When the season runs and when to arrive
The Hakuba Valley All-Mountain Season Pass for 2026/27 runs from the planned December 2026 openings to the planned close in early May 2027, and each resort may close any time between March and early May (hakubavalley.com). Published so far:
- Iwatake: 18 December 2026 to 28 March 2027, planned (Iwatake, 20 August 2026).
- Happo-one: opening in December 2026, closing between March and early May 2027; its season pass is valid to about 5 May 2027 (happo-one.jp).
- Goryu and Hakuba 47: no 2026/27 dates yet. Goryu closed on 3 May in 2026 (hakubaescal.com).
Resorts recruit from late summer: Iwatake’s applications opened on 7 September 2026 (Iwatake), Goryu’s 2026-27 applications are open (Goryu), and Happo-one’s seasonal jobs run from mid-December to late March (Happo-one). Arrive before your start date with time to register your address.
Visas
Most overseas season workers come on a Japanese working holiday visa. Japan has agreements with a list of countries and regions, each with its own conditions, so start with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page and the Japanese embassy in your country. The ministry describes the visa as mainly for a holiday, with work allowed to help fund your travels, and says work at bars, cabarets, nightclubs or gambling venues isn’t allowed. This is general information, not immigration advice.
Finding work
The resorts hire lift, ticket, rental, food, patrol and grooming staff each winter. Most job pages are in Japanese:
Goryu and Hakuba 47: lift attendants, patrol, ticketing, rentals and slope maintenance, with staff dorms, meals and a season ticket depending on your employment type (Goryu recruitment).
Happo-one: two companies run the resort and hire separately (happo-one.jp). Happo-one Kaihatsu lists lift, restaurant, ticket, grooming, cleaning and patrol jobs; its information desk asks for English, and its dorm is for grooming staff (Happo-one Kaihatsu).
Iwatake: lift and gondola, ticket and information, and restaurant, café and onsen jobs, with a shared staff dorm (Iwatake).
Tsugaike: lift, ticket, food, parking, patrol and grooming jobs with dorms; the ticket centre asks for English conversation (Tsugaike).
Nippon Ski Resort Development, which runs Happo-one, Iwatake, Tsugaike and Kashimayari, links each resort’s job page from one place (nippon-ski.jp). As an example of costs, on 16 October 2026 Iwatake and Tsugaike both listed dorm rooms at ¥450 a day, with meals charged separately. Lodges, hotels, restaurants and rental shops in the village hire for winter too.
Finding somewhere to live
Hakuba Village says plainly that there’s a shortage of rental housing for employees and that rents have risen. Since 1 September 2026, development applications in the village must include a plan for employee housing or dorms (Hakuba Village). The village is also planning affordable homes for essential workers who want to live in the village but can’t, with move-in planned for 2029 (Hakuba Village).
For a season, that means a job with a staff dorm is the safest option. If you rent privately, sort it before you arrive and never pay for a place you haven’t seen confirmed by a real agent or employer.
Getting around
Hakuba Valley shuttle buses link the resorts and villages, including a night bus. They’re free with the All-Mountain Season Pass or a Hakuba Valley day pass on the days you ski; otherwise you pay per ride. The 2026/27 timetable wasn’t out on 16 October (hakubavalley.com).
From Nagano: Alpico’s express bus runs from Nagano Station to Hakuba Happo Bus Terminal; the 2026/27 winter timetable is due around mid-November (Alpico).
By train: Hakuba Station is on the JR Oito Line, and some Limited Express Azusa services run from Shinjuku.
On passes: the Hakuba Valley All-Mountain Season Pass covers all 10 resorts (hakubavalley.com), and the Epic Pass includes 5 consecutive days at the Hakuba Valley resorts (hakubavalley.com). Your employer’s staff pass may cover only its own resort.
Making friends and finding people to ride with
With 10 resorts and staff spread across dorms and lodges, it’s easy to end up riding only with your own team. A few habits help you meet the wider valley.
Using Broski in Hakuba
Broski is a free app for iPhone and Android that helps skiers and snowboarders find people to ride with, matched by resort, by the days they’re free and by ability. It suits season workers, whose days off rarely line up with their housemates’.
Set your home resort (Happo-one, Hakuba 47, Goryu, Iwatake, Tsugaike, Cortina or Kashimayari) and add your sport, ability and season pass to your profile.
Mark your days off as soon as your roster comes out. Riders can see each other’s free days for the next two weeks, so pick a date and see who else is riding then, at your level.
Join the resort group chat. Every resort, pass and event on Broski has one: ask who’s keen for first chair, or who’s riding on Tuesday.
Go to a meetup, or host one. Riders host lift laps, après and other events, and you can see who’s going before you turn up. Hosts can make an event women-only.
Send a request to ride with someone. Once it’s accepted, you can chat and plan where to meet.
Meeting someone new? Chat first, meet at a lift base or a café, and read our guide to meeting ski buddies safely. You can report or block anyone, and Broski is for adults only. Our Hakuba ski buddies page covers the local mountains.
