REPORT

One of the HAKUBA VALLEY’s major events, the Iwatake Thanks Fair, kicked off at 10:00 a.m. on 1/28 (Sat.)! I had a chat with two people from Kanagawa Prefecture attending the event, who told me, “This is our third visit to Iwatake. Today we brought our dogs Ciel, Lani, and Mike (pictured) with us. We’re going to head up to the dog run at the top of the mountain.”
[South Side of the Gondola Base Station]

This year, the event is playing out at two separate venues: one at the foot of the mountain and the other at the summit area. At the foot of the mountain, there were free giveaways of tonjiru (pork and vegetable miso soup), yaki mochi (grilled rice cake), sake (Hakuba Nishiki), beer, non-alcoholic beer, snacks, and soft drinks, and a prize drawing was held for close to 1,000 prizes, including season tickets for next year. I had a quick conversation with a group of three people from Osaka, Aichi, and Azumino (pictured) who told me they were visiting Iwatake for the first time this season.
[South Side of the Gondola Base Station]

There was enough tonjiru prepared for 2,000 people, and a long line formed in front of the booth when the serving began at 11:00. The soup could be eaten as is, or in combination with the charcoal-grilled rice cakes that were being handed out separately. The warm pork and vegetable miso soup was very satisfying in the midst of the falling snow, low temperatures, and cold north wind.
[South Side of the Gondola Base Station]

Pounding fresh rice cakes with the large wooden mallet was popular with visitors, especially small children. (*Freshly pounded rice cakes were served on the spot.) At the summit area, there were live performances by Mr. Moi, photo services by professional photographers, a pop-up champagne bar, an obstacle relay using the Yoo-hoo! ICE SLIDER, a treasure hunt, a special jib session, and more.
[South Side of the Gondola Base Station]

　
[Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field Availability Information on 1/28 (Sat.)]
*All courses are available. (*Except for North)
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00-), totally 6 lifts
*Fees … Adult JPY4,800, Over 60 y/o JPY4,500, Over 70 y/o JPY4,200, 6-12 y/o JPY3,000 (Until 3/19) *A preschooler will be free per adult.
　
＊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!

*Click here to purchase photos found in this report

reported by Snownavi