REPORT

The Happo Spring Festival began at 11:00 a.m. today with DJ Hakuba Ekicho, the current stationmaster of JR Hakuba Station, followed by a set by the performance team ENPTY KRAFT (pictured). I caught up with a mother from Aichi (pictured, foreground center) who stayed at the Hakuba Hotel Hananosato, who told me, “I wanted to ski at Happo with my children, so we joined a ski school in Gifu to practice. My second son made his skiing debut this season, and yesterday we all skied the Riesen Grat.”
[OAKLEY TERRACE]

Free soft drinks such as cola and orange juice were distributed at the venue, and other foods and drinks like baked marshmallows (JPY200), Corona Extra (JPY600), and baked sweet potatoes (JPY300) were available for purchase. After the talk show at 12:20 that was hosted by Akito and Yoshito Watabe along with Aiko Uemura, there was a raffle with fantastic prizes such as goggles, ski poles, backpacks, boot bags (pictured), and more. (*Raffle tickets were distributed in advance at Usagidaira Terrace on the day of the event.)
[Usagidaira Slope]

During the raffle, Akito Watabe (pictured, fifth from left), Yoshito Watabe (second from left), and Aiko Uemura (fourth from left) drew the lots, and the winners were called to the front of the stage. The winner of the top prize, a woman from Kanagawa Prefecture (third from left), won a brand new pair of skis. She said, “I’ve come out to ski here two weeks in a row. I can’t believe I won, and I’m really happy because I really wanted these.”
[Usagidaira Slope]

Going back to earlier in the day, the weather was warm, and light clouds fluttered in the sky. The open courses, both groomed and ungroomed, had soft granular snow from the start of the day. I had a conversation with season pass holders from Chiba Prefecture (pictured), who told me, “We love your site! We come here to ski every week. Conditions are good and it feels great to be on the slopes early in the morning.”
[Kurobishi Slope]

　　
[Hakuba Happo-one Details on 4/7 (Sun.)]
*Open Course(s) … Riesen Grat, Usagidaira, Kurobishi, Urakuro, Skyline, Panorama, Riesen Slalom, Shirakaba, Nakiyama South
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00 a.m.-), Nakiyama No.3 Triple, Happo Riesen Quad, Panorama Pair, Alpen Quad, Kurobishi No.2 Quad, Skyline No.2 Pair, Glat Quad
*Fees … 3/11 Spring Discount 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY5,500, Over 65 y/o JPY4,950, 6-17 y/o JPY2,500

*Printable Rental Discount Coupons!
Carving Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY3,000 / Outerwear JPY2,500!
Carving Ski・Snowboard High Performance Model Rental JPY500 OFF!
Kid’s Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY2,500 / Outerwear JPY1,500!

*Request for the original data of our photographs
　
　
reported by Snownavi