How Do You Stay Safe in Hakuba's Mountains? Climbing Plans, Avalanches, Bears and 110/119
This guide is for hikers, climbers, skiers and snowboarders who plan to leave the valley floor in Hakuba. It covers the climbing plan that Nagano Prefecture requires, ski area boundaries, avalanche risk, bears and monkeys, and what to do in an emergency.
All of it comes from official pages: Nagano Prefecture and its police, the Ministry of the Environment, Hakuba Village, the Hakuba Valley Promotion Board and the prefecture's tourism site. We read them on 3 October 2026. Rules and warnings change, so check the latest notices before each trip.
Nagano's climbing plan rule
Nagano Prefecture has a mountain safety ordinance. It was promulgated on 17 December 2015. The article that requires climbing plans took effect on 1 July 2016.
If you use a designated trail in Nagano, you must submit a climbing plan. The prefecture lists Mt Shirouma, Mt Karamatsu and Mt Kashimayari among the Northern Alps peaks covered. Its page also makes these points:
- A plan is needed even if you join a designated trail partway, rather than at the official trailhead.
- It is also needed if you climb in from a neighbouring prefecture and use part of a designated trail.
- Every trail from a designated trailhead to the summit counts, including lesser-known variation routes.
- Pure climbing routes are not "trails", but the approach paths to the rock are.
- For the Northern Alps, a plan filed with Nagano also counts as filed with Gifu Prefecture.
How to submit a climbing plan
The prefecture recommends filing online, through its Nagano e-application service. It also accepts plans through two apps it treats as official channels, Compass and YAMAP. Other options are fax, post, hand delivery, or the plan boxes at trailheads. Not every trailhead has a box.
Carry your plan with you on the day. To change it, submit a new plan online; the latest one counts. If you call off the climb, you do not need to report it, and no descent report is needed.
The prefecture also asks you to check route conditions and the weather before you go. It recommends mountain insurance. Its English guidelines add that if a private rescue team is sent out, the rescued person faces a large bill.
Ski area boundaries and the backcountry
The Hakuba Valley safety page explains the signs at its ski resorts. Poles painted yellow and black at the top mark the boundary. Poles painted yellow mark closed areas.
- Even one metre outside the boundary is not controlled by ski patrol. The resorts accept no liability for backcountry accidents.
- Some areas next to the resorts are closed because of the risk of severe accidents.
- Five resorts in the valley have designated backcountry gates. At the other five, going into the backcountry is prohibited. The safety page names them.
- To go outside the boundaries, submit a Mountain-Climbing Registration Form in advance, either at a designated ticket window or online. You must do this before you buy your lift ticket.
- Breaking resort rules means your lift ticket is suspended and you are asked to leave.
The Go! Nagano backcountry page says that if you lack experience, you should ride powder inside the resort boundaries. If you are unsure of your ability, it recommends hiring a certified guide.
Avalanches
Hakuba Valley says every backcountry user needs an avalanche transceiver, a probe and a shovel, with or without a guide. Go! Nagano adds that every member of the group should carry all three, and practise with them.
Before you go, Hakuba Valley points to three sources. These are the Nagano Prefectural Police mountain information, the Shinshu mountain information service, and the daily bulletin from the Japan Avalanche Network. Once the danger scale reaches Level 3, it recommends that inexperienced riders stay inside the resorts.
Go! Nagano lists warning signs of unstable snow. These include avalanches in the past two days, cracks that shoot out across the slope, and strong overnight wind that moves snow. It says choosing low-angle terrain is the best way to cut the risk.
Bears and monkeys
Nagano Prefecture issues bear warnings and advisories by area. On 24 June 2026 it issued a bear warning for the Northern Alps area, including Hakuba, until 10 July. This followed an injury in nearby Omachi the day before. When the prefecture's bear page was updated on 2 October 2026, no area was under a warning or advisory.
The same page says about 70 percent of bear injuries in Nagano happen in forests. People gathering mushrooms or wild plants are the largest group, about 20 percent of the total. It warns that autumn brings more people into the hills.
