Where to Eat in Hakuba: Ranked
Nobody goes to Hakuba to eat but honestly the options did not disappoint. This Hakuba food diary contains my S-tier ratings of the restaurants I ate in Hakuba over 3 days.
Breakfast was taken care of at our hotel, so this food diary picks up at lunch and carries through to dinner. Hidden between the lodge restaurants and après-ski bars are a few spots that genuinely blew me away while I stayed in the Happo-One area.
A quick note on the rating system I’m using:
S tier: life-changing, go out of your way
A tier: great, would return
B tier: solid, no regrets
C tier: fine, skip if you have other options
Oden at Aguraya | A Tier
Aguraya started as a tiny yatai oden stall that could seat maybe three people at a time before expanding into a proper restaurant on Echoland's main street in 2023. It still feels nostalgic and low-key inside, with a warmth you don't quite expect from a ski town.
We came for dinner and ordered a spread of oden. My favorite was the burdock root wrapped in fish cake, as the texture contrast and the depth from the homemade broth made it incredibly satisfying. My boyfriend went straight for the Wagyu tendon, which was fall-apart tender. The total came to about ¥4,000 for drinks and oden between the two of us.
Chicken Skewers at Yakitori Street Cart | B Tier
A little further down the street from Aguraya, we stopped at a yakitori food cart specializing in chicken. No tables, no fuss, just skewers, smoke, and a pleasant buzz from the people walking by. My favorites were the tsukune (meatball) and the gizzards, both grilled to that perfect, slightly charred point. Exactly the kind of snack you want between dinner spots.
Note: This is a street stall, so hours and availability will vary. Keep your eyes open as you walk Echoland.
Unagi at Koiya | S Tier
This was the meal of the trip. I don’t say that lightly.
There are live eel tanks near the entrance… yes, you are looking at your meal before it becomes your meal. It takes about 20–30 minutes for your order to come out because the eel is killed, cleaned, and grilled to order. I recommend ordering some small dishes to start while waiting.
We ordered:
Take unaju (grilled eel over rice): this was the best eel rice bowl I have ever eaten in my life
Unatotodon (medium broiled eel with teriyaki sauce and grated yam over rice): the grated yam adds this silky, subtle richness that I wasn’t expecting, but I would not recommend to anyone who dislikes okra
Sansai tofu (cold tofu with soy sauce and flavored mountain vegetables): a great palate cleanser
Kinoko-oroshi ( Japanese mushrooms with grated daikon): earthy and simple
Total with beers came to ¥7,800 for two in 2026. Cash only, so come prepared.
The eel at Koiya is lightly sauced, so the natural flavor of the fish comes through. The texture is impossibly soft. This is one of those rare meals where you’re sad when the bowl is empty. Do not skip.
Japanese Home Cooking at Ohyokkuri | C Tier
Ohyokkuri is a local institution in Hakuba, the kind of place with a queue in winter as early as 30 minutes prior to the restaurant opening. The vibe is honest home cooking, not a flashy dining experience.
We ordered spinach, Hakuba-style stir-fried pork, saba shio (salt-grilled mackerel), ohyokkuri (the restaurant’s namesake soup), rice, and pickles. The ohyokkuri dumplings were the surprise of the meal as they’re a local specialty that tastes more like soft rice cakes, and they paired really well with the savory dishes. The total was ¥6,100 for two.
My honest take: the food tasted like something I would happily cook at home. Nothing was bad, and the soup is genuinely warming and flavorful. That said, Ohyokkuri is a solid, affordable choice when you want a filling, unpretentious dinner that feels more local.
Tip: It gets very busy during peak ski season, so get there before they open and expect a wait in the cold.
Tea Lattes & Scones at CHAVATY | A Tier
Google Maps | chavaty.jp | Instagram: @chavaty_japan
CHAVATY is a tea latte brand originally from Tokyo’s Omotesando, and their Hakuba outpost sits at 1,100 meters elevation in the Iwatake area, accessible by gondola and then the No. 5 South Chairlift. The panoramic views of the Japanese Alps from the terrace are genuinely stunning.
The green tea latte and matcha latte paired perfectly with freshly baked scones. The scones come with nut honey and cream, and they’re the real deal: crisp outside, soft inside, not the dry crumbly kind. This is a legitimately lovely stop, especially if you’re already up on the mountain.
Baked Treats at The City Bakery at Hakuba Mountain Harbor | A Tier
The City Bakery is a New York–born bakery that found one of its most scenic outposts up at Hakuba Mountain Harbor. The plain scones and oatmeal raisin cookies were amazing and would be perfect with a glass of milk. The real draw is the view, as there’s an iconic photo spot on the terrace overlooking the Northern Alps that draws significant queues. If you’re visiting on a clear day, come early.
If you're visiting on a clear day and have something specific in mind, come early. The queues for the photo spot and the sellouts both reward it.
Buta Don at カフェ・ド 4260 | B Tier
Right in front of a ski lift, this lunch spot serves a simple but excellent butadon (pork belly rice bowl) with Hakuba pork belly that has an egg on top. It’s a perfect ski lunch: warm, filling, affordable, and you can be back on the slopes quickly. Exactly what a mountain lunch should be.
It’s hard to miss, given the location right at the Happo-One lift base.
Ramen at Ramen Zunpachi | B Tier
This one almost didn’t happen. Google reported incorrect hours, and I wrote it off as closed, but my partner spotted it on his snowboard run down, and we made it in. The ramen and beef curry were both solid: nothing that will redefine your understanding of either dish, but exactly the kind of warming, comforting meal you want after a day on the mountain. The moral of the story: don’t always trust Google’s listed hours in Hakuba.
A Note on Eating in Hakuba:
Hakuba is a valley spread across several neighborhoods, and the dining scene is scattered accordingly. I stayed in Happo, so I only wandered in Happo and Echoland. A few things worth knowing:
Konbini options are extremely limited, and the shelves honestly looked ransacked when I went in the winter at night.
Cash is still king at many traditional restaurants (Koiya is cash only).
Hours change seasonally, and Google is not always reliable. When in doubt, walk past or call ahead.
The best meals here tend to be the unassuming-looking ones.
For more of my adventures and travel tips for Hakuba, check out the following posts:
Things To Do in Hakuba in the Winter (Besides Snowboarding and Skiing)
As someone who is a nervous wreck trying to get off the snow lift, I had to look into other wintertime activities while my travelling partner hit the slopes. Even for those not chasing the “Japow”, Hakuba’s tranquility and winter beauty made it an enjoyable part of my Japan trip.
Hakuba Travel Map: Sights and Food
The Hakuba Google Maps list includes every place I saved such as restaurants, points of interest, and backup options, organized so I could decide quickly while walking around. The Google Maps list can quickly sort things by distance so that you see what is closest to you.