Shiga Kogen was added to Your Favorites!
Joshin’etsukogen NP, Nagano
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
In Shiga Kogen, early-summer ne-magaridake bamboo shoots go into a local soup with canned mackerel—a distinctly local pairing. A packaged “Sabatake” version lets people enjoy this seasonal taste year-round.
In 1998, Yakebitai Mountain hosted the giant slalom when snowboarding made its Olympic debut. The venue also staged alpine skiing, making this corner of Shiga Kogen part of a first-ever Olympic chapter.
At Ishinoyu, Genji fireflies live at 1,580–1,620 m—the highest documented habitat in Japan. Their flight season averages more than 3 months, sometimes 5; warm spring water helps make this high-altitude exception possible.
Despite its name, Shijuhachiike means “Forty-Eight Ponds,” but this wetland at 1,880 m actually has more than 60 peatland pools. They shelter alpine wetland plants, salamanders and tree frogs.
In a local legend, a serpent from Onuma Pond unleashes a flood after a lord deceives it; the Black Princess sacrifices herself to stop the waters. Shiga Kogen’s Daija Festival keeps the tale alive with a great serpent crossing the pond.
Onuma Pond, Shiga Kogen’s largest, can appear cobalt blue or green—but its acidic water cannot support fish. The water’s unusual clarity lets sunlight create shifting colors as it refracts through the pond.
In the Zako River, native iwana char reproduce without hatchery stocking. Local fishers protect spawning tributaries by closing them to fishing, while allowing fishing only in the main river.
U.S. occupation forces ordered a ski lift at Maruike in 1946; it was completed in January 1947. Japanese skiers were initially barred from the occupied resort and its lift.
Shiga Kogen’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve spans 5 municipalities across Nagano and Gunma. Registered in 1980 and expanded in 2014, it includes settled areas as well as protected mountain landscapes.
Around Shiga Kogen, village forests have been shared resources since medieval times or earlier. Communities gathered wild plants and cut trees under local rules designed to keep the mountain’s resources from being used up.
