Shiga Kogen

Since I was visiting Japan in the winter, I had to do some skiing during my stay. This was one of the few things I planned before arriving and it was my first major destination after my brother left. My colleague told me about Shiga Kogen ski resort, it is located about three hours out of Tokyo by train and it is the biggest ski resort in Japan. I had a hotel pre-booked for two nights (with three days of skiing) that was located in an area that contained many green runs. The hotel provided the full service, with breakfast and dinner, as well as equipment rental. While it was a little expensive, the price was actually really good compared to all the other options I could find in that area and so I was very happy with my choice. To top it off, the Shiga Kogen ski fields were fantastic, never too crowded and there were so many amazing runs to explore.

On the first day I left my bag at the hotel, picked up my gear, my lift ticket, and then worked up the courage to try my first run. The day was snowy in the morning with poor visibility. I walked over, under the falling snow, to an easy green run I felt confident starting with. Later in the day, my confidence grew, and the sky cleared up. The second day was the nicest with minimal cloud cover and a shining sun. I skied the full day and completed the most runs (29 in total), exploring much of the central Shiga Kogen area. For the final day, there had been a snowfall overnight and the slopes were covered in a fresh layer of powder. This was an entirely new experience for me as my skis sank twenty centimeters or so into this powder. Visibility was lower and skiing in the powder was difficult so I went slower on the runs. I finished earlier on the final day, both because I was starting to get exhausted, but also so that I could have time to travel to my next hotel in Nagano.

While the mountains were perhaps a bit more standard (when compared to the Italian Dolomites) everything was still covered in snow and I still found it all fantastic. I took so many photos on my phone, I really struggled to narrow them all down to the ones I have uploaded here.

First Day

I thought the lift with the green run near the hotel was closed so I decided to walk over to the next lift over. I walked for what felt like an hour (though was probably not more than 15 minutes) carrying my skies while the snow fell around me. When I came to the view pictured above it didn't match what I was expecting. I realised I had overshot and missed the lift I was aiming for and ended up on an even further away ski slope. This turned out ok as it was the Ichinose ski area that had a wide green slope for me to practice on with plenty of lifts.

This ski area, Ichinose, was the slope I perhaps skied the most during my visit. There were three chair lifts all next to each other, and each one went higher up the hill than the last. This was perfect for me to practice on and gain confidence. I started with the smallest lift and repeated it until I moved up to the middle lift and finally tried the highest lift, taking the green run through the forest back down to the start.

Second Day

On the second day I discovered where the lift for the green run portion of the Takamagahara ski area is, the closest ski slope to my accommodation. I completed a few quick runs here before taking the higher lift all the way to the top of the mountain where I could ski down the other side and to new sections of the resort I had not yet explored.

This part of the mountain, near the Higashidateyama gondola lift, has a long green run that I absolutely adored (where, half way, I met the monkeys). Much of the run went through forests. The first section — which is my favourite — was through snow covered pine trees, at lower elevations these gave way to deciduous trees bare of their leaves. The final third of the run had some wide slopes with some steeper sections that I struggled with, but were great to improve my skills on. This run was so long that to get back to the top required taking two gondolas in sequence, and there was even an optional third chair lift to get to an even higher elevation. (This is run 13 on the Shiga Kogen Central Area map)

Third Day

On the final day I went straight to my favourite area of the resort. I re-did the run from yesterday, that now was so different, from a bright blue sky to a dark gray, and snow deeper than before. This was my first time really experiencing proper powder snow and it was so different to the kind of snow I normally ski on. I found it a little harder to ski through as the powder provided additional friction that I was not used to. On this trail though, I am convinced I was the first person to ski it as the only tracks I could see were from a snow-mobile and there was no one else in sight for my entire run. Passing through the undisturbed snow, my skis breaking the surface like the bows of twin ships side by side, alone, while snow peacefully fell, was certainly a beautiful experience.

Snowy Trees!

I was initially apprehensive during the week before this ski trip. I have a tendency to excitedly book a thing months in advance and then regret my choice on the eve of the activity, but then really enjoy it once I actually start the activity. This ski trip followed that pattern. I was so nervous on the first day, having not skied in a year I worried I would struggle skiing in a new country. Would everything be the same as in other countries? Would I be able to figure out the lifts? find the easy runs? all by myself? All these things plagued my mind but it all worked out. I had a wonderful time on the slopes and while things were sometimes different I was always able to figure out the system. I always have to keep reminding myself that each time I do a skiing activity like this I will get better for the next time.

In my 3 days at Shiga Kogen I spent my time only in the central area of the resort. This central area was already a huge place for me to explore so I never felt bored. It was probably equivalent in size to Perisher, Blue Cow, and Smiggins combined. Beyond the central area there was still probably 60 % of the resort I never had a chance to explore. Many of those other areas have harder runs so it is definitely something I will try when I improve my skiing skills.

Maybe because the resort area was so huge, I almost never had to queue for a lift. So often I would finish a run and then hop right on the lift. The slopes were often quiet, there were a number of runs I completed where I hardly saw anyone else. The only time the lifts were busy was when there was a ski instructors group with their students. I'm guessing that there were a number of school or holiday programs doing ski trips as I frequently saw kids and teens participating in lessons. Otherwise, I did see a few other foreign tourists but not many. Overall, during my stay, Shiga Kogen was quiet and a great place to explore and practice skiing.

As I mentioned earlier, one of my favourite runs is a long run that involved taking two gondolas to get back to the top. The lengths of the runs varied throughout the park but it was the long runs that I both enjoyed the most but also killed me a little. My legs couldn't last a full run and would burn so much I would have to stop once (and sometimes twice) along the way to give them a chance to rest. I always was very thankful to get back to the base for a chance to rest my legs on the lift back up.

Finally, I loved staying at the Sunny Shiga Hotel, right on the slopes, it was a great place to rest after a long day of skiing. The hotel primarily catered to local Japanese tourists and so I had a more authentic Japanese experience. My room was furnished in the Japanese style with a futon bed and a low table with cushions to sit on. Dinner and breakfast were included and while many of the dishes had meat I stacked up on the vegetarian salads and ate my fill. I was often having to use Google translate on my phone to quickly scan the label of a dish to figure out what it was. Throughout my stay the staff were really helpful, especially when there were issues, such as helping me change my ski boot size when the original size didn't quite fit right. There was one lady who spoke English a bit better than the others, and the other staff would always summon her when I came to ask a question. I certainly enjoyed my stay there, and any difficulty with the language barrier were minor, it didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of the hotel and if anything enhanced this unique experience.

To all my skier friends, I would definitely recommend Shiga Kogen and I hope to ski there again with you one day.

Thanks for reading – Edward

Written 7th of May 2025