Blue Skies at Hakuba Happo-One

Hakuba Happo-One is one of Japan’s largest and most popular ski resorts. Located in the Hakuba Valley in Nagano Prefecture, the resort offers some of the best terrain and biggest snowfalls in the country, rivaling the powder of even Hokkaido. In the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, the resort hosted the alpine skiing downhill, super giant slalom, and combined slalom events. The huge mountain attracts thousands of foreign visitors every season.

The snow conditions during my visit to Happo-One were unfortunately less than ideal, but the weather and scenery made up for it. In mid-morning, the clouds cleared, revealing one of the most gorgeous mountain views I’ve ever seen. It was a perfect blue-bird day, spent enjoying the snow and sunshine. The best part of my day was probably having lunch at the mountain-top patio bar with a panoramic view of Hakuba Valley. It was a simply stunning view, probably one of my favorites I have ever seen in my life.