Hakkoda

From WikiSki

Overview 

Hakkoda is essentially lift serviced backcountry. It bears very little resemblance to a ski resort in the traditional sense. It consists of just one ropeway and a small chairlift and has just two marked runs. Hakkoda is well generally remembered and feared amongst japanese for the ill fated training march around 100 years ago when over 200 soldiers perished in a severe storm in the region. Hakkoda is a serious mountain and can turn ugly. The terrain can be tricky to navigate even in good weather, let alone poor visibility. There is some good skiing on the marked trails, but the good stuff is in the trees and in good weather with some hiking there is plenty of backcountry terrain that can be reached. For this though you really need a guide.

Contents 1 Location 2 Pros 3 Cons 4 Contacts 5 Planning 5.1 Getting There 5.2 Accommodation 5.2.1 On Mountain 5.2.2 Off Mountain 5.3 Lift Tickets 5.4 Ski School 5.5 Equipment Hire 6 Resort Facilities 6.1 Getting Around 6.2 Parking 6.3 Activities 6.4 Dining 6.5 Bars & Entertainment 6.6 Shopping 6.7 Children 6.8 Onsens 6.9 Sightseeing 7 Ride Guide 7.1 Beginner Areas 7.2 Groomed Runs 7.3 Off Piste 7.4 Out of Bounds 7.5 Cross Country 7.6 Parks & Pipes 7.7 Bumps 7.8 Powder Zones 7.9 Sheltered Runs 7.10 Snowplay 8 Other 8.1 Weather 8.2 Geography 8.3 History 9 Resources 9.1 Maps

Location

Aomori prefecture. About an hour by road from Aomori city.

Pros

Lift serviced backcountry skiing.

Cons

Weather can turn ugly and area can be difficult to navigate. You need a guide.

Contacts

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Fax: PLEASE EDIT

Postal: PLEASE EDIT

Planning

Getting There

Aomori can be reached by plane, train, bus or car.

There are several JAL flights a day from Tokyo-Haneda (flight time about 80mins).

By train you can catch the Hayate Shinkansen to Hachinohe which is a bit over 3 hours from Tokyo and runs every hour. Then there is a limited express to Aomori which takes about another hour and also runs about once an hour. The Shinkansen is in the process of being extended all the way to Aomori and is expected to be completed in December 2010 which will reduce the time by over half an hour. The Shinkansen trip one way though will be about Y16,000, so 4 day JR East pass is definately worth looking at.

There are also overnight bus services from Tokyo.

From Aomori station bus stop no. 8 there are two daily JR buses departing at 09:30 and 13:00 (2010) stopping at the Hakkoda Ropeway station on the way to Lake Towada. This takes about an hour and costs Y1070. Buses from the Ropeway back to Aomori leave at 11:22 and 16:52. A JR pass is valid for this bus but not a JR East pass. There is an information centre just outside Aomori station where you can confirm details and buy a ticket. Otherwise just pay the driver when you get off as usual.

A taxi would cost around Y6000.

Alternatively you can catch a local bus to the public college which is about halfway and arrange for the hotel to pick you up from there.

Accommodation

On Mountain

There are two places at the base of the ropeway. The Sansou Lodge and the Hakkoda Resort Hotel. The Hakkoda Resort Hotel has good size Tatami rooms, a very large Onsen downstairs and great meals.

Off Mountain

There are a couple of other hotels around a 15 min drive away. You would need a car if staying at one of these.

Lift Tickets

There are two lifts run by two different lift companies with naturally enough two different ticket systems. The main lift is the Ropeway which is Y4900 for 5 runs (anytime) or Y14000 for a monthly ticket which pays off if you are there for 5 days or more.

There is also a small chairlift for which you can get 3 run tickets for Y800, 10 runs for Y2300 or a day ticket for Y3000.

Ski School

Equipment Hire

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Resort Facilities

Getting Around

If you are staying at one of the places by the ropeway station it is only a very short walk to the lifts. Otherwise there is little in the immediate vicinity. The Sakayu onsen is about a 15min drive away. If you wanted to check out other options on bad weather days you would need a car.

Parking

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Activities

Dining

The Sansou lodge and the place next door both provide the standard Japanese ski resort lunch dishes like Noodles, Donburis and Curries. The other place also does a very good Yakiniku / Bulgogi (barbequed beef).

The dinners at the Hakkoda Resort hotel are Japanese set meals including an excellent array of sashimi, tempura, various nabes, smoked fish, scallops etc.

Bars & Entertainment

There is quite a nice looking bar at the Hakkoda Resort Hotel but it is only used for private functions. Otherwise grab a beer or Chu-hi (Y200 for a 500ml can) from the vending machine or bring your own.

Shopping

A few souveniers in the hotel lobby, but your'e not here to shop.

Children

Not a great deal here for children. It's not what you would call a family resort.

Onsens

The Hakkoda Resort Hotel has a large naturally fed onsen downstairs and a very nice massage chair. The 300 year old cederwood Sakayu onsen is about a 15 min drive away. It is worth a visit if you have a down day.

Sightseeing

If you have your own car and want to take a day off skiing, some options would be heading back to Aomori, west to Hirosaki to visit the castle or south to Lake Towada.

Ride Guide

From the top of the Ropeway there are two marked and patrolled runs - Direct and Forest. The names are fairly self explanatory. In poor visibility care should be taken even on these runs as it can be easy to go the wrong way in the trees and get lost.

There are also several unpatrolled options within the bounds of the ropeway. There are plenty of hazardous areas on this front face (avalanche prone, ravines) that should be avoided, so a guide is certainly recommended.

Beginner Areas

Not really a place for beginners. The chairlift run is fine for intermediates.

Groomed Runs

There is no grooming as such for the ropeway runs. The patrol will normally break trail on these runs and they will just get packed down by skier traffic. The chairlift runs will be groomed.

Off Piste

Yes!

Out of Bounds

The big thing with Hakkoda is the huge amount of backcountry you can access from the top of the Ropeway. These require some hiking / snowshoeing / skinning, reasonable weather, some sort of arrangement to get picked up from the road where you end up and most of all a guide.

One possible route is the Dozo route. From the top of the Ropeway, through the gate and a about a 5 min walk amongst the Juhyo (Snow monsters), a short but sweet ski down a gully, then a skin of maybe 15-30 mins around the side of Maedake or summit if you like. Then a long ski fairly open at first, then into the trees and eventually coming out on the road by the Dozo teahouse, where the guide will have arranged for the hotel to pick you up.

In good weather ie. spring there are a host of other options available including skiing down to an onsen.

Cross Country

Doesn't appear to be.

Parks & Pipes

No

Bumps

These may form on the chairlift runs.

Powder Zones

Yes

Sheltered Runs

In the trees.

Snowplay

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Other

Weather

It can get very windy. The ropeway will close if it exceeds the threshold of 25 m/s (90 kmh). Even when it is only around half that it can still be fairly unpleasant exiting the top ropeway station, so get yourself organised before you head out the door.

Geography

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History

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Resources

[1] Snowjapan entry

[2] JR bus timetable (english page)

[3] Ropeway website (japanese)

[4] Hakkoda Resort Hotel (japanese)

[5] Simon's Hakkoda Powder Snow Tours

[6] Company running chairlift (japanese)

[7] Wikipedia entry for Hakkoda

[8] 1902 tragedy

Maps

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