From Aomori Spring in northern Honshu we were heading north to that incredibly well known ski resort in Hokkaido, so it seemed apt to stop off in the Hakodate area for a little peace and quiet before hitting the frenzy. We didn’t hold high expectations for Hakodate Nanae considering that the maximum pitch of any of the runs was only 29 degrees. Many parts of the ski area were indeed very mellow, but there were some short sections of terrain that were adequately pitchy and despite not really figuring out what the resort’s approach to off-piste skiing was, we managed to have a bit of a poke around.

The best fun was out in the sidecountry, but we could only manage a handful of runs because the egress was rather time consuming. We had no problems finding fresh lines even though it hadn’t snowed for a few days, which is a major drawcard for this little out-of-the-way ski area.

We stayed at the Hotel La’gent Plaza at the Shin Hakodate Hokuto train station and we found it cheap and easy to catch a train then free shuttle to Hakodate Nanae (we just initially forgot that you have to pack your equipment in a ski/snowboard bag on the train – damn rules!).

It was quite refreshing to stay in the Hakodate area and get away from the big mainstream resorts and the associated crowds, eat lots of seafood, enjoy low prices, and have a bit of R&R.
See our video here