Thanks for the video and it is well made with good options, geographical locations and fair opinions too I wonder which is the most suitable resort on the main Honshu island given we are trying to ski for the first time as a family of 6 including 4 kids below 10yrs old:), snow fun park for young kids and onsen too!
I must say I don't have much to offer in advice for a family as big as yours! :) It's pretty hard to single out a single resort. Kids just need a bit of snow and they can play with it regardless of which ski resort they go to. But if you want a resort that caters to kids.. then Hakuba maybe a good option, especially at the larger resort like Happo One where there's good English speaking ski schools. On days you're not skiing, you can head up to Iwatake for all sorts of non-ski related activities (cafe / toboggan / giant swing etc). Good luck with it though. You can have fun at just about any of the ski resorts in Japan (I feel!)
Dude I watched this video after I went skiing in Shiga Kogen. For a small UA-camr you make really good videos, you have the potential and drive to make it on the UA-cam skiiing scene
Wonderful job. Shiga Kogen is so big and I am completely lost. Your video is very clear and with great information. It has helped me to decide which area to stay. If we are going there from Tokyo for a week, staying and dining mainly in a hotel next to the ski resort , do you think it's better to rent a car or take a train + bus/taxi? Feel like it's a waste parking the car at the hotel for days not using it.
We had the same dilemma as well when we planned our trip there. So we did both. Half our stay there was with a car, while the other half was without a car. What I can say is that if you are ultra organized, you probably don't need a car. Assuming you do want to explore the whole resort, the biggest hassle is ensuring you don't miss the scheduled buses that shuttle you around the resort. It's not as frequent as I think it should be given the resort size. So we had instances where we were done with one ski area but had to wait for ages to go to the next one. This is where having a car helps quite a bit, because shuttling around will be that much quicker and maximizes your skiing time. Having said that, if you intend to ski one way from one end to another end.. you'll still need to rely on a bus to come back anyway. So get familiar with the bus schedule ASAP :) Having a car does have its positives in that on our rest days, we could drive 20-30 mins out of Shiga Kogen to town to see snow monkeys, try different restaurants, onsen baths@yudanaka or just go shopping etc. of course.. this is assuming the snow isn't too heavy that day and you are comfortable driving in all sorts of snow conditions. We could even explore the town after skiing the day just for the evening. Still.. even on our days without a car, we were happy without it as well. This was the case when we were staying in the "above average" hotel. We just spent more time talking to fellow tourists and more quality time together etc.... we didn't feel the need to have a car. Either way will work depending on your priorities. Having a car is definitely a nice to have but not essential.
Thank you so much for such a detailed reply! Really appreciate it❤ It sounds really stressful to catch the bus 😅 May I know if you rented at Nagano station or Yudanaka area or anywhere else? Also, you mentioned that you went there last Christmas, any areas we should avoid in case of late opening or lack of snow? e.g. Okushiga? Thank you for your time in answering all our questions in the comments!!!
We rented our car from Toyota car rental @ Nagano station (can be pre-booked in advance in English). I'm sure you can rent from Yudanaka Onsen too, but there's a lot more options at Nagano station. It was just convenient to rent @ Nagano for us because we came to Nagano by bullet train. As for your 2nd question, we were there early (around 19th Dec) at Okushiga Kogen last year when the slope wasn't open yet, which just meant a bus trip / hotel shuttle to the central area for a few days. Central area and Kumanoyu/Yokoteyama seems to be open more consistently if you're talking about early season. Having said that, we had the best skiing days at Okushiga when it finally dumped, and no one was around to enjoy the snow except a handful of us on the slope with nobody else!
Thanks for all the useful tips! And thanks to your video, we managed to book Shirakabasou for this xmas before it's too late 😊 I think we are safe with no cars while staying there. We will definitely hit Okushiga when it's open. Can't wait!!!
Hi, Amazing videos. Very nicely explained. I am planning a ski trip on 30-31 March. I want to go for non ski activities for kids. Kindly suggest some good resorts that have snow activities for kids on 30-31 March.
Do you mean within Shiga Kogen? If so, there is a few to choose from. Suggest taking a look at this official info which lists all kids snow park around Shiga Kogen: www.shigakogen.gr.jp/english/topics/kids-snow-parks.html Don't think you can go wrong with any of them. If you mean outside of Shiga Kogen, I personally like Iwatake located in the Hakuba area, as it has a good combination of non-ski activities for both adults (photos / views / cafe) and kids (sleds, swings etc). Have a look at this: hakuba.com/experiences/snow-activities/iwatake-white-park-to-do/#:~:text=The%20Park%20features%20the%20popular,having%20to%20ski%20or%20snowboard.
Visited around mid-December. Definitely slightly on the early side. We were told snow arrived really late this season. Quite a bit of the resort weren't open when we were still there, eg. Sun Valley. Didn't bother us though. There were enough snow at the resorts that were open (higher elevation), which we were happy with.
