Tsugaike Kogen Ski Resort
Tsugaike Kogen is one of the ski resorts of the
Hakuba Valley, and it takes the crown of the “Queen of Green” with a massive beginner area with no gnar. An international ski school offers private and group lessons in English, or it’s an ideal spot to teach the kids yourself on super wide mellow slopes without the fear of running into anyone else.
The associated Tsugaike Village is a great spot to stay if you’re looking for a peaceful ski holiday where you can become absorbed in a Japanese ski village, away from the westernised hub-bub of Happo and Echoland. Or if you want a holiday with vibrant nightlife and the ease of being able to speak English, stay in
Happo Village or
Echoland and just visit Hakuba Tsugaike for a day trip or two.
Pros and Cons of Tsugaike Kogen
Pros
- The resort is fantastic for beginners and good for intermediates.
- Tsugaike has an international snowsports school, offering group and private lessons for adults and children.
- Hakuba Tsugaike tends to attract fewer crowds than some of the higher profile Hakuba ski resorts.
- Many of the lifts are high speed so you can get plenty of vertical under your boards each day.
- Tsugaike has excellent tree skiing and above the resort is nice hike-to backcountry.
- Hakuba Tsugaike has lots of ski in ski out accommodation, which makes it popular with families.
- Tsugaike Kogen Ski Resort is easily accessible by free bus for day trippers from Happo and Wadano.
Cons
- There is negligible on-piste terrain to keep advanced riders entertained and donuts for experts (on-piste).
- Whilst there are some restaurants and a few bars in Tsugaike Kogen, the evenings are rather quiet. Most of the Japanese folks have an onsen, eat dinner in their hotel, and then go to bed.
Pro or Con Depending on Your Perspective
- Tsugaike is only moderately geared up for international visitors. For example cash is king and not a huge amount of English is spoken, but the advantage is that the village is more Japanese and traditional.
- Accommodation is generally geared towards the simple end and there is more Japanese than western style lodging.
Tsugaike Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Hakuba Tsugaike is a decent sized resort with 156 hectares of piste spread across 904 metres of vertical (800 – 1,704 metres) with 20 lifts. The lower part of the mountain consists of the gigantic beginners’ area that is serviced by multiple chair lifts and is ridiculously wide.
The official trail statistics are 50% beginners, 30% intermediate and 20% advanced, although this probably underestimates the amount of beginner terrain and overestimates the advanced on-piste terrain.
A highlight of Tsugaike Kogen Ski Resort is the lift accessed tree skiing. The terrain is gated and requires you to sign in, listen to a short lecture, and wear an armband - a small price to pay for such lovely tree skiing. The backcountry above the ski resort is also highly coveted.
See the
Tsugaike ski resort page for more information on the skiing and snowboarding.
Where is Tsugaike Kogen?
The base of the Tsugaike Kogen Ski Resort is located about 8.5km north of the town of Hakuba and 9km from
Happo Village, the main tourist hub of Hakuba. Otari is the closest town; 7km to the northeast. Although not interconnected, Tsugaike is located between
Iwatake and
Norikura ski resorts. See the
Hakuba travel page for general information on the location of Hakuba Japan and how to get there.
If you’re staying in the Tsugaike Village, the easiest way to get there from the Tokyo airports is to get a Hakuba Airport Bus with
Nagano Snow Shuttle (select Otari accommodation). There are 4 schedules per day for the Narita Airport to Hakuba bus, and 2 schedules per day for Haneda Airport.
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To get to Tsugaike from other parts of the Hakuba Valley, there are free shuttle buses operating from Wadano, Echoland and Happo (including the main Happo bus terminal at the Happo Information Centre) that go via Iwatake. There are also buses between Cortina and Tsugaike.
Tsugaike Accommodation
The base of the ski resort is about 2.4km wide which intersects with the Tsugaike village and there is also a piste running parallel to another street, so there is an abundance of Tsugaike accommodation that is slopeside or very close to being ski-in ski-out. Much of the accommodation consists of simple pensions and hotels with Japanese style rooms (with futons on the tatami flooring) and Japanese meals, and some Tsugaike hotels also have western rooms.
In the main street of the little town of Tsugaike are restaurants, izakayas and a handful of shops.
Tsugaike Hotel Listings
Facilities & Activities
In addition to a cafeteria near the top of the resort, many of the hotels and pensions that sit alongside the green slopes double as restaurants for lunch, so there are choices galore for Japanese fare. Other options include eateries with western food such as pizza or the obligatory crepes. Or if you feel you’ve absorbed enough Japanese culture, you can always sacrilegiously retreat to Burger King.
For the kids there’s a snow park with tubing and play equipment. There is also a day care centre if you need child minding, but there's no guarantee that the staff will speak English.
Ski & Snowboard Rentals
If you are looking for ski or snowboard rentals at Tsugaike, your best bet is Spicy Rentals. Alternatively see other Hakuba ski & snowboard rental options here.
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Ski & Snowboarding Lessons
Tsugaike is an excellent location to learn with long mellow slopes. There are a couple of options for private and group lessons at Tsugaike including Evergreen International Ski School and the resorts own Tsugaike Ski School.
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Other Activities
Tsugaike has an onsen near the base of the gondola as well as one a little down the road; perfect for a therapeutic soak after a big day on the slopes. Or if you can cope with the supposed “onsen flowers” (that suspiciously just look like gunk!) you can bathe your tootsies in the foot onsen.
Other Tsugaike activities include snowshoeing and little bit of cross country skiing.