Summer Season

Enthusiasm for mountain biking is growing, and Hakuba and the surrounding Nagano region are rich in exciting mountain bike trails offering scenic routes through small villages and around mountain lakes. Downhill mountain biking is also growing in popularity, with some of the ski resorts building new courses.

Hakuba has several breathtaking canyons that can be experienced from May to October. Canyoning involves swimming, jumping, using ropes and cascading down whitewater chutes. Late spring and early summer have the highest water flow due to snowmelt and spring rains. Our friends at Evergreen Outdoor Center offer several tours.

One of Hakuba’s main attractions during the summer months is hiking, with hikers boarding the gondolas to reach the upper areas of the ski fields and hiking several trails through the Japanese Alps. There are several tour operators in the valley. Please ask up for details.

You will see dozens of paragliders riding the thermals during the summer months. Hakuba is a great place to get an interdiction to the sport, with many operators offering tandem jumps. Hakuba is the Paragliding capital of Japan, with the best in the world coming to Hakuba in 2010 for the World Cup event held at Happo One.

Hakuba Valley is perfect for water sports with a couple of different large rivers and several lakes. There are several different tours you can go on in the area. Please let us know what you are looking for, and we’ll try and match you with a tour.

In the past few years, Hakuba has seen a surge in interest in SUP or stand up paddleboards. Aoki Lake is popular due to the lack of motorboats and the fresh crystal clear waters delivering a full-body workout and a refreshing dip in the hot summer temperatures. There are a few places on the lake that offer board rentals.