Thanks for your videos! Comparing Hakuba and Shiga Kogen, which would you recommend for a family first snow/ski trip around 14-19 Dec for 2 adults and a 9 year old? Thanks! :)
They are both comparable when it comes to skiing especially if it's your first time. It comes down to other considerations, eg. Things you want to do, logistics in terms of moving around. For example.. Hakuba has a village.. so if you want to shop, try different restaurants.. you can stay in Hakuba town and there's things to do after skiing. Shiga Kogen on the other hand tends to only offer half or full board hotels. It's a national park so there's no on- mountain town so no variety in terms of shopping or cafes etc. But Shiga Kogen has the monkey park which is a must see. Can't go wrong with either to be honest. Just depends on your priorities!
It's definitely more challenging with season already coming to a close. It's doable if you don't mind a bit of hassle The snow quality will likely be a bit slushy at the foot hills, and getting around is a little harder. The resorts at lower elevation will likely be closed, so safer to stick to the bigger ones at the top like Ichinose or Okushiga Kogen. The snow is fine for beginners, although it's a bit harder to learn and progress quickly if the snow is slushy. Personally, I would drive a car to make sure I can drive to another resort if one is closed for the day. Or perhaps stay right next to the bigger resorts like Ichinose. If you can't drive, check with accommodations if they offer dropoff / pickup service to the other ski areas.
They are listed on booking.com / Agoda.com / japanican.com. Their officlal site points to Booking.com www.booking.com/hotel/jp/shirakabaso-yamanouchi.en-gb.html
Ichinose Family ski area. Take the Ichinose Quad lift and get off to the right at the top. It's a "black' run but not that diffocult. Beautiful view on a clear day!
Thank you for introducing SHIGA KOGEN to me. 日本の文化と志賀高原を紹介して頂きありがとうございます❤
Thank you for watching my video! Really appreciate your kind comments.
本当にありがとう！
I love shiga kogen. I often go there when I was a child. It’s really good to go there in summer as well.
One day I hope to go there in summer.
Going there tomorrow for the first time. This is great video. Thank you
Thank you and have fun!
Nice work .
Thank you! Cheers!
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching the video!
i wish i had seen this video before heading over last year :(
snow looks good in your videos compared to what i heard about this season
Yeah season started really late this year. Out of the 10+ days we were there.. probably only had 2-3 days of good dumps.
Thanks for sharing!
It's very helpful and very detailed.
I am going to visit Nozawa Onsen next year. It's just near by Shiga Kogen.
Nozawa Onsen is a great resort too! Been there once and would love to back there again some time in the future
Thank you for sharing this!
My pleasure!
Thanks for the video and it is well made with good options, geographical locations and fair opinions too
I wonder which is the most suitable resort on the main Honshu island given we are trying to ski for the first time as a family of 6 including 4 kids below 10yrs old:), snow fun park for young kids and onsen too!
I must say I don't have much to offer in advice for a family as big as yours! :) It's pretty hard to single out a single resort. Kids just need a bit of snow and they can play with it regardless of which ski resort they go to. But if you want a resort that caters to kids.. then Hakuba maybe a good option, especially at the larger resort like Happo One where there's good English speaking ski schools. On days you're not skiing, you can head up to Iwatake for all sorts of non-ski related activities (cafe / toboggan / giant swing etc).
Good luck with it though. You can have fun at just about any of the ski resorts in Japan (I feel!)
Dude I watched this video after I went skiing in Shiga Kogen. For a small UA-camr you make really good videos, you have the potential and drive to make it on the UA-cam skiiing scene
Thanks for your kind comments. Doing this more for memories than anything serious.
@@whereisant Ofcourse but still, good video, very interesting informative
Great review and video content! Really like all your Japan skiing series.
Helpful to plan our own trip. Thanks! 🙏 ❤
Happy to hear that!
Wonderful job. Shiga Kogen is so big and I am completely lost. Your video is very clear and with great information. It has helped me to decide which area to stay.
If we are going there from Tokyo for a week, staying and dining mainly in a hotel next to the ski resort , do you think it's better to rent a car or take a train + bus/taxi? Feel like it's a waste parking the car at the hotel for days not using it.
We had the same dilemma as well when we planned our trip there. So we did both. Half our stay there was with a car, while the other half was without a car.
What I can say is that if you are ultra organized, you probably don't need a car. Assuming you do want to explore the whole resort, the biggest hassle is ensuring you don't miss the scheduled buses that shuttle you around the resort. It's not as frequent as I think it should be given the resort size. So we had instances where we were done with one ski area but had to wait for ages to go to the next one. This is where having a car helps quite a bit, because shuttling around will be that much quicker and maximizes your skiing time. Having said that, if you intend to ski one way from one end to another end.. you'll still need to rely on a bus to come back anyway. So get familiar with the bus schedule ASAP :)
Having a car does have its positives in that on our rest days, we could drive 20-30 mins out of Shiga Kogen to town to see snow monkeys, try different restaurants, onsen baths@yudanaka or just go shopping etc. of course.. this is assuming the snow isn't too heavy that day and you are comfortable driving in all sorts of snow conditions. We could even explore the town after skiing the day just for the evening.
