Young members of ski clubs boarded trains heading north for the slopes, grinning as they told television reporters that yes, they knew the Emperor had died, and even gave the precise time. And a 75-year-old woman on her way to a musical said she felt that it would be a waste to give up her ticket, even though she respected the Emperor and she knew that the Government had asked private citizens to refrain from music and dancing.

In a nation often labeled mindlessly conformist, Japanese emotions about Hirohito's passing were as diverse as the ways in which they marked it. Yoshiko Tomosaburo, a middle-aged housewife, went to the Imperial Palace to pay her respects to a ''splendid'' Emperor. ''Showa had the shadow of war over it,'' she said, referring to the name given Hirohito's reign. ''But now that will be completely ended in the new era.''

Yuko Fukakusa, a 30-year-old office worker, said she had no special feelings about the Emperor and believed he had to bear some responsibility for World War II. She came to the palace not for Hirohito, she said, ''but for my own memories.''

The Government and the Imperial Household Agency attended to the ritual ceremonies that mark the passing of an Emperor and the ascension of another. The Chief Cabinet Secretary, Keizo Obuchi, explained that the new reign that begins Sunday will be called Heisei, roughly translateable as Achieving Peace. 'Peace' and 'Achievement'

In deciding upon the era's name, which is used to date years in all official Japanese documents, the Government drew upon a committee of scholars who combed the Chinese classics for proper ideographs and finally settled on Heisei. This new coinage combines the characters that form part of the words ''peace'' and ''achievement.'' Mr. Obuchi said the new era name expressed the hope that ''both within the country and outside, on heaven and earth, peace will be achieved.''