The Ministry of the Environment's English leaflet for the Northern Alps gives this advice:
- Make noise as you walk, with a bell, a radio, clapping or your voice. Travel in a group.
- Keep food and rubbish in sealed bags or containers, and never leave them out.
- If you meet a bear, stay calm and back away slowly while watching it. Do not scream, run or throw things.
- Never approach cubs. A mother with cubs is the most dangerous bear.
- If a bear attacks, lie face down with your hands locked behind your neck, and stay still.
Hakuba Village reports that in winter, monkeys come down into the ski areas around Happo. It asks people never to feed them. Monkeys move in troops, while bears are alone or a mother with two or three young. The village also notes that electric fences against wild animals are set up in many places, and asks their owners to post danger signs.
In an emergency: 110 and 119
- Hakuba Valley says to call the police on 110 or the fire department on 119. Use the GPS on your phone to tell rescuers where you are.
- Go! Nagano says you can speak English when you call 110. You need a Japanese mobile number to call; a data-only plan will not work.
- Nagano's English guidelines say that if your phone has no signal, contact the nearest mountain hut. Keep your battery charged so rescuers can reach you.
- Hakuba Valley notes that helicopters cannot always fly. Then a ground rescue starts, which can take a long time.
Leave your plan with family, friends or where you are staying. Go! Nagano suggests asking them to call the police if they have not heard from you by your planned finish time.
What we could not verify, and therefore left out
- The full list of designated trails and trailheads around Hakuba. The prefecture publishes them as PDF maps, which we did not check line by line.
- Avalanche danger levels for the 2026–27 season, which have not been issued yet.
- Rescue fees and insurance prices. No official page we read gave figures.
- The current bear sighting count for Hakuba. The prefecture's weekly figures are in a PDF we did not check.
- Penalties under Nagano's ordinance. Nagano's page notes that Gifu's own rule carries fines, but we found no penalty details for Nagano's.
Related guides
- How do you get to Hakuba from Tokyo, Narita or Haneda?
- What is the Hakuba side of Chubu-Sangaku National Park?
Sources
All URLs retrieved 2026-10-03.
- 長野県登山安全条例 (Nagano Prefecture) — (promulgation and effective dates; partway entry, neighbouring prefectures, variation and climbing routes; Gifu equivalence and Gifu fines)
- 登山計画書を届出しましょう (Nagano Prefecture) — (plan required; peaks covered; online, Compass, YAMAP, fax, post, trailhead boxes; carry the plan; changes and cancellations; check conditions; insurance)
- Guidelines for Safe and Enjoyable Trekking (Nagano Prefecture) — (private rescue fees; 110 or 119; contact a hut if out of range; keep battery charged)
- Safety Tips (Hakuba Valley Promotion Board) — (boundary signs, uncontrolled areas, closed areas, backcountry gates, registration form, rule breaches, avalanche kit and information, Level 3, 110 and 119, GPS, rescue)
- Staying Safe in the Backcountry (Go! Nagano, Nagano Prefecture and Nagano Tourism Organization) — (inexperienced riders, guides, avalanche gear for every member, warning signs, low-angle terrain, 110 in English, data-only plans, sharing the itinerary)
- 北アルプス地域に「ツキノワグマ出没警報」を発出します (Nagano Prefecture) — (bear warning for the Northern Alps area including Hakuba, 24 June to 10 July 2026, after the Omachi injury)
- ツキノワグマについて知っていただきたいこと (Nagano Prefecture) — (no warning or advisory areas as of the 2 October 2026 update; 70 percent in forests; 20 percent mushroom and wild plant gathering; autumn)
- Bears in the Northern Alps, English leaflet (Ministry of the Environment) — (noise, groups, food storage, encounters, cubs, attacks)
- サルにエサを与えないでください (Hakuba Village) — (monkeys in ski areas around Happo in winter; do not feed; telling monkeys from bears)
- 鳥獣被害にあったら (Hakuba Village) — (electric fences in many places; owners asked to post danger signs)
- 山岳情報 (Nagano Prefectural Police) — (police mountain information page and weekly accident reports)