Best Restaurants in Hakuba: Where to Eat

TLDR

Hakuba has a food scene that punches well above its size thanks to the ski season tourist mix. For soba, Kurumaya Soba in central Happo is the local standard at 1,100 yen a bowl. For izakaya, Gravity Worx in Echoland is the international favourite, and Sounds Like Cafe is the morning coffee spot. Real ramen lives at Hie-san Ramen in Wadano. Allow 1,500 to 2,500 yen for lunch and 3,000 to 5,000 yen with drinks for dinner.

Echoland: The Main Nightlife Strip

Echoland is the closest thing Hakuba has to a restaurant district. A single 400 metre street on the east side of the valley packs in 20 or so izakaya, bars, and international kitchens, and in peak ski season from January through February it is busier than anywhere else in the valley. Gravity Worx is the anchor venue for the English speaking crowd, with a rotating craft beer list, pizza in the 2,200 yen range, and a late closing of 2am on weekends. Neve is across the road and does an excellent yuzu sour for 900 yen. Reservations in high season are essential and almost never available on the day.

For a more Japanese feel, try Hie-san on the Echoland strip itself. The izakaya menu runs to 60 small plates from 400 to 900 yen, and the yaki-onigiri (grilled rice balls) stuffed with salmon and pickled plum are the house signature. Mocking Bird is a few doors down and is the Korean BBQ option, with a set course at 3,800 yen that includes kalbi, bibimbap and a side of kimchi. The walk from Hotel Marillen to Echoland takes about 20 minutes on foot or 5 minutes in a taxi, and the Happo night shuttle runs a loop through Echoland hourly from 6pm to 10pm in winter.

The hidden Echoland pick is Pub Taniya at the end of the strip. It is a proper Japanese salaryman pub with no English menu, but a friendly mama-san who will point at dishes on her phone, and karaage (fried chicken) so good that locals drive in from Omachi on a Saturday night. Expect 2,500 to 3,500 yen a head with a couple of drinks. See also the things to do in Hakuba guide for the surrounding nightlife.

Wadano and Happo: Local Soba and Ramen

Wadano is the quieter side of Happo and home to some of the best local kitchens in Hakuba. Kurumaya Soba on Happo-Odori has been making hand-cut buckwheat noodles since 1968, and a bowl of zaru-soba with tempura prawns costs 1,600 yen. The owner grows his own buckwheat on a field behind the restaurant, which is why it closes in late November when the harvest finishes and reopens after new year. Lunch service only, 11:30am to 2:30pm, closed Thursdays. Cash only.

Hie-san Ramen in Wadano (not the Echoland izakaya of the same name) does the best shio ramen in the valley. The broth is made with Shinshu chicken and a shellfish base, and a standard bowl is 1,050 yen with a 200 yen add-on for extra chashu pork. Open 11am to 9pm, closed Tuesdays. It seats 14 people and the queue outside at 12:30pm on a ski day is genuinely long, so either arrive at 11am on the dot or eat a late lunch at 2:30pm. For a more casual lunch, Paradiso at the foot of Happo-One lift area does wood-fired pizza at 1,800 yen and is open through the ski season from 10am to 8pm.

If you want a proper sushi dinner, Kisaragi in central Hakuba village is the 4,500 yen omakase choice and requires a reservation at least two days ahead. The chef trained in Tsukiji and the fish is trucked up from Toyama Bay every morning, which is closer to Hakuba than Tokyo is. The interior is 8 counter seats and a small table room, and English is limited, so ask the hotel to phone ahead. This is a 10 minute taxi ride from most of the Happo hotels including Hotel Marillen.

Breakfast and Cafes

Sounds Like Cafe in Happo Village is the default morning meeting spot, open from 7:30am with proper flat whites at 550 yen and a full Western breakfast for 1,600 yen. The pastries are baked on site and the sourdough is better than most of Nagano Prefecture. It fills up quickly from 8:30am, so come early or expect a 20 minute wait. The Wi-Fi is genuinely good, which matters if you want to check snow conditions before heading out. Cash and card both accepted.

For a lighter breakfast, the Gram Cafe in Hakuba Central does thick-cut toast with seasonal jam at 850 yen and pulls the best espresso in the valley according to the coffee people who should know. Closed on Wednesdays. Summer only, from May through October, Cafe Wanaka next to Aoki-ko Lake is a 25 minute drive but worth the trip for lakefront seating, fresh-baked cheesecake, and the quietest coffee in the region.

Budget Tips and What to Try

Lunch in Hakuba costs roughly 40 percent of dinner for the same quality. A 2,000 yen tempura-soba set at a proper restaurant will run 3,500 yen on the dinner menu. Set lunches (teishoku) at most local places include rice, miso soup, pickles and a main for 1,100 to 1,600 yen. The local supermarket, Tsuruya in central Hakuba village, has a genuinely excellent prepared food counter from 6pm when they mark down same-day sushi and tempura by 30 to 50 percent. A full meal for two can come to 2,500 yen if you time it right.

The Nagano regional specialities worth seeking out are oyaki (steamed buckwheat dumplings with savoury fillings, 150 to 250 yen each), shinshu miso dishes, Shinshu-gyu beef (local Wagyu), and basashi (raw horse meat sashimi, an acquired taste). Apple-based desserts are a local point of pride because Nagano produces about a third of Japan’s apples, and apple soft-serve is the 400 yen treat you buy from the farm stands along Route 148. For booking tables in Japanese, the Japan Guide etiquette page is useful background.

You might also find these useful: Best Day Trips from Hakuba, Best Time to Visit Hakuba: Month by Month Guide, Getting to Hakuba: Airport and Transport Guide.

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