Welcome to Gakuto Villas, nestled in the Hakuba Valley of Nagano, Japan. Only minutes away from world renowned slopes, with 10 ski resorts in the vicinity, we offer affordable boutique accommodations for the conscious traveler. Our twelve chic, two-storey houses were specifically designed to provide a distinctly comfortable and modern level of hospitality to our guests. As your home away from home, we are dedicated to making your stay as rejuvenating as possible!
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We had a wonderful stay at Gakuto Villas. The villa was impeccably clean and the beds were very comfortable (not generally the case in most ski chalets in Japan from previous experience). The location was fantastic, short walk to Rhythm and ski lifts and also close to some fantastic restaurants (i.e. Hummingbird). We loved the always helpful staff who were more than happy to help with dinner reservations, recommendations etc. I really don't have anything negative to say about the villas and am looking forward to the next visit!
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Date of stay: February 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from gakutovillas, Manager at Gakuto Villas
Responded Mar 2, 2020
Thank you for choosing to stay with us at Gakuto Villas and for the wonderful feedback! We are happy you enjoyed your stay in Hakuba and we do hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in Gakuto Villas very soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Gakuto villas are a short walk from Happo ski field and Sakko (beginners ski field), there are quite a few restaurants also in walking distance too. It is almost opposite Spicy's ski rental which is really handy. The 11 villas are spacious, open and warm. The even numbers look out onto the mountain and the odd numbers onto a car park. We had an odd number but didn't mind at all, as we could see the kids playing with the snow from our large lounge window. The staff are amazing. All speak great English (or are Aussie/English) and nothing is a problem for them. They will take you to the supermarket, restaurants, ski-field if you ask nicely, and one day even took us back to villas when we randomly bumped into a staff member in Echoland (thank you Jacob!). They will book things for you (Onsen, restaurants, buses), which makes the language barrier much easier to navigate. The villa has a washer/dryer and plenty of room for ski equipment. It is serviced every few days.
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Date of stay: January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from gakutovillas, Manager at Gakuto Villas
Responded Jan 26, 2020
Thank you for choosing to stay with us at Gakuto Villas and for the great review! We are very happy you enjoyed the stay in Hakuba and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back at Gakuto VIllas soon!
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Can thoroughly recommend these villas for your family holiday. Everything is covered, even the washing machine/dryer. There’s your own drying room for ski gear. The bathrooms have what you need, hot, powerful showers and a bath. Plenty of room in the bathrooms as well. Large lounge and kitchen area. Clean, modern style. The staff are amazing, with information, arranging transportation, info on slopes, restaurants etc. All very well organised. Other major bonuses are the fact that the bus stop for virtually all the slopes is right outside your door. No walking in ski boots! Even if your choice is not on the list, it will be covered by the buses that go from Hotel Tokyo, just down the road. Having easy access to the slopes and great accommodation is awesome. Great time had by all.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from gakutovillas, Manager at Gakuto Villas
Responded Jan 26, 2020
Thank you for choosing to stay with us at Gakuto Villas and for your great review! We are very happy you enjoyed your holiday and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in Hakuba soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The villas were very well presented and clean and tidy, with everything that you could need.
They offer a free drop off service to the supermarket each afternoon. Ideally one option to do this a little bit later would have suited, as we had to leave the ski slopes early to be able to catch it.
The staff were very helpful, and it’s a brilliant location, with the village shuttle stop directly out the front.
We would definitely stay here again!
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from gakutovillas, Manager at Gakuto Villas
Responded Mar 2, 2020
We are very happy that you enjoyed your stay with us in Hakuba! Thank you for choosing to stay with us at Gakuto Villas and for the great feedback! Will definitely review the supermarket shuttle timing for next season. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in Gakuto Villas soon!
