The best way going from Tokyo to Hakuba under JR East Pass

Hi, I plan to travel to Nagano and Tokyo, specifically in Hakuba, and Matsumoto and want to buy JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigata area).

In short; I go from Tokyo, stop in Hakuba station. I checked on the internet the fastest way is to go to Nagano station, change train to Matsumoto station, then to go to Hakuba station, but I'm not sure it's cover by JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigata area) or no.

Can you suggest the best train to go Hakuba that is still covered by JR East Pass, as I want to utilize my pass before going back to Tokyo.

Thank you.