokyo, there is one daily Super Azusa limited express service that runs to Hakuba. The ride takes 3 hours, 45 minutes and costs ¥8070 each way. As of November 2009, the outbound service leaves at 07:30, and the inbound service departs from Hakuba at 14:57. There is also an additional Azusa service on certain dates, making the run to Hakuba in about 4 hours. Otherwise, you will have to take an Azusa or Super Azusa to Matsumoto and take one Oito Line local trains, increasing the journey to 4 1/2 hours.

The fastest route from Tokyo is by Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagano: 105min./8,170yen. Then by bus from Nagano to Hakuba 65min./1,500yen. Trains run every half hour or so, buses every hour. Note that the last bus from Nagano Station to Hakuba is 8:30PM. This whole trip takes just over 2.5 hours, 9,700yen one way. These trips are useful for Japan Rail Pass holders, or else it is probably cheaper to take the bus.