We drove from Tsugaike to Cortina on a powder day. It was reasonably early yet the lift queue for the quad chair was already developing. There were no corrals for the lift line, so it didn’t prevent people from saving a spot for all their friends and their friends. There also seemed to be a strange culture that some people thought it was OK to leave their snowboard or skis in the line as a way of saving themselves a spot whilst they finished their breakfast. As the lift line was growing in front of us, we decided to bail across to Norikura where it was a little quieter.

We returned to Cortina the next day after a few cm of snow which was not enough to reset the ski area. Surprisingly there were still plenty of freshies in the sidecountry which we lapped for the morning. In the afternoon we ski toured out to a close-by backcountry zone, which was fun although there were a few Japanese groups out there too, so we all tracked that out by mid afternoon.

Hakuba has always had its fair share of snowgans going out of bounds without any avi gear or know-how, yet the problem seems to have increased at Cortina. We saw a few clueless snowgans out in the backcountry without any gear, post-holing up to their thighs on our skin track, happily lost but glad that they’d found us to show them the way. We came across another snowboarder who said his brother just kept riding down into the valley (into no-mans land) and didn’t know where he was, yet didn’t seem at all fazed. Oh my! As a minimum, Cortina might need to introduce beacon initiated gate openings on the backcountry gates to make people think twice about heading out of bounds and blindly following others tracks.

The popularity of Cortina has been increasing for years and with the advent of the Epic Pass, we thought Cortina would have no allure left for powder hounds. It was nice to see that despite being rather busy in-bounds, Cortina still had plenty of offerings for those prepared to do a little work (and of course with the right gear and route-finding nous).

One of the huge pros of Cortina is that it’s inter-connected with Norikura, which has a new lift-accessed backcountry style area.

You can see our Japan ski resorts ratings to see how we compare Hakuba Cortina and Norikura to lots of other Japanese ski areas.
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Chatting with a seasoned visitor on our first trip to the Hakuba Valley in February, he let me in on a little local secret. “Whatever powder the storm drops in Happo, double it at Cortina”. Reports for an over night storm through the valley of an expected 15cm on Happo, I thought to test this theory out. An easy stroll though the not over westernized town (yet!) to the bus stop and was greeted with a crowd, was then I realized.....this is not a secret....First bus full! Lucky the valley shuttles are prepared for these days as bus after bus would fill. Second bus full, third and fourth where I boarded. Arriving at Cortina (a 40 minute shuttle ride stopping at 3 other bases along the way) the mountains looked impressive with a good 30+ cm around at base and the equally impressive hotel green plaza. This hotel is the only accommodation at the base of Cortina but, it has it all... rentals, restaurants, cafes, retail shops are all readily available. There is no gondola at this resort but the lift infrastructure is sufficient enough to get you where you want to get to. The late opening of chair#4 on a day with 30+ cm around was enough for the line to grow and grow and grow.. for a good 30 minute wait with the other keen board and skier to get to the top but it was worth the wait!! The powder turns on piste were amazing and even though a lot was chewed out well before lunch, there was a lot still to play in. Lunch in the cafeteria style restaurant was amazing with most meal made to order before your eyes. Would recommend Cortina to all levels of snow enthusiasts as although it’s not a massive resort there is something for everyone for a decent day trip or 2 from Happo. With the 42° course, trees and side country off chair #4 to the wide open green course off chair #2 (watch out for the single tree in the middle of this green course 😂) there’s something for everyone.
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I spent 5 days riding the Hakuba area resorts in January 2019. I found Hakuba Cortina to be the best tree riding in valley. The resort tends to receive higher snowfall amounts than the other resorts and less volume of people. On one day we had close to a meter of new snow overnight and I found fresh tracks in steep perfectly spaced trees all day long. If you are in Hakuba make sure you find your way to Cortina for the goods!
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Word is out about this resort now but it still brings it every sesason ! Amazing off piste from the top lifts and a run down a side of a dam you can get some great photos to make all you friends back home instantly transform into green eyed monsters.