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We loved Gakuta. The staff have been wonderful. Guin has answered so many emails for us pre trip. Using Whats App is the best way to communicate with them during your stay. They have booked restaurants and ordered taxis’s for us. It’s been so easy. Tips. Even villas look over the forest. Odd villas look over a snow filled car park. Spicy Wadano is a 5 min walk for rentals and they drop and pick up gear to Gakuto The free shuttle bus stops is the car park next door in both directions so it’s easy to get to the slopes. Bus 1 to Sakka and Bus 2 to Happo Gondola. So easy and no walking with gear. They run every 30 min. Compared to our last visit most places (including supermarkets) now use cards instead of cash only Eat at Hybrid - awesome service and amazing food. I mean amazing and fresh local produce. Highly recommend The Pub is a 5 min walk and easy for a casual dinner and the hotel attached Moninoki has an all you can eat buffet (nice) as well as a beautiful outdoor onsen (walk ins only) and 1,000 Yen and highly recommend. The villas are very clean and basic kitchen with some tea and coffee provided. (If you want to cook bring some salt and pepper) Gakuto will also happily recommend restaurants and I suggest you book as they fill up very quickly. Would definitely stay here again and it’s great value. Happy skiing
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fantastic villa for ski holiday for family of 4. Plenty of room with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Good location , able to walk lots of places including ski school. Plenty of free shuttles nearby. Staff incredibly helpful with free transport and information. Will definitely be back.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from gakutovillas, Manager at Gakuto Villas
Responded Jan 26, 2020
thank you for staying with us at Gakuto Villas and for your wonderful review! We look forward to welcoming you back in Hakuba soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Wife and I with another couple friends stayed at Gakuto Villa for a 4 days skiing trip. I think we were the first guests ever stayed since the grand opening. Our villa was completed but some other villas were still having a final touch up. Getting there seems complicated but was in fact straight forward. We landed at Haneda airport, took a quick train ride into central area and hopped on the bullet train to Nagano, then another bus journey to Hakuba. The friendly lodge manager Tokokawa-san picked us up from Happo station to the villa. If I remember correctly I think it took around 4 hours to get there from airport.
The villa looked so amazing and the surrounding was nice and quiet. Inside was very spacious, modern, clean, warm (heated flooring), comfortable and well equipped. Tokokawa-san brought us lovely breakfast every morning and gave us some good tips on where to go and eat. We were out all day every day skiing and had some really good food in the nearby restaurants (you must try the Humming Bird restaurant!). I told the villa that my friend will proposed on the slope and when we got back to the villa, there was a bottle of Champagne ready by the door (such a nice gesture!) All the slopes were close to each other so we managed to try different one every day. Slopes not busy at all and plenty of beginners and intermediate slopes to choose from although some were closed as there wasn’t enough snow at the time.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Gakuto Villa to everyone. My friends who got engaged on the slope will have their wedding in Dec 2011 and we are starting to plan to go back in Jan/Feb 2012.
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Date of stay: December 2010
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My first visit to Hakuba in 6 years. Been skiing in Niseko for past 5 years. Will definitely come back here again and also stay at Gakuto Villas. Spacious 2 bedroom villas (compared to the Mominoki Hotel where we stayed at previously). Went with our 3 girls and a friend, so packed 6 of us comfortably into the 2 bedrooms. Could have turned the living room into another room, if children are bigger.
Compact kitchen that did the trick for breakfasts and a dinner or two, but there's so much good food in Hakuba that it's worth eating out. Favourites included Kobeya (wagyu yakiniku) and Sumo Tei (changko nabe, healthy "sumo food"). After a hard day's of skiing, went to the onsen daily at Mominoki Hotel, Y800/adult and only a 2-minute walk with regular shoes.
The manager of the resort, Yoko-san, was very accessible as he also takes care of Gakuto Lodge across the road. Courteous, always smiling, and a good command of English, Yoko-san himself was a former skier for the Japan ski team for 10 years, and born and bred in Hakuba.
Each morning it was a 3-minute walk (with ski boots on) using the short cut through The Pub to Evergreen Ski School HQ next to the Mominoki Hotel where they ferry the kids up to the ski school at 9am. Picked up our 7-year old from slopeside at 4pm. Lessons including lunch for her was Y12,000. Very convenient.
To walk to the bottom of Kokusai lift on Happo One, it was another 4 minutes from Evergreen Ski School HQ, so about 7 minutes from Gakuto Villas to the lifts. But the shuttle bus stopped right outside the villas, so that was easier, and gave access to the Kokusai, Sakka and Gondola lifts of Happo One ski resort. Also the Iwatake and Goryu / Hakuba 47 ski resorts had shuttle buses stop by at 9:12-9:15am (also an hour before and after that), so it was easy to drop off my youngest daughter at ski school at 9am and still be able to go to the other ski resorts (10-15 minutes away) before returning in the late afternoon.
