Hakuba Alps Hotel, which sits directly on the Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Area in Otari Village, Nagano, will reopen in December 2026 as “THE ALPS HOTEL HAKUBA” (159 rooms) after a change of operator and a renovation. Plan・Do・See Inc. takes over operations under a lease agreement, while the building and the ski area stay with the existing owner. Because this is the reopening of an existing hotel rather than a new build, room supply in the Hakuba area does not increase. MetroEngines Research data show, however, that the hotel’s estimated settled ADR in winter 2025/26 (December–February), before the renovation, was about ¥22,500, while for winter 2026/27, after the renovation, it is being marketed at about ¥47,000 on a listed-price basis — a move of more than twofold up the price ladder. This article tallies the winter price-band distribution of 54 Hakuba-area properties to show which band the reopened hotel enters and how it shifts the area’s price structure.

Note: In this article, the “Hakuba area” covers Hakuba Village plus the Hakuba Norikura and Tsugaike areas of neighboring Otari Village. Where property and room counts are cited, the base population is the roughly 27,000 properties tracked by MetroEngines Research that are confirmed as operating; the scope of each tally is stated in the text.

The Operator Handover and Renovation — A 159-Room Reopening, Not a New Build

First, the facts. Hakuba Alps Hotel opened in 1971 as a pioneer of the ski boom in the Hakuba Norikura area, and the same owner has also run the adjacent Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Area (9 lifts, 14 courses). According to a release dated September 2, 2025, the owner signed a lease agreement with Plan・Do・See Inc. and would hand over hotel operations from April 2026, while continuing to own and maintain the building and to run the ski business itself. Before the handover, the hotel had 187 rooms including condominiums and a capacity of 450 guests.

The operator’s release of April 1, 2026 states that operations and renovation work began that day, with the hotel to open in December 2026 as “THE ALPS HOTEL HAKUBA”. It will have 159 rooms in 9 types ranging from 27 to 100 m², including family suites that sleep up to 8, standard doubles for 1–2 guests, and dog-friendly rooms. The outdoor pool, sauna and hot spring carry over from before the renovation, and there are plans for a new activity space with a jukebox and billiard table, plus a childcare room. Booking-site listings give the opening date as Tuesday, December 15, 2026, timing the reopening for the 2026-27 snow season.

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from press releases by Hakuba Alps Hotel Co., Ltd. and Plan・Do・See Inc.

The key point is that this project does not add rooms. The count actually falls from 187 before the handover to 159 after the renovation, so its effect on area supply is neutral or slightly negative. On the other hand, the operator, brand and room specifications all change, so the price band at which the same building is sold changes too. Moving only the price band without adding supply is what defines this reopening. For the nationwide supply impact of 100+ room properties opening in the same period, split into new builds and revivals of existing hotels, see Japan Hotel Openings Oct 2026–Mar 2027: the full list of 100+ room properties.

Hakuba Winter Rates — Estimated Settled ADR Up 1.3x in a Year, Listed Rates for Winter 2026/27 Higher Still

Before discussing price bands, we check the rate level for the area as a whole. MetroEngines Research’s estimated settled ADR for Hakuba Village (median across all categories, 44–45 properties) ran ¥20,100 in December, ¥21,500 in January and ¥19,500 in February in winter 2025/26, up a sharp 41.4%, 30.0% and 15.4% YoY respectively. Against a December–February average of ¥15,900 in winter 2024/25, winter 2025/26 came in at ¥20,400 — 1.28x in one year. With Nagano Prefecture as a whole at ¥13,800 in January 2026 (810 properties), Hakuba Village already sits at more than 1.5x the prefectural level.

Behind this is record demand. HAKUBA VALLEY (10 ski areas across Hakuba, Otari and Omachi) drew 1.925 million visitors in the 2025-26 season (+3% YoY), the most in the past 10 seasons, of whom 925,000 were foreign visitors (+17% YoY), or 48% of the total. The owner’s September 2025 release likewise cited 2024-25 season figures of 1.865 million visitors and 727,000 foreign visitors, both record highs. With roughly half of visitors coming from overseas, winter room rates tend to form independently of the going rate for domestic ski demand. Repeat Australian guests are also a key driver of early bookings for winter 2026-27 across Niseko, Hakuba and Yuzawa.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team

Estimated settled ADR for Hakuba Village, all categories (monthly median). October 2026 onward and January–March 2027 are estimates based on listed prices as of the survey date (October 23, 2026) and will change. Each month covers 28–51 properties.

