   is a village located in kitaazumi district, nagano prefecture, japan. it is located at the center of one of japan's largest winter skiing and mountain recreation areas. ==town== as of october 2014, the village has an estimated population of 8,912. hakuba is an internationally renowned ski resort town in the northern japan alps. as the surrounding valley has an annual snow fall of over 11.1 meters, it is the central hub for 10 ski resorts with more than 200 runs. the village was the main event venue for 1998 winter olympics (alpine, ski jump, crosscountry). hakuba and surrounding municipalities were impacted by a reported 6.7 magnitude earthquake on 22 november, 2014. the quake hit at 10:08pm at a depth of 5km causing a number of residential properties to collapse and injuring at least 41 people. despite some localized road damage and a suspension of rail services on sections of the Åito line, there was however no major impact on hotels or ski tourism related infrastructure.  hakuba was once part of the route called the salt road used to bring salt and other marine products from the coast.hakuba homepage. tourism commissio
Ski_areas_and_resorts_in_Japan Villages_in_Nagano_Prefecture