The early birds waited at the bus stop by 8am, and the shuttle usually came around 5-10 minutes later. First on the slopes and first to hit the powder! Altogether there are 9 ski resorts accessible using the All Mountain Pass (Happo One, Hakuba 47, Goryu, Iwatake, Tsugaike, Sannasaka, Cortina, etc.) However, if you are skiing there for say 6-7 days, cheaper / better to buy the Hakuba Alpen Pass (Happo One, Iwatake, & Tsugaike) only for 2 out of 5 days or 3 out of 6 days, and buy the others individually, as some resort passes are cheaper. Ranges from Y3,000-4,900/day for a lift ticket.
Comparing to Niseko, there are more runs to ski across the 9 resorts, and there are no crowds, even on weekends! This place has transformed over the pass 6 years, and is definitely destined to follow in Niseko's footsteps in terms of popularity. Happo One resort was also the venue for a number of events during the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998.
Shuttle buses, village buses and taxis were convenient enough to get around Hakuba during our visit, but I would probably rent a van from the airport the next time for ultra convenience. 4.5 hours and 5.5 hours drive from Haneda and Narita airports respectively.
I have also skied in Park City, Alta/Snowbird, Whistler, Jackson Hole, Vail and Mt. Buhler, but Niseko and Hakuba are firm favourites for the soft, dry powder, value (affordability) and lack of crowds!
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Date of stay: January 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from gakutovillas, Guest Relations Manager at Gakuto Villas
Responded Jun 23, 2011
Thank you for sharing your experience at Gakuto Villas. We will make sure to incorporate your suggestions and observations in this year's Guest Resources. Based on past guests' comments, we will be opening an all-day restaurant at the Lodge this year, so that our guests can enjoy fresh meals in their villas at any time. We look forward to having you visit this year! Tina and the Gakuto Villas Management
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We stayed at Gakuto Villas for 6 nights in February 2014. They are great for a family offering two bedrooms, plenty of space to spread out and lots of storage space for ski gear. The villas are clean, warm, attractive and comfortable, with a beautiful aspect - lots of light. Very well located in the heart of Hakuba. An easy walk to the pub, restaurants and onsen. Everything is easy - pick up from the bus station by the hosts, supermarket runs, and transport to the ski fields (by shuttle bus or taxi - which is cheap and easy). Hire of ski gear is simple - you can be picked up at the villa and driven to the hire centre. The company picks it up from outside the villa on your last day. From Hakuba there is a great choice of ski resorts - from the beginners' slopes at Iimori to the more challenging runs at Tsugaike Kogen (and more advanced at other resorts). If you travel towards the end of the season, the slopes are almost empty - wonderful wide runs, lots of deep snow, powder for the more adventurous, no queues for ski lifts - skiing heaven! Compared to Australia, the prices are ridiculously low, for everything from ski lessons to lift to food. Skiing during the day and relaxing in a comfortable villa at night after a walk back through the snow from dinner ... waking up to beautiful winter light, cooking breakfast in the well equipped kitchen and going out to do it all again. What could be better! Thoroughly recommended for value, comfort and a fabulous ski holiday.
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Date of stay: February 2014
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are a family of five with 3 boys under 12. The Vila was large and spacious, with huge comfy beds, beautiful Scandinavian design and a large functional dining and kitchen. All areas had lovely underfloor heating which was essential in the -4 weather. We came to Hakuba from 13 December to 20th December- this was before the shuttle buses started running. However, the staff at Gakuto made sure we were transported everywhere we wanted to go- over to Hakuba Goryu Iimori base for beginner lessons, or 8 km away to Tsugaike mountain for some variety, or to the supermarket at night to shop or even to local recommended restaurants (Windy lodge Kobeya ). During our stay there was a blizzard and we couldn't ski so the staff got our kids western dvds, We also managed to lose a bag, and the staff helped us lodge a police report, and even tracked it down. They are posting it to us now! We can't praise this place enough and would return without a doubt.
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Date of stay: December 2014
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from gakutovillas, マネージャー at Gakuto Villas
Responded Feb 21, 2015
Thank you for your time writing the review! We are so glad to hear that you felt comfortable staying in Gakuto Villas. Our villas are quite good for family and big group as 6 people can fit maximum using extra bed. Also you can keep privacy like your own house. It was good that you received your behind alright. Please come back next year and we are looking forward to seeing you again! Kind regards, Kayo
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