Okushiga Kogen Ski Resort

The Okushiga Kogen Ski Resort is one of the best Shiga Kogen ski areas. For many years snowboarding was banned at Okushiga Kogen and then it became the most progressive of the Shiga Kogen ski resorts (although that’s not too hard considering that much of Shiga Kogen is painfully stuck in the dark ages!) and was the first to allow off-piste skiing. Okushiga Kogen even encouraged tree skiing by undertaking a modest glading program.

Okushiga Kogen Ski Resort also offers plenty of other pluses for international visitors including a hotel with western beds and multi-lingual staff, an international ski school with group ski and snowboard lessons in English, and backcountry tours.

Pros and Cons of Okushiga Kogen

Pros 

• Like many of the Shiga ski areas, Okushiga Kogen is blessed with lots of snowfall and high elevation, so the snow quality is typically better than most other Nagano ski resorts.
• The steep groomer is a lot of fun.
• Off-piste riding is permitted and includes some gladed areas. The off-piste has small sections of gnarly steeps, which is somewhat of a rarity for Japan.
• Other than holiday weekends, the ski area is completely uncrowded.
• The ski area has the convenience of two lovely ski-in ski-out hotels.
• Unlike the rest of Shiga Kogen, Okushiga has a handful of pensions and lodges and not just hotels.
• This is one of only several ski resorts in Japan that offer group ski and snowboard lessons in English, and it’s the only area at Shiga Kogen.
• The Okushiga Kogen Hotel caters well to English speaking guests.

Cons

• As with the rest of Shiga Kogen, there is no village, and dining options in the evening are limited, especially if you want a cheap meal.
• The nightlife is rather subdued, although it’s a fraction livelier than the rest of Shiga Kogen. The area is isolated and evening shuttles are limited.
• Okushiga Kogen is susceptible to lifts going on wind hold and you then need to get a shuttle bus to another Shiga area.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• The off-piste terrain requires a bit of nous to navigate (or a guide) so the average punter isn’t going to head in there (without having to walk out of a gully) and steal your freshies.
• Okushiga is at the end of the line so it’s not a central spot to easily explore all of Shiga, yet this contributes to it being quieter.

Okushiga Kogen Ski and Snowboard Terrain

Okushiga Kogen ski area is reasonably large compared to some of the little Shiga Kogen ski areas. Okushiga Kogen has 6 lifts, 530 metres of vertical, and only 10 courses (ie piste), but the size of the off-piste terrain and also the sidecountry is substantial. And as one of the Shiga Kogen ski areas, Okushiga Kogen is interconnected with 14 other ski zones, and another 3 Shiga Kogen areas are accessible by bus, so there’s definitely no shortage of ski and snowboard terrain. Better still, all the Shiga ski areas are on a shared lift ticket.

The trail stats are 20% beginner, 60% intermediate, and 20% advanced. For powder hounds, the strength of Okushiga Kogen lies in the off-piste and sidecountry areas that run off a few of the Okushiga Kogen lifts and from the inter-connection with Yakebitaiyama.

See the Okushigakogen ski resort terrain for more on the slopes, snow and lifts.

Where is Okushiga Kogen Ski Resort?

Okushiga Kogen is 57km northeast of Nagano City and the most northern of the Shiga Kogen ski areas. Okushigakogen is connected via the slopes with Yakebitiyama ski area, which is reasonably large and it has modern facilities. The Sun Valley ski area (the closest Shiga ski area to Nagano) is 14km to the southwest by road, or you can just ski or snowboard there.

OkushigaKogen is 26km northeast of the town of Yudanaka and 24km from the adjacent town of Shibu Onsen.

You can get from the airports or Tokyo to Shiga Kogen with Nagano Snow Shuttle. Or see the Shiga Kogen travel page for information on options for getting to Shiga Kogen. To get between the different Shiga Kogen ski areas during the day, it’s possible to use the lifts and slopes or the free shuttle bus service.

Okushiga Kogen Hotels

The ski area is fortunate to have two hotels that have the convenience of a ski-in ski-out location. The Okushiga Kogen Hotel caters incredibly well to international guests with multi-lingual staff. As with all of Shiga Kogen, it’s a bit old school in parts, yet it’s well serviced. Hotel rooms offer western beds that range from single rooms to suites for up to 4 to 5 guests. The Okushiga Kogen Hotel has a delightful après ski bar that serves drinks, lunch and appetizers, and you can lounge around the central open fire. The hotel has fine dining restaurants with French or Japanese cuisine, or there is a sports bar nearby.

The nearby Hotel Grand Phenix offers ski in access and it is less than a minute walk to the lift (so it’s pretty much ski-in ski-out). This grand hotel has been renovated and features traditional and striking European décor. Most of the hotel rooms are western style (for 1 to 4 guests) and there are also twin Japanese tatami rooms available. In addition to a Chinese/Japanese restaurant, the hotel has an Italian restaurant that serves the most exquisite multi-course gourmet meals (open for lunch and dinner). A beautiful lounge bar overlooking snowy trees is a nice spot for après ski drinks or a night cap. Other hotel facilities include a large indoor swimming pool, onsen (including open air bath), saunas, ski rentals (not snowboards), and a Phenix ski shop.

There are also several pensions and lodges at Okushiga Kogen.

OkushigaKogen Accommodation Listings

[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Shiga Kogen" subcategory="Hotels"]

Ski Resort Facilities

Most of the facilities and services at Okushiga Kogen are housed within the two hotels, and also the Center House which has a sports bar, kids indoor play room, the Shiga International Ski School and an equipment rental shop with powder skis, backcountry touring skis, cross-country skis, snowboards, and snowshoes. The gondola base also has a shop with equipment rentals.

[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Okushiga Kogen" subcategory="Ski School"]]
Okushiga Kogen has some good options for lunch including the sports bar, a cafeteria near the base of the gondola, European inspired lunch at Chalet Cristiana, or a fancy lunch at the Phenix Hotel.

Backcountry

Ride Shiga offers a range of backcountry ski and snowboard trips. These include guiding in the sidecountry of Okushiga Kogen, and skinning trips to Ryuoo Ski Park plus other backcountry.
[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Shiga Kogen" subcategory="Guided Powder Tours"]