Hakuba Echoland
Echoland is a major village in Hakuba that has the biggest concentration of restaurants and bars in one area, and probably also has the most Hakuba accommodation. Echoland isn’t located slopeside or attached to any of the
Hakuba Valley ski resorts, yet it has a reasonable shuttle bus system, so it can be a good place to stay if you want to sample various Hakuba ski areas.
Pros & Cons of Echoland Hakuba
Pros
- The main street of Echoland has lots of restaurants and bars. Echoland is the place to stay if you want to stay out late and stumble home.
- Echoland has good bus connections to many parts of the Hakuba Valley.
- There is an abundance of Echoland accommodation and it tends to be a little cheaper than lodging near the slopes.
Cons
- It’s a 1.5km walk from central Echoland to get to the slopes.
- Echoland (and the associated Misorana) is a rather large village, so it’s a decent walk from some accommodation to the main street.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- There is lots of choice for inexpensive eating but many of the bars charge a motza for drinks relative to other (unwesternised) Japanese ski resorts.
- If you want to steer clear of drunken bogans, perhaps stay somewhere else.
Where is Echoland Hakuba?
Echoland sits between
Happo One Ski Resort which is 1.5km to the north and
Hakuba 47 Ski Resort, which is 4.4km (by road) to the southwest. The Misorano area is sort of an extension of Echoland, which sits to the south and west of Echoland. The Happo Village is east of Echoland.
Airport Bus to Echoland
The easiest way to get to your
Echoland accommodation is to get a Hakuba airport bus with
Nagano Snow Shuttle, and for the late evening bus, you can choose to get dropped off at your hotel. Otherwise the bus stops at Base Camp in Echoland and you can walk from there or your lodging may pick you up.
[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="Airport Transfers"]
Bus to Ski Resorts From Echoland
There are two broad types of daytime shuttle buses in Hakuba: the free shuttles operated by each of the main ski resorts; and Hakuba Valley shuttles which go to all the HV ski resorts. The latter are free if you have a Hakuba Valley lift pass (or Epic Pass), otherwise a small fee applies (except at Kashimayari where it's free).
Base Camp (at the bottom of the main street) is on many of the bus routes.
The Happo One bus in particular has extensive routes around Echoland and Misorano and these are just examples of some of the hotels it stops at:
Night Shuttle
The on-demand free night taxis have replaced the Genki Go night buses, and only operate in the absolute peak of the season from 5-10pm. You need to download an app to use the service. It travels around the Happo village, downtown Hakuba, Goryu and Iwatake, and designated virtual stops in the Echoland and Misorano area include the Echoland roundabout, Cherry Pub, and 7-Eleven Misorano. Rules of use include that you have to behave yourselves (!) and not use fireworks!
Echoland Accommodation
There is a huge amount of Hakuba accommodation in the Echoland and adjacent Misorano area. There are plenty of lodging options for economical to moderate budgets, yet negligible deluxe accommodation. You can choose from hotels, lodges, inexpensive pensions, apartments, chalets and houses, and a couple of backpackers.
Echoland Accommodation Listings
Echoland Ski Hire and Snowboard Rental
The
Spicy Rentals shop has a good range of ski and snowboard equipment for hire as well as snow clothing. They are conveniently located right near Hakuba Base Camp (a major bus stop). You can
pre-book your gear here
[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="Echoland Rentals"]