Shiga Kogen
Okushiga Kogen
Yakebitaiyama
Central Shiga Kogen
Yokoteyama
Shiga Kogen is a group of 18 ski resorts located in Jōshin’etsu-kōgen National Park, 2 hours drive from Nagano city. It is the biggest ski resort in Asia with 51 lifts and gondolas and total slope length of 83 km. It is also one of the highest located resorts in Japan starting at 1340m with the highest lift reaching 2307m which guarantees great snow conditions through a very long season (november-may) .
Some people call Shiga Kogen one of the best-kept secrets of Japanese skiers. Conditions are extraordinary and It never gets nearly as crowded as some other resorts in Nagano.
A freeriders dream.
Blizzards that bring tons of snow to Shiga Kogen cause the lifts to stop sometimes. Here’s Shiga Kogen live lift status in case you want to make sure what’s running.
This area is located at the North end of Shiga Kogen. Top of Okushiga Kogen is at 2000m (mt. Yakebi) and it’s connected to the Yakebitaiyama ski area. It offers a great progression of slopes, from beginner to expert, terrain park and a lot of freeriding spots, including the designated backcountry zone and famous hiking route to Ryuoo Ski Resort. Ski Rental in Okushiga offers a good choice of gear, including powder skis and snowboards.
Okushiga tends to have the best snow conditions throughout the whole season, including spring time.
Yakbitaiyama is the ski area with long, steep runs and fast lifts, great for intermediate and advanced skiers. The Olympic Giant Slalom Course is definitely worth checking out if you want to pick up some speed. At the bottom of the mountain there are three Prince Hotels, East, South and West wings and a couple restaurants.
Through Prince West there is a connection to Ichinose Diamond and the rest of Central Shiga Kogen.
Central area consists of 11 small interconnected ski fields. You can easily switch between them with Central Shiga Kogen Ski Pass or All Mountain Pass. Some of the areas like: Ichinose Family, Takamagahara, Maruike offer great slopes for beginners as well as easy terrain for aspiring freeriders. Advanced skiers will enjoy red and black runs of Ichinose, Higashi/Nishi Tateyama and Giant.
Shiga Kogen Resort tour – skiing there and back, through all of the ski fields (including Yakebitai and Okushiga) is a famous challenge for intermediate and advanced skiers, it takes about 4 hours and makes you realise how big Shiga Kogen really is.
Yokoteyama, Shibutoge and Kumanoyu ski areas are remote parts of Shiga Kogen. To get there from Central Shiga you can take a shuttle bus from Yamanoeki (Hasuike). Yokoteyama (2307m) is the highest mountain in Shiga Kogen. On the top you will find Shiga Kogen Crumpet Cafe with great food ,stunning views and connection to Shibutoge. It’s the entry point for the famous Kusatsu-Shirane backcountry area.
Kumanoyu is usually the first area to open early season, thanks to their snow cannons and north facing slopes.
Snow Monkey Park
One of the things that you probably already heard about is The Jigokudani Yaen-koen commonly known as Snow Monkey Park.
Jigokudani means hell valley, it’s steaming hot springs resemble a harsh hell-like environment, but don’t be afraid it’s not that bad. It only takes an easy 15 minutes hike to get to see those cute and famous monkeys which are generally non-aggressive and not interested in people and cameras surrounding them. It’s definitely the best way to have a guarantee to see them.
If you decide not to go to Snow Monkey park, don’t worry there’s a big chance you can still encounter them around Yamanoeki,Ichinose or on the road leading to Shiga Kogen.
Nagano 1998 Olympics
Officially known as XVIII Olympic winter games took place in Nagano with some of the events taking place in nearby resorts. Shiga kogen was one of them. Mount Yakebitai and Mount Higashidate held some of the Alpine events and Kanbayashi Snowboard Park located next to Snow Monkey park was the site of Halfpipe events. Kanbayashi park is also known to be the birthplace of skiing in Shiga kogen after German couple introduced locals to skiing in 1913.
The Nagano Olympics was the first Olympics to include Snowboarding. The athletes competed in four events: Man and Women Giant Slalom and Halfpipe.
Kusatsu - Shirane area
Mount Shirane (白根山, Shiranesan, called Kusatsu-Shirane) is a series of volcanic peaks just outside the Onsen town of Kusatsu. It is a popular hiking destination in the summer and autumn for beautiful views and colours.
In the crater of Mount Shirane, there is a stunning sulfurous baby blue lake called Yugama.
In the winter and especially in the springtime the whole area turns into a great backcountry zone.
Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen
Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen are two towns at the bottom of Shiga Kogen Resort. Those historical Onsen areas are an excellent base if you want to stay in a traditional japanese Ryokan not far from Shiga Kogen.
Shibu Onsen has nine public baths which you can visit wearing traditional onsen clothing, yukata and wooden geta sandals. Good fortune awaits people who visit all nine.
UNESCO Eco Park
In 1980 Shiga Kogen was designated as a Biosphere Conservation Area among 9 other areas in Japan. Those zones are aimed at improving relationships between people and their environment, allowing expansion and development in a balanced fashion and keeping some of the areas uninfluenced by humans.
Unspoiled nature in Shiga Kogen is a home to many animal species including some of Japan’s most famous like Snow Monkeys (Japanese Macaque), Kamoshika (Japanese Serow),Tanuki (Raccoon Dog) and Okojo (Stoat) which is Shiga Kogen’s mascot.
Obuse
Obuse is a town around one hour drive from Shiga Kogen. With it’s small but pretty town centre, Hokusai museum and local chestnut specialities it’s our pick for a quick half day side trip.
You should also know that chestnut is a local culinary speciality and you can find it in many forms around the museum.
For all ski or snowboard freestyle addicts there’s also an awesome training facility with small, medium and large jumps and soft inflatable cushion designed to smooth and secure the impact from landings.
Obusequest.com
How to get to Shiga Kogen
We recommend Nagano-snow-shuttle if you want to get to Shiga kogen directly from the airport (Haneda or Narita) or other resort in Nagano (Myoko, Nozawa Onsen, Madarao, Hakuba, Lotte Arai).
You can also get to Shiga kogen by express bus which departs from Nagano station about once every hour. Be sure to check the timetable as the last one departs pretty early (around 5pm). It takes around two hours to get to Okushiga kogen. Another way to get to Shiga kogen is by train from Nagano station to Yudanaka and then by local bus or taxi. Both express and local bus stops at snow monkey park.
During the winter season Shiga kogen has a free ski shuttle bus that will take you between ski areas.
Shiga Kogen Ski bus 2023/2024 timetable.
bus timetable