The last time we visited Hakuba 47 in 2014, the resort had a very conservative approach to off-piste skiing, like many Honshu ski resorts. The tourism drive must have finally got the better of them, and they now have designated tree runs and they’ve possibly even gladed some of the trees. The two best tree skiing areas require a special permit. We don’t mind this concept because it’s good for safety to sign in and out, and ski patrol can come and look for you if you haven’t returned by 3pm. However the process was rather clunky (this is Japan after all!), you have to wear a bib (rather than a nice arm band as at other resorts) which just gets in the way, and the safety briefing doesn’t actually cover useful information. You don’t even have to don avalanche safety gear or ride with a tree buddy!

The members’ only trees provided a good challenge and there were small patches of freshies left after lunchtime. As to be expected, the “Open Tree Zones” tracked out rather quickly. I think I preferred the olden days when you weren’t actually supposed to ski off-piste and there was fresh powder galore!

Other than the trees, little has changed at Hakuba 47 and there hasn’t been any investment in expanding the piste terrain or upgrading the lifts.

We were staying near the base of Goryu Ski Resort but we weren’t able to ski over to Hakuba 47 because blizzard-like conditions had closed the inter-connection. Unfortunately the bus connections between the two resorts were very infrequent so it took us a few hours to get to 47 – it would have been ideal if the resorts had put more shuttles on knowing that people couldn’t ski between the two areas.

Our thoughts on the pros and cons of the ski area are outlined on the Hakuba 47 overview page and you can also see our Japanese ski resort ratings to see how we rate Hakuba 47 versus other ski areas.
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The resort itself is interconnected with Hakuba Goryu which makes it much larger. When you get here there is one little day lodge at the bottom and a big arch that you walk under that says Hakuba 47. When you walk through it feels like Disneyland for some reason. The mountain looks daunting at first for some, and the gondola is new and well maintained. It rises through the trees and surprisingly at the top it is a lot flatter than you would think. There is a terrain park which is the main attraction, and a restaurant up the top near the gondola. There is also a run on the side with a couple of little jumps and rails and another little restaurant. There are also tree runs and powder runs in between these two runs and you can access Goryu easily. You cannot go straight to the top from Hakuba 47, you have to traverse across to Goryu and get a lift from there which is annoying, but once you are there you can go down to Hakuba 47. It is best to start at Goryu and finish the day at Hakuba 47, although Goryu has night skiing and better runs for beginners to get down. Goryu is also notorious for getting severe white outs, and once they are there they do not leave. The powder here is exceptional and it is easy to access the back country as I have done so many times. It is best to take full avalanche gear and go with other people as the area is prone to avalanches. As I came back into the boundary area there was a ski patrol person waiting to kick us off the mountain after a very stern talk back at their base with the boss. They make you study the trail map and warn you that there have been many deaths near Goryu over the years in the unpatrolled areas.
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OVERALL: A must on a trip to Hakuba, especially if you like park, decent cat trails, moderately long runs and steeps.

PROS: Some great runs that were short to moderately long (enough to satisfy an intermediate boarder who likes 3k - 5k runs). Also had a decent park, half pipe, small to medium kickers (6 feet), rails and boxes. Also seemed to be quite well maintained with servicing at half day. Posh looking facilities and a decent food-court. Also, red runs seem more similar to the blues in Perisher, Australia; didn't dare try the black runs though, so can't attest to their steepness.

CONS: Snow was brick hard ice on the day we went and apparently didn't get any better according to others who visited. Only limited to 2-3 days of hard riding. Need a bus to get there and back (which is often crowded and more like a big van with no real space to put your board/skis). Can be crowded even in March 2015.
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A great resort. Runs longer by Japanese standards and some steeper slopes more akin to Europe. Good apres ski culture for Japan (if not quite Niseko).

Check out snow monkeys in their wild onsen for the non skiers/boarders.

- Skier review.
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Our thoughts on the pros and cons of Hakuba 47 are outlined on the overview page.

Hakuba 47 in combination with Goryu is a great place to go for a day trip or two during your stay at Hakuba, and it’s very easy to get a bus to and from there.

The long groomed red runs were a lot of fun to get the speed up and there was some very nice steep tree skiing. Hakuba 47 was a good ski resort to hit up on a day when it was dumping because it was a little easier to stay under the radar in the off-piste areas, and because very few people were there hitting the powder relative to Happo One.
See our video here