Maple Grove Line
Maple Grove Line runs August 8-9, 2026 at Hakuba Mountain Grounds in Nagano. Twelve acts, two days, one ridge you won't want to leave.
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Venue
Maple Grove Line came out of a conversation in a van somewhere between Matsumoto and Hakuba in the autumn of 2024. Kenji Mori had been booking small club shows in Nagano city for about three years, mostly post-punk and noise acts that didn't have many places to play outside Tokyo. The idea was simple: take that same bill, move it outside, move it up. The Hakuba Mountain Grounds had been sitting mostly unused outside ski season, and the owner was open to the idea of a summer event.
The first real planning meeting happened in January 2025 in a rented room above a ramen shop in Hakuba village. There were four people at that table. By March, the lineup was mostly locked. By May, the Early Bird lottery had filled up faster than expected, which was either a good sign or a sign that the capacity was too small. Probably both. The decision to keep the site capped at its current size was deliberate. A bigger crowd would mean a bigger production, which would mean a different kind of festival. That's not what this is.
FAQ
Is Mountain VIP really sold out?
Yes. The VIP terrace sold out in the lottery phase in April. We don't hold back VIP tickets for door sales or late releases. If anything changes, we'll post it on the news page. We don't have a waitlist.
Can I buy a Campsite Add-on without a 2-Day Pass?
The campsite add-on requires either a 2-Day Pass or two 1-Day tickets (Saturday and Sunday). You can't buy the campsite pass on its own. At checkout on LivePocket, the add-on will appear once you've added an eligible ticket to your cart.
What's the access situation from Tokyo or Osaka?
The fastest route from Tokyo is the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Hakuba Happo or a direct highway bus from Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, which takes about four hours. From Osaka, the highway bus via Matsumoto is around five to six hours. We'll post a detailed access guide on the news page in July.
Is there a bag size limit or prohibited items list?
Full site rules will be published in July. Standard festival rules apply: no professional camera equipment, no outside alcohol, no drones. Backpacks are fine. We'll have bag check at the gate.
What happens if it rains?
The festival runs rain or shine. Hakuba in August can get afternoon showers. Bring a poncho or a light rain layer. The stage has a roof. The campsite does not. If there's a serious weather event, we'll communicate via the official site and our email list.
The hands behind it
Kenji Mori has been booking live music in Nagano prefecture since 2021, starting with a 120-capacity basement venue in Matsumoto called Undercroft. Before that, he spent four years as a stage manager for a mid-size touring production company based in Osaka, working on everything from jazz festivals to noise-rock club nights. He moved to Nagano in 2020, partly for the mountains and partly because Tokyo had stopped making sense. Maple Grove Line is his first outdoor festival. He listens to a lot of Boredoms and Fishmans, and he makes very good miso soup, which is not relevant but is true.
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