In February of 2024 we took a trip to Korea and Japan. We spent time in Seoul and in Tokyo, and between that time we skied at Shiga Kogen. This was a “visit Korea and Japan and ski” trip, not a “visit Japan *to ski* trip”. If it was the latter, we may have made different choices. Note that the exchange rate is $1 US to 150 Yen which is *great* for those of us in the US, but you’ll want to see what it is when you plan a trip.

Nagano has two separate sets of ski areas; to the west of the city is the Hakuba there is Hakuba Valley, which is an association of 10 different ski resorts. Vail has an agreement with Hakuba Valley so you can ski there for 5 days free with an Epic pass.

To the Northeast of Nagano is Shiga Kogen, which is an association of 18 different ski resorts. They have combined passes that allow you ski any of the properties.

Note that “resort” is not indicative of the size of each area.

Getting There

While it may be possible to fly directly to Nogano, we flew to Tokyo. On the way there, we took the Shinkansen – otherwise known as the bullet train – from Tokyo to Nogano. The ticket cost $78 and the trains are comfortable, smooth, and fast. It’s about 110 miles and the total time is 1:24, so you average about 80 mph for the trip.

Note that the Shinkansen has special rules for oversized luggage, so if you bring your skis you’ll want to reserve an oversized luggage seat (at the back of the car).

Once you get to Nogano, it’s bus time. You’ll spend another 60-80 minutes to get to your hotel.

Another option is to take a bus directly from Tokyo to your hotel. This will take longer but it will be easier to deal with your skis. We came back on the bus and the trip was fine. We used Nagano Snow Shuttle for both bus trips.

We stayed at the Prince Hotel West in Yakebitaiyama. Ski in/ski out, restaurants, ski rental, etc. It’s a bit rustic but decent.

Shiga Kogen Mountains

One of the neat things about Shiga Kogen is that 14 of the ski areas are contiguous, meaning that you can ski from one area to the rest. They do offer shuttle buses between the areas and to the other 4 areas that form another cluster off of the map to the right.

For the 1998, Shiga Kogen hosted a number of events.

Mount Higashidate hosted the alpine giant slalom events.

Mount Yakebitai hosted the alpine slalom and snowboard giant slalom.

You will find the olympic courses on the trail maps for both mountains if you want to ski them.