Able Hakuba Goryu
Goryu is one of the
Hakuba ski resorts and it shares a common lift pass and is interconnected at the top with the
Hakuba 47 Ski Resort. The Hakuba Goryu Ski Resort and Hakuba 47 are good to visit as a day trip from other areas of Hakuba, or there’s a village at Goryu offering a peaceful and family friendly option for a Hakuba holiday.
The mountain views are pretty special and the nearby Goryu-dake (Mt Goryu) is named after dragons and/or diamonds that can be seen up on the mountain, but possibly only by tired skiers whose goggles are fogged up a little?!
Pros and Cons of Goryu
Pros
- In combination with Hakuba 47, Goryu offers decent sized terrain and a variety of slopes.
- Goryu Ski Resort itself is very good for beginners and is good for intermediates (when there is nice weather).
- Goryu is rather family friendly with kids play areas, child care facilities, and group ski and snowboard lessons in English.
- Goryu is westernised enough to make a holiday straightforward for English speaking guests, yet it hasn’t lost the essence of Japan.
Cons
- If staying at Goryu, it’s easy enough to use the buses to get to Happo One ski resort, but more difficult to travel to the other resorts (relative to other Hakuba accommodation base areas such as Wadano, Happo and Echoland).
- The prohibition of off-piste skiing and snowboarding in most areas is rather restrictive for powder hounds.
- Hakuba Goryu can get very crowded, especially on the weekends, and there are a few congested choke points.
Pro or Con Depending on your Perspective
- Goryu is a nice spot to stay if you’re happy with a quiet village with minimal nightlife, restaurant options, or shops.
Hakuba Goryu Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Goryu Ski Resort (officially Able Hakuba Goryu) is a little larger than neighbouring Hakuba 47 but it’s still modest in size with only 16 courses and 11 lifts (including a gondola and 3 quad chairs). The elevation is from 750 to 1,676 metres, with 926 metres of vertical drop.
The official trail stats are 35% beginner, 40% intermediate, and 25% advanced. As is often the case in Japan, the statistics don’t quite reflect reality because the advanced terrain is a little overestimated - Goryu only has three advanced runs.
In a small attempt to be savvy to their best asset, the powder, Hakuba Goryu opened a little “Open Tree Zone” where tree skiing is permitted. It’s delightfully steep and the trees are perfectly spaced, but there’s only enough room for about half a dozen fresh tracks. Elsewhere, off-piste skiing at Goryu is prohibited and whilst very tempting, riding under the gondola is really frowned upon. There is also some tasty sidecountry, but you’ll probably need to appear invisible or risk losing your lift pass. Goryu also has some great backcountry access above the resort.
See the
Goryu skiing page for more information.
Where is the Hakuba Goryu Ski Resort?
The Able Hakuba Goryu Ski Resort is one of the Hakuba Valley ski areas. To the north of Goryu is
Hakuba 47, and
Happo One Ski Resort is further north again.
Sanosaka Ski Resort sits to the south of Goryu.
See the
getting to Goryu for more information on location and see our
getting to Hakuba page for information on the location of Hakuba Japan and for travel options.
Goryu Accommodation
There is a lovely forested village near the Goryu Toomi base (Kamishiro) which has several hotels, lots of pensions, lodges, and various options for self-contained accommodation. There are a few ski-in ski-out properties, but most
Goryu accommodation requires a short walk to the lifts, or some lodges provide morning shuttles.
There is also a small amount of accommodation near the Iimori base.
You can search for availability and more information on the
Hakuba Goryu Accommodation listings page.
[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Hakuba" subcategory="Goryu Rentals"]