Hakuba Restaurants & Bars

One of the great advantages of Hakuba Japan is that there are various villages, each with a unique personality and vibe. Spread out across the villages and hamlets, there are lots of Hakuba restaurants and bars to sample a great range of Japanese cuisine and to do a little kanpai.

Hakuba Restaurants

Hakuba restaurants pretty much cover the full gamut of cuisine. Some of the big hotels have buffet feasts if you’re hungry after a long day on the slopes. There is an array of Japanese fare from sushi to noodle restaurants. Hakuba is also renowned for the various izakayas, the traditional Japanese bars that serve lots of snacks that generally have a very authentic and inviting atmosphere. There are also lots of western eateries, including lots of burger bars and Aussie-type pubs selling chicken parmas.

Echoland has the highest concentration of eating establishments, with a good emphasis on western food mixed in with simple Japanese fare.

Happo also has a decent amount of restaurants, but not enough to cater for the many people staying in the village which is probably why the food trucks do a roaring trade. If you’re going out for dinner with a group, you’ll probably need plenty of pre-planning, especially if you want to eat something other than pizza or a burger. An institution of Happo is Uncle Stevens (a little down the road from the Adam gondola) which is a festive Mexican restaurant with fantastically dangerous margaritas. Another is Ohyokkuri (bus stop 8), a little Japanese restaurant named after a local soup with dumplings in it. The restaurant is a gorgeous made-to-look-old building, with traditional wooden shared tables and some tatami seating. See more Happo restaurants here.

The Tsugaike village has a decent range of inexpensive Japanese ramen bars and izakayas, plus a couple of pizza and burger bars. See Tsugaike dining options.

The Goryu village has a surprisingly low number of restaurants considering the amount of lodging.

Dining in Norikura and Cortina is mostly isolated to the hotels and pensions.

It’s worth catching the on-demand free night taxi into Hakuba town for dinner to get away from the touristy areas somewhat and experience some real Japan. There are a handful of restaurants near the train station, otherwise they’re a bit spread out. Our favourite was the little cheap and cheerful Soba-jin (near bus stop 11) that specialises in noodles and tempura.

Hakuba Bars & Nightlife

The Hakuba nightlife is sometimes rather vibrant, which is rare for a Japanese ski area. It’s not like an Austrian-type party scene, but the nightlife can get going nonetheless.

Après drinking doesn’t appear to be a favourite pastime in Hakuba. There are restaurants that serve alcohol in the late afternoon or you can try the Globe Bar in Echoland, but many of the specific bars don’t open until later so you might as well go and have an onsen instead!

The bars vary somewhat from Japanese style to the more western/Aussie bars in the heart of Happo Village such as the Blizzard Bar near the gondola, or some possible late night dancing in Goryu Village at the Tracks Bar. A lot of international visitors pay a visit to “The Pub” next to the Mominoki Hotel in the Wadano Village for some western food, some Guinness, plenty of other bevvies, and a game of pool.

The Echoland village has the best nightlife, and whilst some of the bars charge outrageous prices for drinks (by Japanese standards), it doesn’t stop some of the bogan Australians from becoming overly rowdy in the wee hours.

Surprisingly there aren’t that many options for karaoke in Hakuba (damn it!!); an entertaining and quintessential Japanese pastime. A couple of the hotels have karaoke booths or there is a karaoke bar down near Hakuba station where you can sing your lungs out. Or the Cherry Pub in Echoland has a karaoke room.

Happo One Restaurants & Bars

[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="HappoOne Restaurants Bars"]

Iwatake Restaurants & Bars

[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="Iwatake Restaurants Bars"]

Tsugaike Restaurants & Bars

[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="Tsugaike Restaurants Bars"]

Echoland Restaurants & Bars

[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="Echoland Restaurants Bars"]

Hakuba Downtown Restaurants & Bars

[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="Downtown Restaurants Bars"]

Hakuba Cafes

If getting a great coffee is a priority, there are several good options scattered around Hakuba, or if you’re desperate there is always the Starbucks at the Land Station Hakuba (half way between the Happo bus terminal and Hakuba train station).

For those staying in Echoland, Sounds Like Café is ideal for a caffeine hit.

In Tsugaike there is a little café upstairs in the gondola building, or just a little way up the slope is the Alps View Hotel for nice coffee.

The Roots Café at the Kokusai base of Happo-One is worth a visit, particularly if you’re there for ski lessons with Evergreen. They serve up real coffee (which is sooo hard to find in Japan) albeit rather expensive, an abundance of yummy vegan and vegetarian food, and they have wifi.