Hakuba Lion Adventure in Nagano, Japan: Nature at full speed
Hakuba’s powdery snow makes its slopes great for advances skiing and snowboarding in Japan. Home of the 1998 Winter Olympics, Hakuba is one of the East Asia’s largest ski resorts. It encompasses 10 ski resorts, comprising the Hakuba Vallye. The village may only have 9,000 residents, but Hakuba attracts 3 million tourists every year because if its powdery snow. Hakuba is easy to get to from Tokyo and Osaka. If you are coming from Nagano Citym you can take the bus at the back of Nagano Station for ¥1800 per way.
Trying the snowmobile
Hakuba Lion Adventure is an outdoor activity company in Hakuba that offers white water rafting, canoeing, hot air balloon rides, and snowmobiling. Hakuba Lion Adventure also operates a cafe and rental shop for those who need a complete set of gear during the tour. You can start your day day in Hakuba in Lion Cafe, where you will meet the Hakuba Lion Adventure team who can guide you through the whole experience. They will discuss with you safety precautions and provide necessary information about Hakuba. After the introduction, you can head over to the Rainbow Rental shop to get your snow gear and collect the snowmobile equipment.
They use the number one Snowmobile brand: Ski-doo
There’s nothing to worry about if it’s your first time to ski as the guides will make sure that you feel safe and have a good time. The snowmobile used is a Ski-doo, the number one snowmobile brand. You will be brought to Hakuba 47 Winter Sports Park where you can try the snowmobile. They are easy to master as long as you are careful. Flying through fluffy powder snow with Northern Alps as background is an exhilarating experience.
The snow mobile tour can run from 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure you check the weather and reserve in advance since the snowmobile tour can be cancelled due to lack of snow.
Join the water rafting
If the snowmobile activity is unavailable, tourists can always try the other activities like hot air balloon ride, mountain bike tour, paragliding, or white water rafting. The company is composed of different nationalities to make each tour as comfortable as possible to non-Japanese guests. Hakuba Lion Adventure can also pick you up from your hotel to the ski resorts.
Details:
Address: 5646-3 Hokojo, Hakuba-mura, Kitaazumi-gun, Nagano
Hakuba Lion Adventure
hakuba.lion-adventure.com/
GO! NAGANO (Nagano Prefecture Official Tourism Guide)
www.go-nagano.net
*This story first appeared in Philippine Primer magazine April 2017 issue.
