We visited Yakebitaiyama for 8 days in early March 2025 and stayed at the Prince Hotel West wing.
We really enjoyed Yakebi and had excellent conditions for the entire 8 days.
Positive things about the hotel, Yakebi and Shiga Kogen:
Proper ski in/ski out from the door of the hotel.
Proximity to quad lift and access to Ichinose (central area of Shiga Kogen)
Yakebi has the best lifts in Shiga (we skied them all, about 40 that were still operating).
Hardly any lift lines anywhere in Shiga Kogen. 2 minutes was the longest wait time.
Mostly intermediate terrain but considerable variety due to the many small resorts with different aspects and pitches. Somewhat like a mini European ski circus (3 Valleys, Dolomites etc)
Good quality dry snow the entire time although little new snow when we were there, so couldn't try off piste.
Highest elevation (base and top) of all Japanese resorts which means you don't get the sometimes slushy conditions at base of places like Hakuba and Nozawa.
Onsen
Ski Locker room
Breakfast buffet offered choice of Japanese or Western food.
Comfortable beds.
Helpful and friendly staff at Prince Hotel.
Not many Westerners so more of an authentic Japanese resort.
Closest resort to Snow Monkey Park.

Things that could be better:
No village unless you count Ichinose which is about 500 metres from the Prince West Wing. Ichinose is very quiet and not like Nozawa or Hakuba in the evening. If you want lively apres ski, don't go to Shiga.
Many of the lifts beyond Yakebi are old and slow.
The Yakebi Wall (steepest run) was closed the entire time we were there.
The excellent ramen restaurant (below Chinese restaurant) wasn't open every day and not at all during the evening.
There should be a common lounge area for apres ski as the bar wasn't inviting enough.
A games room with snooker table and/or table tennis would be good.
See our video here

After a bit of a shabby February, we were lucky to hit Shiga Kogen towards the end of February when Puki Yuki finalised realised it was supposed to be winter and cold and snowy.

We skied at Yakebi across a couple of days, with guiding from Japan Powder Culture Tours. The first day was a big storm, and whilst many lifts across Shiga Kogen were on wind hold, Yakebitaiyama managed to get a gondola and chair open, which provided access to lots of blissful turns. Considering the brutal weather, it was a godsend to ride on a gondola and hooded quad. It was a deep deep day and the face shots were coming in thick and fast, both on-piste and off-piste.

It was still snowing the next day and more lifts opened, including the Okushiga lifts, which widened the options on offer from Yakebi. The tree skiing was phenomenal and it was great that Yakebi has a variety of both evergreen and deciduous trees.

You can see how we rate Yakebi in more detail on the Honshu ski resort ratings. Note that Shiga Kogen is rated higher than the individual ski areas considering that it offers more terrain.
See our video here