Shiga Kogen Ski Area was added to Your Favorites!
Joshin’etsukogen NP, Nagano
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
In January 1947, Maruike received Japan’s first ski lift, built under U.S. occupation for an Eighth Army ski meet. At first, Japanese skiers were not allowed to use it—a surprising start for a lift that helped make skiing more accessible.
In 1913, German trading couple the Kimmels brought skis to nearby Kanbayashi Onsen. The story goes that they glided over farm slopes and valleys with a single ski pole—long before Shiga Kogen had lifts or a modern resort.
When snowboarding made its Olympic debut at Nagano 1998, Yakebitai Mountain hosted the giant slalom, as well as alpine skiing’s slalom. The snowboard halfpipe was at nearby Kanbayashi, a separate venue.
Early summer brings ne-magari bamboo shoots—young Chishima bamboo—to Shiga Kogen’s tables. Locals make takenoko-jiru by simmering them in miso soup with canned mackerel, a beloved regional comfort food.
Shiga Kogen keeps background music off its slopes, explaining that the quiet helps limit disturbance to plants and animals in the national park. Listen closely and the mountain’s own sounds take center stage.
ABMORI’s forest-restoration project began at Shiga Kogen in 2014 after kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizō called for action. More than 70,000 trees have since been planted on closed ski-area sites in the region.
In 1929, Norwegian ski leader Olaf Helset and his party toured the mountains here. Helset praised the scenery as the “St. Moritz of the Orient,” a phrase that became part of Shiga Kogen’s early ski-resort identity.
Shiga Kogen is a patchwork of 18 ski areas, not just one hill. A single all-mountain pass covers their lifts and gondolas, while shuttle buses connect parts of the sprawling resort.
Shiga Kogen Hotel opened in 1937 as part of a national effort to attract international visitors to Japan’s ski country. It closed in 1999, but its surviving original building is preserved as the Shiga Kogen History Memorial Hall.
Near the Ichinose ski area, the Zako River supports native iwana char that reproduce naturally; no fish are stocked. Local conservation rules help protect this unusual wild population in Shiga Kogen’s clear mountain waters.
