Nagano Prefecture · Kanto
道の駅 白馬
A food stop on Route 148 after a day in Hakuba's mountains: take home Shimai purple rice and Hakuba pork.
Illustrative image — not an on-site photograph
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Eat, shop, play, take in the view or rest. Choose from the station’s strengths to suit your day.
Start with Aoni-area purple rice, snow-grown carrots, local sake and Murao goods. The 2025 crop of Shimai sold out; sales of the 2026 crop were scheduled to start in or after mid-October. Check the station's official social media for stock and limited products.
The main choices are the soba set meal, roast pork bowl with gyōja garlic, pork curry and cutlet set meal. At lunchtime, assess the wait and switch to the shop or soft serve if needed.
Soft serve at the counter by the restaurant entrance makes an easy Hakuba-flavored break even without sitting down for a meal.
A short drive toward Goryu takes you to a day-use hot spring, suitable after skiing, a botanical-garden visit or a walk.
Choose between flowers, a boardwalk walk and a place where children can play to shape an easy half-day outing.
Koharu Naruse sees this station as a gateway for picking up Hakuba ingredients quickly, rather than a large tourist complex. Shimai rice, Hakuba pork, handmade soba, snow-grown carrots and local sake: any one gives you a reason to stop. With more time, continue to Goryu or Himekawa Headwaters.
Michi-no-Eki Hakuba is a relatively small roadside station at the southern gateway to Hakuba Village. After sightseeing in the Northern Alps, skiing or hiking, browse the shop for Shimai purple rice from the Aoni area, carrots grown under snow, local sake and Murao character goods. The restaurant serves handmade soba, sticky rice made with purple rice, and Hakuba pork. Parking is limited, so at lunchtime on a holiday, leave room in your plans for shopping, soft serve or a trip onward to Goryu's hot spring or alpine botanical garden.
The shop brings together Hakuba Village specialties: Shimai purple rice from the Aoni area; juice and dressing made with carrots grown under snow; sake from Hakuba Nishiki, Daisekkei and Hokuan Jozo; Murao character goods; Hakuba green chili peppers; and kori mochi, a traditional freeze-dried rice cake. They make useful mountain-region foods and souvenirs.
The restaurant generally opens from 11:00 until evening. Its menu includes handmade soba, a soba set meal, a pork loin cutlet set meal, a Hakuba pork roast bowl with gyōja garlic, and Hakuba pork curry. Okowa is seasoned sticky rice; gyōja garlic is a mountain wild green.
The station is easy to reach from Route 148, but has space for about 36 regular cars. After skiing or around lunchtime in summer, avoid relying on a long stop. Eating outside the peak, making a quick shop visit, or continuing to Goryu or a hot spring lets you fit more of Hakuba into the day.
Spend your time at the station or add somewhere nearby. These ideas help you plan around your companions and the weather.
After parking, visit the shop first for Shimai rice, snow-grown carrots, Hakuba green chili peppers and local sake. If there is no time for the restaurant, soft serve or take-home gifts still give you a taste of this station.
Park → toilets → shop → soft serve or souvenirs → depart
With around 36 spaces for regular cars, finish shopping first when busy and avoid extending the stop just to wait for a meal.
After 11:00, consider a soba set meal with handmade noodles and purple-rice okowa, a Hakuba pork roast bowl with gyōja garlic, or Hakuba pork curry. The menu also highlights soba flour from the Daihoku area and Koshihikari rice grown in Hakuba Village.
Park → restaurant → shop for Shimai rice or sake → Route 148
Some dishes, including kakiage vegetable fritters, take time after ordering. If you are in a hurry, choose a bowl or curry, or stop only at the shop.
After lunch or shopping at the station, go to Able Hakuba Goryu. Visit the alpine botanical garden in the green season or ski in winter, then finish at Ryujin-no-Yu in Escal Plaza. This combines Hakuba's mountains and food in one day.
Roadside station → Hakuba Goryu Alpine Botanical Garden or ski slopes → Ryujin-no-Yu
The gondola, hot spring and ski area have seasonal operations and are affected by weather. Check Goryu's current operating information before departure.
The station has a baby changing table and a children's toilet, but is not designed for extended play. Keep meals and toilet breaks short, then head to Hakuba Green Sports Forest for active play or Himekawa Headwaters for a quieter walk.
Roadside station for food and toilets → Green Sports Forest or Himekawa Headwaters
Outdoor facilities change in winter or rain. Check snow-covered roads, footing and operating seasons before going.
Carries specialty foods, local sake, original souvenirs and some items listed in the online store.
Last orders are generally at 17:30; closed on Tuesdays.
Use these for a roadside rest. Avoid using the station as overnight accommodation; limit any stop to a nap.
Stars show the editorial recommendation for each age group on a five-point scale. Read the reasons alongside each rating.
The changing table and toilets suit a short break, rather than a long stay.
