How we made a Japanese ski holiday work with three young children, including one too little to ski.
Skiing with three young children sounds like it should be one of those holidays that requires another holiday afterwards.
But our family ski trip to Hakuba, Japan, was genuinely one of our favourite trips — and a huge part of that was choosing a set-up that worked for the different ages of our children rather than trying to make everyone do the same thing.
We had older children who were ready to spend full days learning to ski and a baby who was obviously far too young for ski school.
Instead of staying at an all-inclusive ski resort, we rented a large Airbnb chalet, brought our helper with us and arranged ski school for the older children.
It worked brilliantly.
The kids learnt to ski, we actually got to ski ourselves, the baby wasn’t dragged around the mountain all day, and every afternoon we came back together for après, dinner and snow play.
For families living in Singapore or elsewhere in Asia with multiple children at completely different ages, this is a ski trip I’d absolutely recommend.
Getting From Tokyo to Hakuba With Kids 🚆
From Singapore, we flew directly to Tokyo, which is around a seven-hour flight.
For the journey to Hakuba, we managed to book the direct train from Tokyo all the way to Hakuba Station.
This train only runs a limited number of times each day — when we travelled there were two — and we took the early-morning service.
With young children, luggage and all the extras that come with a ski holiday, being able to get onto one train in Tokyo and arrive directly in Hakuba without changing was brilliant.
MPP TIP 🚆
Check the direct Tokyo → Hakuba train before automatically planning to travel via Nagano. The service is limited, so if the timing works for your trip, I’d book it in advance.
If the direct service doesn’t work for your dates or timings, travelling from Tokyo to Nagano and then continuing by road to Hakuba is another option.
For us, Hakuba’s accessibility is one of its big advantages over travelling further north to Hokkaido while the children are still very young. You can also easily combine the ski portion with a few days in Tokyo.
I’d personally save Hokkaido for when all the children are a little older and able to make the most of the skiing.
At this stage, Tokyo + Hakuba gave us the perfect combination of Japan and snow without adding another flight.
Why an Airbnb Worked So Well With a Baby
This was probably the decision that made the entire holiday work.
We booked an amazing chalet in Hakuba, surrounded by forest with plenty of living space for all of us. It really was the perfect chalet for a Japanese winter family holiday, cosy, spacious and ideal with young children. I couldn’t recommend it enough.
A lot of ski hotels, kids’ clubs and ski schools have minimum ages for childcare and lessons. Once everyone is old enough to participate, an all-inclusive ski resort becomes incredibly appealing. But it’s more complicated when you have older children desperate to ski and a baby who can’t join in.
Having an Airbnb meant our youngest could stay at the chalet with our helper while the older children were skiing.
We brought toys from home, he could nap normally, there was plenty of room to play and they could head outside for walks and snow play whenever they wanted. Nobody was stuck sitting in a hotel bedroom all day.
It also gave us somewhere genuinely nice to come home to. Some evenings we’d go out; other nights we’d eat at the chalet and let the children play outside and build snowmen.
For families in Asia who travel with a helper, I’d absolutely recommend this set-up. It could work equally well with grandparents, particularly if they don’t want to ski every day.
Arriving in Hakuba: Get the Ski Gear Sorted First 🎿
Once we arrived in Hakuba, we went straight to Centre Sports to get everyone fitted for skis, boots and everything we needed for the week.
Doing this on arrival was definitely the right decision. It meant that on our first proper ski morning everyone was ready to go rather than wasting precious slope time trying on boots and sorting equipment.
From there, we headed to Calico Social for lunch, did a food shop and then went back to settle into our chalet.
Calico was one of the places we found really easy with the kids, and having groceries back at the chalet was equally useful — easy breakfasts, snacks whenever we needed them and the option of eating at home when everyone was exhausted after skiing.
Our First Two Ski Days: Evergreen + Happo-One ⛷️
For the children’s first two ski days, we booked them into Evergreen International Ski School at Happo-One.
This was a brilliant introduction to skiing.
There were lots of other children around, and they could start with the basics — getting comfortable in their equipment, using the magic carpet and learning how to control themselves on skis.
Most importantly, they loved it from day one.
While the kids were at Evergreen, we skied at Happo-One too, which made the logistics incredibly easy. We could drop them at ski school and then spend the day skiing on the same mountain ourselves.
For children skiing for the first time, I’d happily start with Evergreen again.
Then We Switched to Private Lessons
For the following three ski days, we switched to Hakuba Ski Concierge, and this is where things became incredibly convenient.
We were travelling with another family, so between us we had five children with two private instructors.
For these days, they skied at Tsugaike Kogen.
The private instructors could tailor the lessons much more closely to the children’s abilities, and the progress they made was amazing.
There’s also the option for Ski Concierge to pick you up from your accommodation and drop you back again, which takes away a huge amount of the logistics when you’re dealing with several small children, ski boots, helmets and equipment.
If budget allows, I’d absolutely recommend it.
I actually really liked the combination we chose:
2 days Evergreen → 3 days private instruction
Evergreen gave them the fun, social ski-school introduction, while the private lessons really accelerated their progress.
By the end of the week, they were properly skiing — and, more importantly, still absolutely loving it.
What Did We Do With the Baby? 👶
Very little — and that was exactly the point!
While the older children were skiing, our youngest stayed at the Airbnb with our helper.
They could play, nap, go for walks and venture out into the snow whenever they wanted without having to spend an entire day hanging around a ski resort.
