Shiga Kogen

Shiga Kogen is an absolutely beautiful ski resort, especially when covered in soft, powdery snow. The scenery is breathtaking, and the vast expanse of the resort makes it a fantastic place for skiing and snowboarding. There are plenty of ski lifts to get you up the mountains, and I was pleasantly surprised that the lift lines weren’t long, even on a busy day. One of the best parts about Shiga Kogen is the convenience—there are plenty of spots to grab food and drinks, as well as rest areas to take a break and warm up. Maps are also posted throughout the resort, which makes it easy to navigate and find your way. The only downside is that the mountains aren’t as seamlessly connected as I’d hoped. After some runs, you may need to stop, unbuckle, and traverse to another area, which can break up the flow of skiing or snowboarding. Overall, though, Shiga Kogen is an amazing place to experience Japan’s winter beauty, with great snow, plenty of lifts, and all the amenities you’d need for a fantastic day on the slopes.

My husband's bucket list to snowboard in Nagano. Tovisit the biggest ski area with so many resorts was huge. He had the most amazing time.

Good amount of ski slopes and good snow across the whole mountain range/resorts, but very crowded still and some lifts are very slow. Also very annoying that most of the ski slopes aren't connected even though the map makes it seem that way. Yokoteyma had an amazing view though, best I've ever seen. However, snowboard/ski wise, not enough variety in the runs across the resorts to get 5/5.

I went late March so the snow was icy in some chunks but overall really good still. It snowed the next day which I’m not sure if that’s normal for this area. But there was no one at the ski resort. When getting on the lift there would be one maybe two others. It was insane going down the slopes with no one around. There’s a few s turns on “beginner slopes” that were not very beginner friendly. Lots of cliffs next to the beginner routes too so if you’re not confident walk down.

Fantastic ski area. 3 major ski areas are interconnected, central Shiga kogen ski area, Yakebitaiyama area and Okushhiga. If you do not know the way back, go to the base and catch a free bus back. Excellent natural snow conditions. Varied runs from each ski area. There is lunch available for purchase in almost every resort.

People may hate me but I have very mixed feelings about the ski resort. The snow can be great in Japan so that is the one big reason to go. But the resort can be difficult to navigate, it is really a collection of a bunch of small resorts, so you have a lot of traverses and areas were you have to walk. Manny runs are short and lifts are generally very old. If you are not staying up at the resort the transportation to Nagano water a lot of time and can be frustrating. On mountain good was not exceptional, much better food in the cities

One of the best ski resort in Japan. Famous Japanese powder snow. Not crowded at all, food and stay at prince hotel was great! Very reasonable priced lift tickets. Feb 2023

The most important information had learned was that the free shuttle between the stops was slow and infrequent. I would recommend avoiding taking them if possible. That means, avoid skiing down a different trail than where you had started and ended up far away. Check your map before going down the trail. The resort is HUGE! There are so many different "resorts" in a single area, and there are even more resorts in other areas. But you could just stay in one area and that's enough. We began at the Yamanoeki Bus Stop, where the Alpina Sports Ski Rental Office and coin lockers were located. You can also park your car next to the building. We caught the bus the first day and drove the next. Right next to the building is a gondola that takes you to the skiing area. We spent most of our time on gondola/lifts 15, 16, 34, and 33, and that was more than enough to fill the whole day. There's a cafe stand and a dining room on top of the mountain if you need some food. The dining room is good for a quick bite. We saw monkeys here running around and jumping on top of hotel awnings, and even on top of people's cars. The hotel workers obviously despised the monkeys. They would throw snow and even point the snow blowers at them to try to scare them away. They tried to tell me why, but the language barrier prevented me from fully understanding. However, it's clear that they are considered a nuisance. Shiga Kogen is a great place for novice skiers. There are many long, green trails perfect for practicing and having fun. We stuck to the green trails the entire time, and we never got bored. It’s also really accessible from Tokyo, and both the lift ticket and ski rental prices were really great. The only downside is that we went in March when there wasn’t much powder left. We plan to go back in January next time for a more powdery experience.

Small family run hotel with decor that is charmingly stuck in the 1960s. According to the very nice Yuichi Sato san who mans reception, it opened in 1964. The Japanese rooms are basic and roomy, with the usual tea sets and light futons and quilts. They do breakfasts and dinners, which I would highly recommend you take on as the town is pretty sleepy for a big ski town. (And just in case you're a Pokémon Go addict, bad news - closest Pokestop is at least 10 minutes walk away at Ichinose shrine and the place is a The breakfasts and dinners are very generous spreads in the traditional ryokan fashion, with a hotpot dish, pickles, cold appetizers, hot rice and miso soup as well as a platter of deep fried/grilled items. Later in the week when the crowd builds up, they might do a buffet spread instead of the individual set meals. There are the usual male/female segregated onsen baths which is very good after a full day of snow activities. Besides skiing, you can grab a bus to the Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park which is well worth a day visit. Considering the stay cost us about SGD$110 per head per night, including 2 meals a day, it was probably the cheapest ski place I've stayed at in Japan.