Hello!
I’d like to ski in Shiga Kogen this winter, I was thinking from the 3rd to the 6th of January. This is a rough outline of how I think this could work but I’m having a rough time finding the exact information So I’d love your help, so my hypothetical dates would go like this:
3rd January: Train from Tokyo to an accomodation either in Shiga Kogen or Yudanaka, Seeing as it’s a bit of travel time I’d plan to maybe do a bit of relaxing or I’d ski depending on the time and accommodations.
4th January: Probably book a ski lesson and possibly snow boarding for later in the day
5th January: Snow Monkeys and ski/snowboard
6th January: Move on to my next destination being Takayama
A few questions regarding my itinerary would be:
Am I trying to book a hotel too early? I can’t see many accommodations open for my dates
Is it a better idea to stay in a ski resort in Shiga Kogen other than a place in Yudanaka for the convenience of the snow so close?
Is there any major things I’m missing in the area to see? I know of the snow monkeys and sky terrace, I’ve done a lot of googling and can’t see too many major attractions.
And if there’s any additional information you can give me from your experience that I may be missing?
Thank you!
1 comment
Hi! I went to Shiga Kogen as part of my Japan trip this January!
We travelled from Tokyo to Nagano by shinkansen, took a bus to Yudanaka to go to the snow monkey park, and then a bus from Yudanaka to Shiga Kogen. The bus went past many hotels along the way, and we stayed at Diamond Shiga hotel.
I highly, highly recommend you stay within the ski resort itself. There are free buses that can take you to various ski areas (we went to Okushiga Kogen) and it’s good to stay at a place that’s near shops or restaurants. Diamond Shiga was walking distance to a small conbini and a couple of restaurants.
For ski lessons, I also highly recommend Okushiga Kogen ski school. They have English speakers and you can rent out ski gear and ski wear from them.
As for booking the hotel, it’d be good to check in later months and every now and then, as the bookings may just not be open yet. They may open bookings for a couple months at a time.