A baby changing table is in the outdoor toilets. Plan a brief pause around feeding or changing; if the restaurant is crowded, combine a short car break with a shop visit.
A meal and treat work well; plan another place for active play.
With shelves and moving cars around the station, focus on food, toilets and soft serve rather than roaming. Green Sports Forest is a practical place to play afterward.
Soba, soft serve and Murao goods offer small goals for the stop.
There is a children's toilet. After eating, this age group can enjoy a seasonal outing to the Himekawa Headwaters boardwalk or the Goryu gondola.
Pair the local ingredients with nearby nature.
Talk about Aoni purple rice, Daihoku-area soba and Hakuba pork, then extend the afternoon to the alpine botanical garden, ski jump venue or forest activities.
Confirmed in the station's official facility guide. Outdoor toilets are available separately from facilities inside the shop.
Useful for a toilet break with a young child.
Plan Green Sports Forest, Himekawa Headwaters or the Goryu gondola as a separate destination.
After skiing, consider crowds and road conditions, and choose whether food or shopping is the priority.
Permanent spaces and dated events are listed separately. Events can change both the atmosphere and crowds; use the official links for details.
Checking event dates.
As of July 15, 2026, the official site's Instagram feed showed posts about a ptarmigan fair and Murao Fair 2026. Limited products and tastings change quickly; check recent posts before a shopping-focused visit.
The published regular 2026 opening period is June 20 to October 18. Close to the station, it makes a seasonal outing combining flowers, a gondola, a mountaintop restaurant and a hot spring.
The published 2026 season is April 25 to November 3, 8:30–17:00, with free admission. Summer-holiday nature activities and a summer festival make it a separate destination for families with children.
Practical ideas and things to consider when spending time here.
The official shop and restaurant guides name specific ingredients such as Shimai rice, Hakuba pork, Daihoku-area soba flour, snow-grown carrots and local sake. Pick out Hakuba flavors and then continue your journey, rather than planning a long stay as at a large complex.
The official facility guide lists about 36 regular-car spaces, while traveler reviews mention difficult parking and lunchtime crowds. Keep the shop, soft serve or a move toward Goryu as alternatives to waiting only for a restaurant table.
The soba set meal combines handmade soba and purple-rice okowa; Hakuba pork appears in a roast bowl with gyōja garlic and in curry. On a first visit, focus on the local ingredients as well as the unusual dishes.
There are baby changing facilities and a children's toilet at the station, but no extended play area. Tourist information and review trends suggest choosing Green Sports Forest, Himekawa Headwaters or the Goryu gondola to suit children's ages and the weather.
In winter, stop for a warm meal after skiing and a break from snowy roads. From early summer to autumn, use it before or after Goryu Alpine Botanical Garden or Himekawa Headwaters. Later in autumn, take-home Shimai rice and local sake become a bigger draw. Road, weather and mountain-area operating information shape the day.
The official site's Instagram feed has shown ptarmigan and Murao fairs, tastings, new products and sold-out notices. Use the regular offerings to plan the stop, and check recent posts for limited items.
Opening and closure days, individual businesses and facilities for children or dogs can affect your plans.
Specialities, places to eat, sweets and bakeries can all give you a reason to stop. Check individual menus for current prices and availability.
A meal, a sweet treat, market shopping or something to take away: choose a focus for the day instead of trying everything at once.
A classic combination of handmade soba, purple-rice okowa and vegetable tempura. It is an easy starting point on a first visit.
A set meal with warm kake soba is also offered. Availability varies by season and crowding.
Good choices when you want a hearty Hakuba pork meal after skiing or a walk.
Gyōja garlic is a seasonal mountain wild green; check the latest menu.
Options when you want a more predictable meal stop. Ask at the counter about heat level or a mild version.
Choose between sturdy snacks for the car and foods to use at home. Kori mochi is a traditional freeze-dried rice cake.
A quick taste of Hakuba Village's blueberries or dairy even when you skip the restaurant.
Sales hours and closures follow the shop's operation, so check Tuesdays and seasonal hours.
If the map does not load, open it in Google Maps
A food stop on Route 148 after a day in Hakuba's mountains: take home Shimai purple rice and Hakuba pork.
After a meal at the roadside station, take a gondola up to Hakuba's flowers and views in season.
Warm up at this Goryu hot spring after skiing, the botanical garden or a drive.
South of the station, walk quietly among boardwalks and spring water in Hakuba.
After eating at the station, let children run around in this forest play area.
Even a short visit offers a sense of Hakuba's Olympic history and the height of its ski jumps.
Ideal when you want lunch or souvenirs at the station, then Hakuba flowers, views and a hot spring.
Ideal for ending a day of snow play or mountain walking with a hot spring after eating at the station.
Ideal for a quiet post-meal nature walk, or seeing the waterside and wetlands with children.
Ideal when children need active play after a station meal rather than a long stay inside the station.
Ideal for adding Hakuba views and Olympic history to a short post-meal outing.
Send your travel companions a possible stop.
