Hakuba - This little city must surely sound familiar, as it was the place where the Winter Olympics 1998 took place. Snowboarder and Skier will love this place . The “real” ski season begins around 21th december and ends around april although you’ll already see some people there before the season , skiing. There lots of areas you can ski in and of course other outside activities as rafting, canoeing, fishing, paragliding, mountain biking etc. are beeing offered.   There are various hotels and japanese style ins and it is often very difficult to find the right place.  But I recommend you the Hotel Hakuba Hifumi , a japanese style hotel. You will also find many different souvenir shops with a huge offering.   Homepage:  http://www.hakubatourism.com/