What's on in Hakuba (Nagano skiing), Japan through the year

Peak crowds — New Year on the mountain, Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 6 May (usually)), New Year on the mountain (28 Dec – 3 Jan)

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 6 May (usually))

Busy — Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 6 May (usually))

Busy — Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 6 May (usually))

Busy — Golden Week in Japan

• Season

  Between the seasons

  10 May – 25 Jun · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Lifts stopped, snow gone from the valley but still on the passes, and a good share of the hotels and restaurants closed until the walking season starts.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 6 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Between the seasons (10 May – 25 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Opening

  High trails and huts open

  1 Jul – 15 Oct · usuallyTrail season

  The Happo-one gondola runs through summer for the walk up to Happo Pond, and the ridge huts on the Northern Alps traverse open from July. The Daisekkei snow gully still needs crampons into August. Source ↗

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: High trails and huts open (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: High trails and huts open (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Autumn colour

  1–31 Oct · usually

  The larch on the ridge turns first and the colour walks down the valley through October. The gondola runs for it and the village is at its quietest between the two seasons.

Still on: High trails and huts open (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Ski season

  28 Nov – 6 May · usually

  Ten resorts on one pass down a single valley. Happo-one usually opens in the first days of December and Tsugaike keeps spring runs going to Golden Week.

Peak crowds — New Year on the mountain, Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan

• Holiday

  New Year on the mountain

  28 Dec – 3 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The Japanese holiday week is the busiest and dearest of the season, and the one time the lift queues in Hakuba look like the Alps. Book accommodation the previous winter. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 6 May (usually))