THE COURSES IN DETAIL
GROOMERS
Beginners’
are
better
off
at
Tsugaike
or
Goryu.-
there
aren’t
any
real
beginner
courses
at
Iwatake.
For
intermediate
riders
there
are
numerous
courses,
with
the
ones
in
the
upper
half
of
the
resort
having
the
best
snow.
In
fact
once
you
have
ridden
the
gondola
to
the
top,
you
can
spend
most
of
the
day
using
lifts
to
access
the
many
slopes.
On
as
sunny
day
the
“South”
course
(straight
off
the
gondola)
has
the
best
views
by
a
mile.
For
advanced runs the “White Ribbon” course is the best.
POWDER RUNS
For
powderhounds
the
“View”
courses
on
the
backside
of
the
mountain
are
the
go
(View
A
is
a
large
natural
gully
and
is
the
best).
The
“Dangan”
course
is
also
good
for
powder
as
is
“Kamoshika Poket” course.
TERRAIN PARK
Iwatake’s
DC
Park
is
one
of
the
better
ones
in
Hakuba.
Has
the
usual
array
of
kickers,
tables,
boxes
,
rails
and
so
on
and
is
well
serviced
by
a
high
speed
lift.
There
is
no
half
pipe
-
go
to
47 for that.
FAMILY AND KIDS AREAS
Iwatake
has
put
a
lot
of
thought
into
making
the
resort
family
friendly
with
the
“White
Park”
,
situated
at
the
top
of
the
gondola.
It
comes
complete
with
a
tubing
and
sledding
area,
igloos
to
play
inside,
an
area
to
do
“snow
angels”
and
a
BIG
harness
swing
which
sends
you
back
and
forward
over
the
edge
of
the
mountain.
Everything
is
free
(they
lend
out
sleds
and
tubes)
and
the
only
activity
that
will
cost
you
is
the
swing
(
500
).
Of
course
you
will
need
to
pay
for
the
gondola
ride,
and
you
will
no
doubt
want
to
pop
into
the
nearby
Mountain
Harbour
Cafe so you won’t get away scott free.
PLACES TO EAT
At
the
top
of
the
gondola
is
the
skyarc
cafe/deli.
Normal
belly
filling
ski
resort
food
such
as
curry
and
ramen
are
on
the
menu
here.
Also
up
top
is
the
Mountain
Harbour
Bakery/Cafe
with
both
the
best
viewing
deck
in
Hakuba
and
the
best
muffins
and
ham/cheese croissant sandwiches.
SKI/BOARD RENTALS
Spicy
Rentals
has
a
shop
at
the
bottom
of
the
gondola.
They
also
have
other
stores
at
Happo,
Echoland
and
Tsugaike.
Most
conveniently
you
can
collect
at
any
of
their
5
stores
and
return/swap to any of the other.
PLACES TO STAY AND GETTING THERE
Most
people
prefer
to
stay
in
Hakuba
itself
but
if
you
do
want
to
stay
nearby
the
Iwatake
Apartments
are
a
good
place
to
stay.
Iwatake
is
5-10
mins
by
car
from
the
centre
of
Hakuba-
there
is
free
parking.
Or
you
can
use
the
free
shuttle
buses
if
you
don’t
have wheels. For car rentals check out
our car rental page.
Specialists in Hakuba Ski Holidays
©2013 SkiHakuba G.K. (Godo Kaisha company), Hakuba Mura, Japan.
MOUNTAIN
STATISTICS
•
Gondola
1
•
Lifts
11
•
1 day pass
5,200
•
Highest point
1289 mtrs
•
Vertical drop
539mtrs
•
Longest course
8,000 mtrs
•
Steepest run
36
c
•
Terrain park
•
Night skiing
•
Kiddies area
•
Daycare
Live Iwatake webcam (courtesy of Iwatake ski resort)
IWATAKE SKI RESORT
GREAT UNCROWDED ALLROUNDER
•
DON’T MISS: The Mountain Harbour cafe at the very
top of the resort. Great views, coffee and muffins!
•
BEST AVOID View B course on the Back Bowl unless
you like steep moguls with bare patch of ground.
•
BEST POWDER: The “Iwatake Back Bowl” runs, in
particular the View A course are hard to beat.
Iwatake
is
an
excellent
medium
size
resort
that
has
a
lot
going
for
it.
It
has
a
great
variety
of
runs
perfectly
suited
for
intermediates
and
above,
and
due
to
its
position
on
a
stand-
alone
mountain
it
has
truly
incredible
360
c
views.
Best
of
all
is
that
many
people
go
to
one
of
the
better
known
resorts
instead
so
it
is
never
crowded
except
for
weekends
and
holiday
periods.
The
one
drawback
would
be
that
early
and
late
season
it
can
be
a
bit
sketchy
for
snow,
because
of
it's
altitude.
LIFT TICKET PRICES
Child
(6-12yrs)
Adult
(13yrs+)
Senior
(60yrs+)
1 day
4,000
6,500
6,100
2 days*
6,700
11,200
10,300
½ day**
3,400
6,000
5,500