Shiga Kogen
志賀高原
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Japan's Largest Linked Ski Area
Shiga Kogen is a place worth a visit in Yamanouchi, Nagano. 6 traveler-shot videos let you feel the atmosphere and catch the highlights before you go.
Shiga Kogen is a high plateau inside a national park, where eighteen separate ski areas are strung along a single valley and joined by lifts, trails and a shuttle bus on one lift pass. The altitude is the highest of any major Japanese resort, so the snow arrives early, stays dry and lasts into May, and the mixture of broad plateaus, steep faces and quiet tree-lined bowls means a week here never repeats a run. Because the area is a protected park there is no resort town, only hotels scattered among the forest, and the atmosphere is calm and traditional. The Olympic giant-slalom hill and the first-ever Olympic snowboard course from 1998 are still in use, and the wild snow monkeys of Jigokudani bathe in a hot spring just down the mountain road.
Best Season
- JanDry Powder Across 18 Areas
- FebSnow Monkeys Nearby
- AprLate Spring Skiing
- DecEarly Snow at Altitude
Lifts run from late November to early May, with the highest areas open longest. Midwinter is cold and dry; March and April offer sunny touring across the valley. The snow monkeys at Jigokudani can be seen year-round and are most photogenic in snow.
History & Culture
Early Skiing on the Plateau
Skiing began at Shiga Kogen in the 1930s, and the area was included in the new Joshin'etsu Kogen National Park in 1949, which has limited development ever since.
The First Olympic Snowboarding
The 1998 Nagano Olympics held the alpine giant slalom and the first Olympic snowboarding events at Shiga Kogen's Yakebitaiyama and Higashidateyama areas.
Linking the Valley
New connecting lifts and a shared pass have tied the eighteen areas more tightly together, making a top-to-bottom tour of the valley possible in a day.
Shiga Kogen, Hirao, Yamanouchi, Shimotakai District, Nagano 381-0401
- About 70 min by express bus from JR Nagano Stn (Hokuriku Shinkansen, about 1.5 h from Tokyo)
- Nagano Dentetsu to Yudanaka Stn (about 45 min), then bus about 40 min
- About 50 min from Shinshu-Nakano IC on the Joshin-etsu Expressway (winter tyres required)
Lifts about 8:30–16:30 (varies by area)
All-area one-day ticket roughly ¥7,000–8,000 (guide only)
Hours and fees are a guide and may change — please check official information before your visit.
