Hakuba, Japan’s premier winter sports destination

 

HakubaHakuba, located in the Northern Japan Alps of Nagano Prefecture stands out as one of Japan’s finest winter resort areas. It is one of the most popular ski areas because of its thick snow, good terrain, vertical rise, and advance ski and snowboard slopes.

Hakuba Goryu1Hakuba hosted several Olympic events during the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics and some of the Olympic facilities still remain in the area like the Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium, Hakuba Olympic Memorial Hall, and Olympic museum which is a walking distance from the ski jump.

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Takao-san 高尾山 Winter Hike

Mt TakaoMountain climbing is a popular activity in Japan and without a doubt, Mt. Takao is one of the most popular hiking spots in Tokyo for its convenient location. With only about 50 kilometers from central Tokyo, it is a relatively short 50 minute train ride from Shinjuku via Keio Railways’ Limited Express. Visitors can enjoy its natural beauty and magnificent scenery all in a day’s trip. Mt. Takao also provides a good hike all year round.

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Breathtaking Niijima 新島

Summer in Japan generally falls on the months of June, July, and August and extends up to early September. Summer months can be hot and humid with temperature ranging from 30-40 ℃. Most people take advantage of the warmer temperature spending more time outdoors and traveling to the beach is surely a top pick. And like most of them, we also took this opportunity to have a short get-away from the busy city and enjoy the white sand, clear water, and forested mountains of Niijima.

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Mt. Mitake 御岳山, unspoiled nature near the city

Mitakesan (御岳山) is a 929 meters tall mountain and is considered as the most popular sightseeing spot in the Okutama region, the western most part of Tokyo, Japan.

Musashi-Mitake Shrine located on the mountain’s summit which is believed to have been serving as a center of mountain worship for almost 2000 years.
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