Hello Hakuba

Three trains were required to get to Hakuba including the Hokuriku shinkansen. The local train from Itoigawa Station to Minami Otari Station was a small two carriage train and was very slow. We didn't complain just enjoyed the wonderful snowy scenery of the Hakuba Valley in the Japanese Alps. The train zigzagged the Himekawa river many times and disappeared through numerous tunnels.

We rolled into Hakuba around 3.30pm. Stephen, who owns Snowlines, the lodge we were staying in, picked us up. The drive through Hakuba was so different to our last arrival, with the snow covering the landscape and piled high on the road verge. The lodge itself had a huge pile of snow in the front with several boys making tunnels!

We unpacked and settled in before walking to Spicy to pick up our skis. Dinner was enjoyed at the lodge with friends from Canberra joining us!