Hey Steemit,

Carl here from FML with another episode of Xcape. In this episode we’ll explore the ski city/town of Hakuba. Famous for it’s mountainous peaks and phenomenal snow during winter, Hakuba is a must ski destination for any ski enthusiast. The ski season starts as early as November and continues through until April, however the prime months are between Jan-Feb. Check out my video from my time in Hakuba below.

Utilising our JR Rail Pass passes which we activated prior to leaving Kyoto for Hiroshima we decided to catch the bullet train from Hiroshima to Nagoya. Given that we’d be undertaking a lot of long distance travel within a short amount of time, this proved a smart move. You can purchase a JR Rail Pass from this online retail seller, which I’ve used twice and found to be very professional and reliable. Be sure to order the pass prior to leaving for Japan as once you’re in Japan you can’t purchase these passes. Also, these passes are only available to tourist and not for permanent residents within Japan.

If you’re planning of travelling from Hiroshima to Hakuba you can expect a full 8-hour day of travel. We decided to split the journey up and stay in Matsumoto for the night. From Matsumoto, Hakuba is a 2-hour train ride which we would complete the next morning.

Staying in Matsumoto was a no brainer for us as we were interested in seeing yet another city in Japan and taking advantage of some more affordable accommodation. In Matsumoto we stayed at the Matsumoto Tourist Hotel, which we found through Booking.com. Click on the link and join to find some great deals for your next holiday.

Hotel suites were super cheap at $50 / night for twin share, which equates to about $25/night. The hotel rooms were fantastic and the staff at the hotel were outstanding. After checking into the hotel, we decided to take a walk around town, including a visit to Matsumoto Castle.

I was actually really surprised that there was no snow in Matsumoto despite being located so close to Hakuba. Since we arrived in the evening we only really had time to check out Matsumoto Castle and have a stroll through the town centre. Check out a few of my photos below.

Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto Castle was built in 1614 and is one of the oldest castles in Japan. Since we visited late in the evening, we could only admire from a distance, however you can enter the grounds of the castle and see some of its interior for 600 Yen. Check out some of my photos below from walking outside the castle.

There was something magical about seeing the castle lit up at night. The reflection of the castle on the water was stunning and I remember having Goosebumps as I stared at its beauty. I’d recommend a visit to the castle at night as it’s truly a sight to remember. Check out my photos below and let me know your thoughts.

Dinner at Doon Shokudo Indoyama

After our visit to the Matsumoto Castle we went searching for a restaurant to eat at and stumbled across Doon Shokudo Indoyama, which specialises in Indian Cuisine. I’m probably not the biggest fan of Indian food since I eat it all the time but the food at Doon Shokudo Indoyama was amazing and cooked with love. The owner is an amazing guy and his wife is lovely. They both lovingly own and run the restaurant and take the effort to make their customers feel welcome. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced hospitality quite like I experienced at Doon Shokudo. The owner was even nice enough to share a couple of sake bottles with us and overall it was definitely a great night.

Train ride to Hakuba

The next morning, we caught the 6am train out of Matsumoto to Hakuba. It was pretty dark outside however once the sun started to rise I was able to see the beauty of the landscape. We passed through mountain ranges, frozen lakes and vast rainforest which were all covered in a thick layer of snow. I've included some photos from along the train ride below.

Whilst in Hakuba we decided to stay at Red Door Lodge. This friendly lodge is run by a young Australian couple (Chris and Nicole). The serviced we receive at Red Door Lodge was nothing short of first class. The owners personally picked us up from the train station, organised all our ski passes and gear to be hired and for private ski lesson. Not only that but they gave us a quick tour of the town on the way to the ski fields. We ended up paying about $50-60 / night each for accommodation which is reasonable in Hakuba, but what made it really worth it was the first-class service and daily breakfast which included bacon, sausages and fried eggs. I cannot recommend Red Door Lodge any more highly. It’s located within 500m of the train station and within walking distance of the Hakuba Goryu, although I’d recommend catching the local shuttle bus. If you stay at this hotel I can guarantee you will not regret it. Bookings can be made through booking.com (link above). Check out some of my photos from the hotel below.

After a quick late breakfast, we were on our way to Hakuba Goryu. For reference I've provided some photos below through the town centre as we are on our way to get our ski gear.

Before getting to the slopes we stopped by Winpy Box to hire out our ski-gear. Don’t worry if you stay at Red Door the owners will organise this all for you. The process was quick and painless and before we knew it we were on the slopes. Check out some of my photos below.

Hakuba Goryu and Hakuba 47

There are a range of slopes ranging from beginner to advance runs on the mountain. Given that it was our first time Skiing we spent most of our time on the beginner slopes before progressing to more advanced runs. From memory we paid about $150-200 AUD for our 4 day all mountain ski pass, which we booked through Red Door Lodge.

The view from the top of the mountain was nothing short of spectacular. Having lived in Australia for my entire life I've never seen snow quite like this and honestly I felt like a child looking out at the mountain ranges. I've had dreams to revisit this place again. Hopefully one day soon I might be able to do another trip paid for entirely with Steem Dollars.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this travel blog. If you want to hear more about my adventures, please upvote this post and resteem with friends. Additionally, please follow me to hear more about my latest adventures. ✌️

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About the Author
If you'd like to learn more about me or my blog series check out my introduction post

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FML news!!!
💬 A special thank you to my new and existing followers. Thanks for supporting my blog series. I'd definitely love to get to know more of you so feel free to get in contact if you enjoy my post.

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