For winter 2026/27, estimates based on listed prices as of the survey date are ¥23,900 for December, ¥28,300 for January and ¥27,800 for February (28–29 properties), i.e. rates are being marketed 20–40% above the same months a year earlier. That said, these are listing snapshots with considerable room for downward revision as stay dates approach, as noted in the caveat below. By category, Hakuba Village resort hotels averaged ¥34,200 for December–February of winter 2025/26 (25–26 properties) and ryokan ¥13,000 (18 properties) — a 2.6x gap between segments within the same village.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team

Each winter is the simple average of the December, January and February estimated settled ADR. Winter 2026/27 is an estimate based on listed prices as of October 23, 2026.

The hotel’s own trajectory is also telling. Before the renovation, Hakuba Alps Hotel’s winter estimated settled ADR rose 1.65x in one year, from ¥13,600 in winter 2024/25 to ¥22,500 in winter 2025/26. This was the period when it refurbished its outdoor pool and added a jacuzzi and sauna in 2024, after renovating guest rooms in 2023–24, so even before the full renovation it had already reached a level slightly above the area as a whole (¥20,400). The post-renovation listed level of ¥47,000 takes it up another 2.1x step from there.

Where It Lands in the Price Distribution — “Large × ¥40–60k” Was an Empty Slot

So where does the post-renovation level of ¥47,000 sit within the Hakuba area’s price distribution? We took the properties for which a winter 2025/26 (December–February) estimated settled ADR can be calculated and sorted them by price band across two catchments: the Happo/Hakuba Station side (within 5 km of Hakuba Station, 41 properties, 1,534 rooms) and the Norikura/Tsugaike side where the subject hotel stands (within 3 km of Hakuba Alps Hotel, 13 properties, 572 rooms). Note that estimated settled ADR is calculated only for validated segments — business, city, resort, ryokan and capsule — so most pensions, lodges and minshuku are not included in this distribution.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team

Total rooms of properties in each winter 2025/26 (December–February) estimated settled ADR band. Excludes the subject hotel. Happo/Hakuba Station side N=41 properties; Norikura/Tsugaike side N=13 properties.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team

On the Happo/Hakuba Station side, the band above ¥60,000 holds 4 properties and 165 rooms — Courtyard by Marriott Hakuba (72 rooms, ¥83,100), Hotel La Vigne Hakuba (38 rooms, ¥147,000), THE HAPPO (30 rooms, ¥86,600) and Hakuba Resort Hotel La Neige Higashikan (25 rooms, ¥79,600) — while the ¥40,000–60,000 band holds 5 properties and 185 rooms, including Sierra Resort Hakuba (74 rooms, ¥53,000), evo Hotel Hakuba (27 rooms, ¥57,600) and Hotel Abest Happo Aldea (31 rooms, ¥48,100). On the Norikura/Tsugaike side, by contrast, every property except the most expensive one, Tsugaike Kogen Hotel Hakuba Berghaus (18 rooms, ¥36,300), sits below ¥25,000, and no property falls in the band of ¥40,000 or more. Even within the same HAKUBA VALLEY, the median winter rate was ¥23,100 on the Happo side versus ¥15,400 on the Norikura/Tsugaike side.

Placing the post-renovation listed level of ¥47,000 and 159 rooms into this distribution reveals two things. First, the Norikura/Tsugaike side gets its first property in the band above ¥40,000. Second, across the whole area the 9 properties above ¥40,000 have at most 74 rooms, and both properties with more than 100 rooms — Hakuba Tokyu Hotel (102 rooms, ¥31,700) and Hotel Green Plaza Hakuba (257 rooms, ¥22,300) — sat below ¥40,000. In other words, “100+ rooms × ¥40–60k” was a combination that did not exist in the Hakuba area in winter 2025/26, and the renovated hotel steps into this empty slot on its own. The same picture of existing supply lacking the “large × high-rate” combination applies in Niseko, where the 165-room Fairmont is about to enter; for details, see Niseko’s Top Tier: Just 2 Hotels, 75 Rooms.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team

Horizontal axis = number of rooms; vertical axis = winter 2025/26 estimated settled ADR (log scale). The subject hotel is shown as two points: before renovation (winter 2025/26, results-based estimate) and after renovation (winter 2026/27, listed-basis estimate). N=54 properties plus the subject hotel.

On the map, properties above ¥40,000 cluster from the lower slopes of Happo-one through Echoland and Wadano, while the Norikura/Tsugaike side has been made up of mid-priced and cheaper properties. The subject hotel sits at the foot of Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Area, a core property in the northern area that links with Hakuba Cortina.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team

Circle size = number of rooms; color = winter 2025/26 estimated settled ADR band (dark blue = ¥40,000 or more, blue = ¥25,000–40,000, light blue = under ¥25,000). The black-outlined circle is the subject hotel. Coordinates are based on major booking-site listings.