Other ways in
- Turn up to valley events. Hakuba Valley lists winter events such as Avalanche Awareness Day and the Hakuba GRIND! rail jam (hakubavalley.com), and the Happo-one Fire Festival is held each February (hakubavalley.com).
- Use the village’s support for foreign residents. Welcome Hakuba, the village’s multicultural site, explains local rules, rubbish sorting and insurance (welcomehakuba.com), and the village has local multicultural support staff (Hakuba Village).
- Need help in your language? Nagano Prefecture’s Multicultural Consultation Center takes calls in 15 languages (Nagano Prefecture).
- Ride a different resort on your day off and post in its group chat the night before.
More ideas in our guide to making friends during a ski season, and check the snow forecasts before a day off.
First week checklist
Get your residence card. It’s issued at the airport if you land at Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, New Chitose, Hiroshima or Fukuoka; otherwise it’s mailed after you register your address (Immigration Services Agency).
Register your address within 14 days at the Hakuba Village office, with your residence card and passport (Hakuba Village). If you live in Otari or Omachi, go to that office.
Join National Health Insurance within 14 days if you aren’t on your employer’s insurance (Hakuba Village, Immigration Services Agency).
Watch for your My Number, which the municipality sends after you register (Immigration Services Agency).
Pick up your staff pass and check which shuttle gets you to work.
Set up Broski and join your resort’s group chat.
Questions and answers
When is the ski season in Hakuba?
Roughly December to early May. The Hakuba Valley All-Mountain Season Pass for 2026/27 runs from the planned December 2026 openings to early May 2027, and each resort closes somewhere between March and early May. Iwatake has published 18 December 2026 to 28 March 2027; Happo-one says it opens in December 2026.
Do I need to speak Japanese to work in Hakuba?
Many resort job pages are only in Japanese, and most lift, ticket and food roles are in Japanese-speaking teams, so some Japanese helps a lot. Some roles want English: Happo-one’s information desk and Tsugaike’s ticket centre list English conversation skills. Read each job ad, and ask.
Do Hakuba ski resorts give staff housing?
Several do. For winter 2026/27, Goryu and Hakuba 47 list staff dorms, Iwatake and Tsugaike list dorms at ¥450 a day in shared rooms, and Happo-one has a dorm for its grooming staff. Housing in the village is short, so a job with a dorm is the safest start.
What visa do I need for a Hakuba season?
Most overseas season workers come on a Japanese working holiday visa, open to citizens of the countries Japan has an agreement with. Conditions depend on your country, so check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page and your nearest Japanese embassy. This is general information, not immigration advice.
Is there a pass for all the Hakuba resorts?
Yes. The Hakuba Valley All-Mountain Season Pass covers all 10 Hakuba Valley resorts for 2026/27, and holders ride the Hakuba Valley shuttle bus free on the days they ski. The Epic Pass also includes 5 consecutive days at the Hakuba Valley resorts.
How do I meet people to ride with in Hakuba?
Your dorm and team come first. Then join the resort group chats on Broski and mark your days off so riders at Happo-one, Hakuba 47, Goryu, Iwatake, Tsugaike and the other Hakuba Valley resorts can see when you’re free, go to meetups, and turn up to the valley’s events.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from these official pages, checked on . Visa rules, job openings and season dates change every year, so check the official page before you book anything.
All 26 official sources
- Iwatake: 2026/27 season and early-bird season pass, 20 August 2026 (PDF, Japanese)
- Iwatake Mountain Resort: jobs (Japanese)
- Happo-one: 2026/27 season pass
- Hakuba Goryu and Hakuba47: 2026/27 season pass
- Hakuba Goryu: end of the 2025-26 season
- Hakuba Valley: All-Mountain Season Pass 2026/27
- Hakuba Valley: Epic Pass
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: Working Holiday Programmes
- Hakuba Goryu: recruitment
- Happo-one: recruitment (Japanese)
- Happo-one Kaihatsu: jobs (Japanese)
- Tsugaike Mountain Resort: jobs (Japanese)
- Nippon Ski Resort Development: recruitment by resort (Japanese)
- Hakuba Village: employee housing plans in development applications (Japanese)
- Hakuba Village: affordable housing project (Japanese)
- Hakuba Valley: shuttle bus
- Alpico: Nagano–Hakuba express bus (winter)
- Welcome Hakuba (Hakuba Village multicultural support site)
- Hakuba Village: multicultural support staff (Japanese)
- Nagano Prefecture: Multicultural Consultation Center (Japanese)
- Hakuba Valley: events
- Hakuba Valley: Happo-one Fire Festival 2026
- Immigration Services Agency of Japan: guidebook, chapter 1 (PDF)
- Immigration Services Agency of Japan: guidebook on living and working (PDF)
- Hakuba Village: moving-in notification (Japanese)
- Hakuba Village: National Health Insurance (Japanese)
Photos
- Looking across the Hakuba valley from Iimori: A Win on Unsplash (Unsplash License)
- Morning sun on the mountains above Hakuba: Trevor Paxton on Unsplash (Unsplash License)
- Fresh snow on a Hakuba side street at night: Eric Ward on Unsplash (Unsplash License)