Still.. even on our days without a car, we were happy without it as well. This was the case when we were staying in the "above average" hotel. We just spent more time talking to fellow tourists and more quality time together etc.... we didn't feel the need to have a car.
Either way will work depending on your priorities. Having a car is definitely a nice to have but not essential.
Thank you so much for such a detailed reply! Really appreciate it❤
It sounds really stressful to catch the bus 😅 May I know if you rented at Nagano station or Yudanaka area or anywhere else?
Also, you mentioned that you went there last Christmas, any areas we should avoid in case of late opening or lack of snow? e.g. Okushiga?
Thank you for your time in answering all our questions in the comments!!!
We rented our car from Toyota car rental @ Nagano station (can be pre-booked in advance in English). I'm sure you can rent from Yudanaka Onsen too, but there's a lot more options at Nagano station. It was just convenient to rent @ Nagano for us because we came to Nagano by bullet train.
As for your 2nd question, we were there early (around 19th Dec) at Okushiga Kogen last year when the slope wasn't open yet, which just meant a bus trip / hotel shuttle to the central area for a few days. Central area and Kumanoyu/Yokoteyama seems to be open more consistently if you're talking about early season. Having said that, we had the best skiing days at Okushiga when it finally dumped, and no one was around to enjoy the snow except a handful of us on the slope with nobody else!
Thanks for all the useful tips! And thanks to your video, we managed to book Shirakabasou for this xmas before it's too late 😊 I think we are safe with no cars while staying there. We will definitely hit Okushiga when it's open. Can't wait!!!
i'm between shiga kogen and niseko. really thank you !!
You can't go wrong with either. Great choice!
Which one do you recommend more? Hakuba or Shiga Kogen, I'm travelling with my wife and young boy too.
Love the info! Well done.
Can I ask what dates you were there?
15th to 28th Dec 2023. Season started a bit late this season.. but did have a few good days
Hi, Amazing videos. Very nicely explained. I am planning a ski trip on 30-31 March. I want to go for non ski activities for kids. Kindly suggest some good resorts that have snow activities for kids on 30-31 March.
Do you mean within Shiga Kogen? If so, there is a few to choose from. Suggest taking a look at this official info which lists all kids snow park around Shiga Kogen:
www.shigakogen.gr.jp/english/topics/kids-snow-parks.html
Don't think you can go wrong with any of them.
If you mean outside of Shiga Kogen, I personally like Iwatake located in the Hakuba area, as it has a good combination of non-ski activities for both adults (photos / views / cafe) and kids (sleds, swings etc). Have a look at this:
hakuba.com/experiences/snow-activities/iwatake-white-park-to-do/#:~:text=The%20Park%20features%20the%20popular,having%20to%20ski%20or%20snowboard.
Beautiful place, and solid video editing there. Which month n week did u visit? How was the snow condition ?
Visited around mid-December. Definitely slightly on the early side. We were told snow arrived really late this season. Quite a bit of the resort weren't open when we were still there, eg. Sun Valley. Didn't bother us though. There were enough snow at the resorts that were open (higher elevation), which we were happy with.
Thanks for your videos! Comparing Hakuba and Shiga Kogen, which would you recommend for a family first snow/ski trip around 14-19 Dec for 2 adults and a 9 year old? Thanks! :)
They are both comparable when it comes to skiing especially if it's your first time. It comes down to other considerations, eg. Things you want to do, logistics in terms of moving around. For example.. Hakuba has a village.. so if you want to shop, try different restaurants.. you can stay in Hakuba town and there's things to do after skiing. Shiga Kogen on the other hand tends to only offer half or full board hotels. It's a national park so there's no on- mountain town so no variety in terms of shopping or cafes etc. But Shiga Kogen has the monkey park which is a must see.
Can't go wrong with either to be honest. Just depends on your priorities!
@@whereisant Thanks for your advice! :)
Is the early April still thick snow? is this place suitable for children who don't ski? tq before.
It's definitely more challenging with season already coming to a close. It's doable if you don't mind a bit of hassle The snow quality will likely be a bit slushy at the foot hills, and getting around is a little harder. The resorts at lower elevation will likely be closed, so safer to stick to the bigger ones at the top like Ichinose or Okushiga Kogen. The snow is fine for beginners, although it's a bit harder to learn and progress quickly if the snow is slushy. Personally, I would drive a car to make sure I can drive to another resort if one is closed for the day. Or perhaps stay right next to the bigger resorts like Ichinose. If you can't drive, check with accommodations if they offer dropoff / pickup service to the other ski areas.
How to book Shirakabaso Hotel?
They are listed on booking.com / Agoda.com / japanican.com.
Their officlal site points to Booking.com
www.booking.com/hotel/jp/shirakabaso-yamanouchi.en-gb.html
THanks! This is great. Which run was this shot taken on? ua-cam.com/video/qe50tx5fKcY/v-deo.htmlsi=9dA7_mk_fU2hzWwu&t=351
Ichinose Family ski area. Take the Ichinose Quad lift and get off to the right at the top. It's a "black' run but not that diffocult. Beautiful view on a clear day!