If it is your first time skiing or snowboarding or if you have never seen snow in your life, you may have plenty of questions to prepare your trip to Shiga Kogen.
Here are the answers for you to make your experience greater and more comfortable!
– How cold is Shiga Kogen?
– How long does the ski season lasts?
– What do I wear to come to Shiga Kogen during winter season?
– Can I rent ski or snowboard equipment?
– What should I bring for ski or snowboard?
– Ski or Snowboard? Which should I start with?
– Which ski resort is good for beginners?
– Which lift pass should I buy?
– Is there any ski/snowboard school?
🌨️ How cold is Shiga Kogen? 🌞
The average temperatures are between -5 to -10 degrees during January to March. The highest temperatures could be around 0 to 5 degrees on sunny day, the lowest temperatures could be around -15 degrees.
It may seem quite cold but when you ski or snowboard, you get warm very easily. A good tip is to wear multiple layers so you can adapt from cold to warm.
🏔️ How long does the ski season lasts? 🏔️
The snow season could start at the end of November until mid-May especially at Yokoteyama/Shibutoge ski resort that provides the highest altitude slopes in Japan.
*Opening dates could be postponed depending on the weather condition.
The best season is from January to the end of March. The quality of snow is perfect in much quantity. Ski resorts start opening partially from the end of November, and close one by one from the 1st of April. During January to March, generally every ski resort is open.
⛄ What do I wear to come to Shiga Kogen during winter season? ⛄
No jeans and sneakers! Layering clothes and wearing a waterproof outer is a must. It is also important to choose proper shoes for snow; the ground is not only covered with snow but also might be icy and slippery or wetty by melting snow! Do not forget covering your head and ears with a beanie.
🏂 Can I rent ski or snowboard equipment? ⛷️
Of Course! You can come almost empty handed and rent whole ski or snowboard equipment.
A full set of ski, boots, poles or snowboard and boots + jacket and pants is all available. If you bring your own ski/snowboard wear, you can rent just ski boots and poles set, or snowboard and boots set.
For more details for rentals, please check here!
🥽 What should I bring for ski or snowboard? 🧤
Some rental shops don’t provide beanies, goggles, and gloves. We recommend you to bring your own items. Please refer to the rental shop’s website to see what you can rent!
For your safety, please, please, please wear a helmet if you snowboarding for the first time. It makes you assured, reduces your fear and will protect you. If your beanie is thin enough, you can put it under the helmet. We recommend also to wear protections especially for snowboarding. On the first day, you might fall down (and don’t worry, it’s normal!). Guess how you would feel without those items!
→ What’s the best wears for skiing/snowboarding?
You may feel cold when you arrive at the resort but sooner you will get warm once you start skiing/snowboarding. We kindly advise you to layering your clothes to regulate your body temperature easily. Base layer shirt and bottom may help you to feel comfortable during activities. It would be nice to wear thick socks and neck warmer which can cover your mouth.
⛷️ Ski or Snowboard? Which should I start with? 🏂
Both are fun and exciting sports!
We often roughly say; ski is easier to start but hard to get an advanced level, snowboard is hard to start but easier to improve your skill.
You can stand up by yourself easily with ski from the beginning, but with a snowboard you might need time to get used to unusual feeling of having your both feet bound on a board.
🌲 Which ski resort is good for beginners? 🌲
Ichinose Family Front course at Ichinose ski resort is very popular for beginners with its gentle and wide slope. Because of its popularity, it may be very crowded though. You can check the how the ski area is crowded by live cameras before you come.
▶ Live camera
If you would like to skiing a quiet, you can try the 1st slope of Okushiga Kogen ski resort, generally not crowded. There is a kids forest course which is perfect for beginners.
Yokoteyama 1st course is also very gentle and quite wide. The lift is very slow, but it brings you at a quite high altitude so once you arrive at the top, a long ride with a vast view is waiting for you.
🎫 Which lift pass should I buy? 🎫
If this is your first-time skiing / snowboarding, a point ticket would be suitable. For the beginner level riders, whole Shiga Kogen Mountain would be too large to move around in one day, so we don’t recommend you to purchase an All-Mountain lift pass.
You will find how many points you need from this page!
*Click each “Check here for detail” link to see the points.
If you are beginner but you have already some experiences or once you get used to skiing / snowboarding, let’s purchase an area pass. This lift pass allows you to ride wider area.
Then if you want to challenge to move around whole Shiga Kogen area, you can upgrade to an All-Mountain lift pass. It would be a great adventure!
We provide you a perfect guide for the lift pass here!
😎 Is there any ski/snowboard school? 😎
Yes! There are several ski and snowboard schools in English or other languages in Shiga Kogen. Please contact them to make your reservation.
▶ Find ski school information here
