Happo-One

The most famous of the Hakuba resorts, the village of Happo-One itself is over 500 years old. This ski resort was a stage for the 1998 Winter Olympics with the downhill race. While a ton of money came into town during the Japanese ski-boom years, the whole area fell into dis-repair when the country's economy went downhill in the 90s. Recently it has seen a growth in the number of foreign tourists who have re-invigorated certain parts of the local economy. As those businesses grow, they provide the lion's share of the Hakuba jobs.