It is a short drive west of the main Village and still has a clubby type resort field despite the huge and pleasant Austrian (or perhaps Italian) style hotel at the base . Ample parking there although be careful with your timing quite a large resort and a bit easy to get disorientated and return to the carpark half an hour later than you had arranged ! 

I would highly recommend it on a powder day get up that little bit early and be in line for the first rotations of the lifts there as you will definitely not regret it. Only downside is there is not an onsen or other apes/ nightlife although you may get lucky as we did with an event going on in the hotel lobby after lifts stopped. 

Epic days at an Epic resort. Enjoy and stay safe at CORTINA !
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We’d heard that Cortina was “done” as a powder hound destination because all the Euros devour the slopes in a nano-second (apparently our fault!), so we were pleasantly surprised to ski plenty of fresh powder, especially for a very peak period. Sure there could be many powder days where the little Cortina doesn’t handle too many powder punters, but we absolutely lucked in. Cortina was rather quiet and neighbouring Norikura was ridiculously uncrowded. By lunch time there were still a few fresh-ish lines in the off-piste zones of Cortina, plenty of fresh in the sidecountry, and Norikura remained rather untouched (except for the pawing from us hounds).

Definitely get a combined Cortina Norikura lift pass – you can check out our Norikura review here.

You can also see our Japan ski resorts ratings to see how we compare Hakuba Cortina and Norikura to lots of other Japanese ski areas.
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Cortina is an epic mountain when it gets hit with some snow. The tree runs are some of the best i have experienced in all of the Hakuba region. And if your lucky enough to score a powder day you will not be disappointed. It is one of the furthest mountains from the Happo info centre, so if you want to head out there on a powder day. You will need to get up early, to ensure you get some sweet powder runs as it will get tracked out rather quickly.

When we purchased the lift ticket for Cortina, it entitles you to a discounted meal at the hotel and admission to use their onsen which we found a great way to finish your day on the mountain.

On a side note, if you are heading to Hakuba. i'd recommend purchasing your tickets on the day for the mountain you decide to go to. we purchased an all mountain pass which ended up providing no financial saving and still required us to go to the ticket office of every mountain to pick up our mountain swipe card for the day. we also found that when you purchased a day pass for most mountains they will give to a discount coupon to ride the same mountain the next day for half the price. a saving we never received with the advanced purchase...

All in all, an epic mountain for riding some fresh tracks.
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A little bit of snow goes a long way in this little slice of heaven! Being protected from the wind by the bowl shape of the resort area and the trees powder is well preserved. Don't sleep in though because the off-piste in bounds gets tracked out by midday but is well worth getting up for! If you take the plunge over the back it gets even better!!! Plus, there's fun to be had for riders of all abilities! For me, short of doing a back-country tour, it is the pick of the Hakuba Valley resorts.
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This place rocks or should I say snows endlessly because powder is what draws you here and there is plenty to go around. In the time I was here it constantly snowed so you never had to worry about running out of that light fluffy stuff. Cortina has runs to suit everyone whether you want steeps, groomed or trees but in all honesty everyone comes here for the powder.
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Very good, powder packed! Good advanced, intermediate and beginner groomed runs, as well as non groomed black runs and more off piste backcountry powder than you could imagine.

The ski in ski out accomodation is truly a palace, with ski hire, restaurants and onsens to make you happy!
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Cortina is our favourite of the Hakuba ski resorts for multiple reasons. Sure it doesn’t have the shopping, restaurants, nightlife and ease of English spoken in every establishment as found in the main part of Hakuba, but that’s also part of the attraction of Cortina. And then there’s the awesome tree skiing, the easily accessed side-country, the abundance of snow, no patrollers chasing you, and fewer punters to share the powder with compared to Happo One.

So the skiing is superb, but we can also recommend a short multi-day stay at Cortina.

Our thoughts on the pros and cons are pretty much covered on the overview of Cortina Japan page.
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