Good friends, awesome food and cold beer. Hie in Echoland should be on top of your restaurant list.

There are so many restaurants to choose from in Hakuba. One of my favorite choices for an all round experience is Hie in Echoland. It is an izakaya which basically means a place to come and drink sake however they serve up a great menu of small dishes which you order and share around the table. The idea is to order some drinks when you sit down and then when they arrive to the table you start ordering some food and just keep ordering until you are full. I can recommend the PadiPadi Fried Potato, Tori kawa, Yuke, Baked Avacado, Basashi, Karage and the Baked Yam with Cheese. It’s a case of order a bit of everything and if you like it you can order another plate of it. When you want to order from the private rooms there is a buzzer on the wall to alert the waiters. The atmosphere is very Japanese, the beer is cold and the food is outstanding. I rate this restaurant highly. Remember shoes off when you go into the tatami (cane flooring) areas.

It should be reminded that it is an izakaya and you are expected to have a few drinks. Hie is not recommended for kids. (Unless the parents drink and eat a lot:)

For a pre dinner drink or if you are waiting for a table then drop into the White Horse Bar just 100 meters away. If the restaurant is full Hie can call the White Horse when a table is available.