Hakuba is located in a mountain basin in far northwestern Nagano Prefecture, bordered by Toyama Prefecture to the west. The 2900 meter Tateyama Mountains border the village to the west. Much of the village is within the borders of the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park.
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hakuba has remained relatively steady over the past 50 years.
Climate
The village has humid continental climate, with cold, extremely snowy winters, and warm, rainy summers. With temperatures cooled by the elevation, monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July. Hakuba receives approximately 11 meters of snowfall annually, with most snowfall occurring in the months of January and February.
History
The area of present-day Hakuba was part of ancient Shinano Province and was part of the territory controlled by Matsumoto Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of the Edo period. Hakuba was once part of the route called the Salt Road used to bring salt and other marine products from the coast at Itoigawa in Echigo Province. However, much of the area was still virgin forest well into the Meiji period, and a census in 1881 counted only 31 households. The modern village of Hakuba was established on September 30, 1956 by the merger of the villages of Hokujo and Kamishiro. 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. 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.
Economy
The economy of Hakuba is heavily dependent on seasonal tourism.
Surrounded by the Sea of Japan, Nagano City and the Tateyama Kurobe Dam area, 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. Other day activities to enjoy include visiting the snow monkeys, kimono experiences, Taiko drumming, traditional cooking classes, Matsumoto castle tours and more.
Ski resorts
The Hakuba Valley is home to nine resorts, including 135 lifts accessing over 200 runs that offer an expanse of terrain and at least 14 terrain parks. There are 960 hectares of skiable terrain which equates to 137 km of piste. The Hakuba ski resorts aren’t interconnected via the slopes, but they can be accessed off a common lift ticket and there are free shuttle buses to get around to the different ski areas. The ski resorts from north to south are: Cortina, Norikura, Tsugaike Kogen, Iwatake, Happo-One, Hakuba 47, Goryu, Sanosaka, Kashimayari, Jigatake, and Minekata is on the opposite side of the valley from the town of Hakuba. Hakuba offers varied forms of skiing across the resorts but it is generally very well suited to beginners and intermediates with many long perfectly groomed runs and fantastic fall-line. There's also some world class back country skiing on offer. Hakuba has lessons and guiding available through both traditional Japanese ski schools and International ski schools including: Evergreen International Ski School, Happo-one Ski and Snowboard School, Hakuba Snow Sports School and Hakuba 47 Ski Academy International.
In popular culture
The ski resorts and village of Hakuba were the setting for the 2008 Japanese film "Gin Iro No Shiizun".
