Okushiga Kogen Overview
奥志賀高原スキー場Okushiga Kogen is the highest and innermost sub-area of the Shiga Kogen complex in Yamanouchi, Nagano, sitting on the northeast face of Mount Yakegashira between roughly 1,500m and 2,000m. It is the only part of Shiga Kogen that relies entirely on natural snow with no snowmaking, and is known for consistent powder and one of Japan's longest seasons, running from early December into early May.
Resort Location
Location of the resort on the map of Japan.
Resort highlights
- Access
- Gondola access
- Snow
- Cold, dry snow
- Terrain
- High alpine
- Onsen
- Open-air onsen Family onsen Ryokan stays Onsen nearby
- Season
- Long season Late closer
Snow Report
Snow Report →Average peak depth and the month it arrives, over every recorded season.
Typical base at the deepest half-month.
MeasuredClear skies
The share of a typical winter that is clear here, and the months the clear days fall in.
They are spread through the season, with March the strongest single stretch. Across the 39 resorts tracked here, a typical winter holds between 2 and 11 clear days.
Checked against sunshine measured at Sugadaira. The same station validates Palcall Tsumagoi Resort and Shiga Kogen Yakebitaiyama. This resort reads the same weather cell as Shiga Kogen Yakebitaiyama.
How a winter day is classified
Winter runs from December 1 to March 31. A day counts as Clear when modelled cloud cover is 30% or less, Partly Cloudy from 31 to 79%, and Overcast from 80% up. A day with 5 cm or more of snowfall counts as Snow, whatever the cloud cover.
Cloud cover comes from the ERA5 reanalysis for the weather cell this resort sits in. It is checked against hours of sunshine measured at the nearest reporting station, lower down the valley.
The modelled cloud is compared with the station’s measured sunshine on the 3,243 winter days that have both. When the two agree poorly, the clear-day figure is given as a range instead of a single count.
The classification describes cloud over the resort’s weather cell, but nobody measures visibility on the hill. A cell that reads clear can still leave the upper mountain in cloud all day.
Mountain
Mountain →The spread from this mountain’s gentlest run to its steepest, ranked against the other mountains with pitch data.
Its runs range from 5.3° to 17.7°.
EstimatedLifts
Every active lift, ranked by the riders it carries uphill in an hour.
5 active lifts carrying skiers uphill.
EstimatedRiders per hour (estimated)
Lift Tickets
Lift Tickets →The cost of an hour on the hill, for every ticket length.
Cheapest cost per hour among the compared passes.
MeasuredGetting Here
Getting Here →One recommended public-transport route from each gateway city.
2 gateway cities with a confirmed public route.
Measured- Tokyo → Nagano Station (Shinkansen) + bus: board:Tokyo Station — Tokyo Station — (北陸新幹線, 85 min) — Nagano Station — (志賀高原線（急行）, 127 min) — Okushiga Kogen Hotel
- Shinkansen via Tokyo + Nagaden express bus: Tokyo Haneda Airport — (東京モノレール, 15 min) — Hamamatsucho — (山手線, 10 min) — Tokyo Station — (北陸新幹線, 85 min) — Nagano Station — (志賀高原線（急行）, 127 min) — Okushiga Kogen Hotel
Videos
Videos →Riders’ own words from their videos, each with its timestamp.
6 rider clips from confirmed videos.
Creator-sourced-
“some short blacks for those looking to level up or test their skills. Oxiga downhill and the giant slum courses are long rolling reds great for laying down carving turns, especially on the morning corduroy. Philosophy and Lips courses are red trails that can be lapped away from the main crowds. Intermediate skiers will find the Yokatiama King and Shupatu Weber courses offer a genuine escape from the main crowds and are worth the bus ride for the view alone. The red trails across the resorts give advanced skiers plenty of options for”
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“からピューって言ってダウンヒルコース、 そしてゴンドラ上がってきて、 エキスパートコース、ま、余裕だったら リ感コースも滑ってきて感じでチェックし てこうかなと思います。よし、じゃあ行き ましょう。レッツゴー。 Sチャンネル[歌声][音楽] よし。はい、というわけで第 4 の上、ま、お口がトップからボトムダウンヒのね、ゴンドラガのボトムまで行こうと思います。気持ちせはね、コブ道場ね、 1 本滑ってきたいんですけど、あの、ブ道場滑るとダウンヒルコースに向けるの勢いが落なんで、ま、ここまでね、まっすぐ行こうと思います。おとと抜けちゃった。”
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“There is quite a steep slope here. LET'S GO. The snow on the expert course is nicely packed. This is one large steep run for intermediate and advanced skiers. There is a change in slope. You can enjoy aggressive gliding with wide and narrow turns!”
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“The "Kumaotoshi"trail starts here. About 70 centimeters of fresh snow. This is a movie taken around 9:00 a.m. The snow quality is still good. The "Kumaotoshi"trail is ungroomed slope with a maximum slope of 30 degrees.”
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“解説もしときたいと思ってね。うん。私が よくね、このね、オシガダウンヒルコース がいつまで滑れるから判断はここです。 ここ。この土手が出たら2週間以内です。 ここです。ここです。ここですね。ここと かあそこね。うん。夏歩いたことあると、 ま、分かると思うんですけど、ここが出 たらね、もうね、あ、あと積鉄残り 数十cmです。うん。ここね、土手でね、 持ってあって、ここにちょっとね、下に1 段低いとこがあって、そこが面であの、雪”
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“上がってゴンドラで下るというね、動きに なるかもしれないんですね。ま、あの、 エキスパートコース側がまだ見てないんだ けど、ま、そっちの方がね、ダウンコース か例年大体1週間ぐらい長むしするんで、 ま、そっちの方がね、大丈夫かなと思って ます。はい。まあね、そんな感じでね、 今日の動画これで終わります。この動画 面白かったらサングボチャンネル登録も よろしくお願いしますね。それじゃあまた 次の動画でね。じゃあね。バイバイ。”