Reggae Snowsplash

Mar. 8, 2008 in Hakuba, Nagano. Enjoy a fun ski weekend and get your fill of Roots Dub, Ska, Calypso and Latin rhythyms - plus some wicked Japanese powder! We've got a great lineup of artists this year with some surprise performances...don't miss it...or a chance to win lots of door prizes including an Arbor Snowboard, the new TGR film and much more!

reggaesnowsplash.com

HIAQ

Compete in orienteering, mountain biking, kayaking and multiple team challenges in two full days of activity and racing! Expect crazy races, wild courses, and prizes for your and your team-mates along with plenty of festivities, BBQ's, beverages and musical extravaganza!

Register:
To register for the HIAQ Hakuba International Adventure Quest, please download and complete both the individual entry form and team entry form from the Evergreen website. Email completed forms to tours@evergreen-hakuba.com.

evergreen-hakuba.com

Onsens (hot springs)

Hundreds of unique onsens in Hakuba and the surrounding area, some private, indoor, outdoor, and several foot baths with overhead awnings to stay dry on rainy days.

Hakuba Village Onsen Info

(塩の道, Salt Road) was an old kaidō in ancient Japan and was used to transport salt from the ocean  to the inland portions of central Honshū. In the middle ages, salt was brough both from the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean to Shinano Province for processing. The road leading from the Sea of Japan  to Shinano Province was called the Chikuni Kaidō (千国街道), whereas the road leading from the Pacific Ocean was called the Sanshū Kaidō (三州街道).

Izakaya

The name "izakaya" is a compound word consisting of "i " (to remain) and "sakaya" (sake shop), showing that izakaya originate from sake shops which allowed customers to remain on the premises to drink. Izakaya are sometimes called Akachōchin (red lantern) in daily conversation, because these paper lanterns are traditionally found in front of an izakaya.

Dining in an izakaya
Depending on the izakaya, customers sit on tatami mats and dine from low tables in the traditional Japanese style, or sit on chairs and drink/dine from tables. Many izakaya offer a choice of both, as well as seating by the bar. Usually, you will be given an oshibori (wet towel) to clean your hands with; next an otōshi or tsukidashi (a tiny snack/an appetizer) will be served. This is local custom and usually charged onto the bill in lieu of an entry fee. Japanese people in Kantō region call it otōshi and Kansai people call it tsukidashi. The menu may be on the table, or displayed on walls. Picture menus are common in larger izakaya. Food and drink are ordered throughout the course of the session as desired. They are brought to the table, and the bill is added up at the end of the session. Unlike other Japanese styles of eating, food items are usually shared by everyone at the table. Common formats for izakaya dining in Japan are known as nomihodai ("drink all you can") and tabehodai ("eat all you can"). These formats are especially popular in large, chain izakaya. For a set price per person, customers can continue ordering as much food and / or drink as they wish, with a usual time limit of two or three hours.
Izakayas in Hakuba

1998 Winter Olympics

Hakuba was a proud host of many of the 1998 Winter Olympic events.

Togakushi

Tokakushi Heights is situated in the north of Nagano within the Joshinetsu National Park. This volcanic area has an altitude of 1,200m and is located in the foot of the two volcanoes, Togakushi and Iizuna. In the midst of a wood with cedar trees that are over 100 years old, there stands the Togakushi-jinja Shrine. You can see Kagura, a performance of traditional sacred music and dancing with themes selected from myths at the grand festival in autumn. Togakushi is also noted for the production of buckwheat noodles and soba.

Cultural Tours

Matsumoto Castle

(松本城, Matsumoto-jō) is one of Japan's historic castles. Located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture, it is within easy reach of Tokyo, making it popular with tourists from Japan and other countries. This castle is also called Crow Castle because of its black walls and spreading wings. It is an example of a flatland castle, not being built on a hilltop or amid rivers.

The castle's origins go back to the Sengoku (Warring States) period. At that time, the Ogasawara clan built a fort on this site, which was originally called Fukashi Castle. Later, it came under the rule of the Takeda clan and then Tokugawa Ieyasu. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi transferred Ieyasu to the Kantō region, he placed Ishikawa Norimasa in charge of Matsumoto. Norimasa and his son Yasunaga built the tower and other parts of the castle, including: the three towers, the tenshu (donjon tower), inui-kotenshu (small tower in the northwest), watari-yagura (connecting scaffold), goten (residence), taikomon (drum gate), kuromon (black gate), yagura (scaffold), hori (trench), honmaru (the main wing), ninomaru (the second wing), sannomaru (the third wing), and the sub-floors in the castle, much as they are today. They were also instrumental in laying out the castle town and its infrastructure. It is believed much of the castle was completed in 1593-4.
The tower of Matsumoto Castle is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.
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Wikipedia Article

Directions to Matsumoto Castle

Kurobe Dam

黒部ダム, Kurobe dam) or Kuroyon dam (黒四ダム) , Japan's largest dam[1], is on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture on the island of Honshū. It generates electricity for the Kansai Electric Power Company. It stands 186 m high and holds 200,000,000 cubic meters of water. Its construction, completed in 1963 at a cost of 51.3 billion yen, claimed the lives of nearly two hundred people. A film, Kurobe no Taiyō (黒部の太陽; literally "The Sun of Kurobe"), starring Yujiro Ishihara (the late brother of Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara), recounts the drama of the project.
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