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.
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.
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
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.