Moving the Price Band Without Adding Supply — Room Stock Flat for a Decade

To sum up so far, the essence of this reopening is a shift in price band, not an increase in supply. Room stock within 3 km of the hotel (Hakuba Norikura, Tsugaike, Cortina) is 98 properties and 2,389 rooms on a listed basis, of which 22 properties and 762 rooms are operating with sale prices confirmed in the most recent 3 months. For properties with a known opening year, the annual trend is essentially flat, from 1,869 rooms in 2017 to 1,873 rooms in 2026 (11 properties and 192 rooms with unknown opening years are excluded), so this is not a catchment that has been adding rooms over the past decade. By segment, resort hotels account for 16 properties and 950 rooms, or 40% of rooms, followed by ryokan (23 properties, 442 rooms), lodges (25 properties, 412 rooms) and pensions (17 properties, 260 rooms).

Widening the radius to 5 km from Hakuba Station shows the same picture: of 343 listed properties and 6,736 rooms, 113 properties and 2,628 rooms are operating. By size, properties with 50 rooms or fewer overwhelmingly dominate at 328 properties and 5,491 rooms, with 12 properties (885 rooms) at 51–100 rooms and just 3 properties (360 rooms) at 101–200 rooms. The Hakuba area is a cluster of small properties, and properties with more than 100 rooms are themselves rare.

Against that backdrop, what does it mean for 159 rooms to move from the ¥22,500 band to the ¥47,000 band? Looking only at the rate difference, without assuming an occupancy rate, it is a gap of about ¥24,500 per room-night. Over the 107 days from December 15 to the end of March, 159 rooms supply roughly 17,000 room-nights of inventory, which affects the area’s winter revenue structure in a different way from adding several hundred new rooms. Total room count stays the same, but inventory in the band above ¥40,000 — previously concentrated on the Happo side — jumps by 159 rooms on the Norikura/Tsugaike side.

On the demand side, Lunar New Year 2027 begins on Saturday, February 6, and holidays in the 4 main source markets overlap on February 6–9 (see Lunar New Year 2027: 4 Markets Converge Feb 6–9). With foreign visitors accounting for 48% of winter visitors to the Hakuba area, February rate formation will depend on whether properties can capture this holiday demand. A room mix of 9 types with family suites for up to 8 reads as a design aimed at larger overseas families on multi-night stays, targeting a different clientele from existing properties on the Norikura/Tsugaike side.

Implications for Operators and Investors — Reopening an Existing Hotel Reshapes the Price Bands

First, for existing resort hotels and ryokan on the Norikura/Tsugaike side, the catchment’s price ceiling rising above ¥40,000 for the first time is an opportunity to revisit their own pricing. With large properties such as Hotel Green Plaza Hakuba (257 rooms) and Hotel Sun Plaza Tsugaike (79 rooms) sitting in the ¥15,000–25,000 band, the middle band (¥25,000–40,000) is a thin layer consisting only of the 18-room Tsugaike Kogen Hotel Hakuba Berghaus; a higher ceiling creates room to move into the middle band.

Second, for resort investors, this case illustrates the difference between new development and an operator handover by lease. A structure in which the owner keeps the building and ski area while handing operations to a specialist operator offers a way to swap only the lodging side’s brand and room specifications while keeping ski and lodging operations integrated. Given that Hakuba-area room stock has been flat for a decade and properties with more than 100 rooms are rare, candidates for similar repositioning deals are limited — which in itself supports the value of existing large properties.

Third, the post-renovation level of ¥47,000 is for now an estimate based on a listing snapshot, not a confirmed settled level. Hakuba Village as a whole is also being marketed 20–40% above last year for winter 2026/27 on a listed basis, but rates may be adjusted as stay dates approach. Which band the hotel actually lands in will need to be confirmed with results-based estimated settled ADR, which will be finalized from March 2027 onward.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is THE ALPS HOTEL HAKUBA in Hakuba Village?
Its address is 12851 Chikuni-otsu, Otari Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano. It is directly connected to Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Area in Otari Village, which borders Hakuba Village, and lies in the northern part of HAKUBA VALLEY.

Q. How many rooms does it have?
According to the operator’s release of April 1, 2026, it has 159 rooms in 9 types. Before the handover, Hakuba Alps Hotel had 187 rooms including condominiums.

Q. How much will a stay cost after the renovation?
The ¥47,000 in this article is an estimated settled rate (tax-excluded equivalent) derived from price levels for December 2026–February 2027 listed on major booking sites as of October 23, 2026. Actual selling prices vary by room type, dates and plan, and will change.