Then, when ski school finished at around 3pm, we’d all meet up again.
Some afternoons we’d meet at an après restaurant or bar and have an early dinner together. Other evenings we’d head back to the chalet, eat at home and let the children play outside and build snowmen.
It gave the holiday a really lovely rhythm.
The older kids got their ski holiday. We got to ski. The baby had a relaxed holiday. And we still had plenty of family time together.
Take a Day Off Skiing ☃️
One thing I’d absolutely recommend with young children is leaving one day completely free from ski school.
We spent ours at Nakiyama Snow Park at Happo-One, sledging, tubing and generally just playing in the snow.
This was particularly lovely because our youngest could be completely involved too — nobody was disappearing off to lessons.
Afterwards, we had lunch at The Marillen Hotel, right beside the slopes.
Then we sat outside at the Veuve Clicquot Sun Club having drinks while the kids happily built snowmen around us.
Possibly my ideal version of family après-ski. 😂🥂
Eating & Après in Hakuba 🍽️
We found Hakuba surprisingly easy for eating out with young children.
Calico Social was great with the kids and somewhere we went for lunch when we first arrived.
The Rabbit Hole was another favourite with the children. It has a really relaxed feel and is an easy option for food and après rather than having to turn dinner into a big occasion. It was one of those places that just worked well as a family.
The Pub Hakuba, at the bottom of the slopes at Happo-One, was another really easy option. It has much more of a British-pub feel, with familiar food and drinks, and was perfect for relaxed après-ski with the kids.
We also had dinner at Blizzard, while The Marillen was perfect for lunch after our snow day.
And because we’d brought our helper with us, we even managed an adults-only evening at the Champagne Bar for dinner and drinks.
One of the big advantages of the chalet, though, was not feeling as though we had to eat out every night. Sometimes dinner at home after a full day in the snow was exactly what everyone needed.
Getting Around Hakuba 🚕
We didn’t hire a car and managed using local taxis, JamJam Taxi and Uber.
I’d definitely save several taxi numbers in your phone before you arrive rather than relying on one company, particularly when you’re trying to get several children and all their ski gear around.
I’ve put all the numbers we had at the bottom of this guide.
A Lovely Add-On: Break Up the Return Journey in Nagano 🇯🇵
Although we took the direct Tokyo → Hakuba train on the way there, we did something different on the way back.
Rather than travelling all the way from Hakuba to Tokyo in one go, we travelled from Hakuba to Nagano in the evening and stayed overnight.
We chose a traditional Japanese-style Airbnb with tatami rooms.
It turned what could simply have been part of the journey home into another little experience for the kids.
You could also choose a traditional ryokan for the night if you wanted to make even more of it.
Then the following day, you’re already in Nagano and can take the direct Shinkansen back to Tokyo.
For families with young children, I really liked doing the journey this way:
TOKYO 🚆 → HAKUBA ⛷️
Then on the return:
HAKUBA ⛷️ → NAGANO 🇯🇵 → TOKYO 🗼
MPP TIP ✈️
Don’t automatically rush straight back to Tokyo after Hakuba.
If you have an extra night, stopping in Nagano and choosing a traditional Japanese stay is a lovely way to break up the journey and add another experience to the holiday at the same time.
Hakuba vs an All-Inclusive Ski Resort With Young Kids
I think this really comes down to the ages of your children.
Once all of ours are old enough to access ski lessons and children’s programmes, an all-inclusive ski resort such as Club Med becomes incredibly appealing. Everything is organised, meals are included and the children can all participate.
But when you have a baby plus older children, I’d choose the Hakuba chalet set-up again.
You’re not paying for facilities the youngest can’t use, whoever is looking after the baby has an actual home rather than a hotel room, and you have much more flexibility.
For me:
Baby/toddler + older children → Hakuba + chalet + your own childcare
Everyone old enough for ski school/kids’ club → an all-inclusive resort becomes much more appealing
And I’d personally save the bigger Hokkaido ski adventure for when everyone can really make the most of it.
SAVE THIS: Our Hakuba Details 📌
🎿 Ski rental: Centre Sports — Tel/WhatsApp: +81 261 85 0506.
⛷️ Ski lessons: Evergreen International Ski School at Happo-One; Hakuba Ski Concierge for private lessons — we skied at Tsugaike Kogen.
☃️ Snow day: Nakiyama Snow Park — sledging, tubing and snow play.
👨👩👧👦 Great with kids: Calico Social • The Rabbit Hole • The Pub Hakuba.
🍴 Other food & après: The Marillen Hotel • Veuve Clicquot Sun Club • Blizzard • Niku Masa • Champagne Bar for an adults-only evening. The original itinerary also included Hakuba Après by HHG.
*\🛒 Groceries: Hapia A-Coop Hakuba and Aeon Big.
* 🚕 Taxis: Hakuba Kanko Taxi +81 261-72-2144 • Alps Taxi +81 261-72-2221 • Alpico Taxi +81 261-72-2236. JamJam Taxi 0261-85-2899. We also used Uber.
* 🏥 Medical: Hakuba International Clinic.
* 🏡 Hakuba: Our amazing Hakuba Airbnb chalet — we couldn't recommend it enough
* 🇯🇵 Nagano: Our traditional-style Nagano Airbnb
MPP TIP: Save the taxi numbers in your phone before you arrive. When you’re trying to move several children around Hakuba in ski gear, having a few different options makes life considerably easier.
Happy travels! ✈️❄️
My Passport Pal
Soar. Explore. Flagit.