Shopping
Shiga Kogen Shopping
If you’re in need of a new snowboard or pair of skis or a lust-have snow outfit, you’re probably best placed to buy it before you leave home. You’d be hard pressed to go on any type of shopping spree because there is no town at
Shiga Kogen, just a series of little spread out villages that might only have a couple of shops. And you’d need to really go exploring, as most of the shops are hidden inside hotels.
Ski and Snowboard Shops
Many of the hotel gift shops sell basic ski and snowboard accessories such as gloves, goggles, and beanies, although these may not be from recognisable brands.
Snowcan has four retail shops at Shiga Kogen that sell a very limited range of outerwear and hardware (ie skis, snowboards). One shop is located in Ichinose in the Restaurant Diamond building at the base of the Ichinose Diamond slope. They have another two outlets in Ichinose located inside Hotel Japan Shiga and the Shiga Kogen Olympic Hotel. The fourth retail shop is situated inside the Hasuike ropeway station.
Shiga Kogen Souvenir Shopping
Some of the Snowcan shops sell souvenirs such as t-shirts, and all the hotel gift shops sell Japanese souvenirs but these tend to be rather tacky.
If you’re skiing over at Yokoteyama, just for a laugh head up to the restaurant in the top lift station. Here they have a small retail section with the funniest looking homemade souvenirs you may ever see, but this is Japan of course, so undoubtedly you’ll see funnier elsewhere! It’s amazing what you can make from different doilies.
Grocery Shopping
Shiga Kogen doesn’t have a supermarket or grocery store, probably due to the lack of self-contained accommodation. However there are a couple of Yamazaki convenience stores hidden inside the Hotel Japan Shiga and Olympic Hotel that sell snacks, basic groceries, beer, wine, sake, other alcoholic beverages, and simple health supplies such as ibuprofen tablets and band-aids.