Japan's Largest Ski Resort | Shiga Kogen

This time, we're headed to Shiga Kogen, the largest ski resort in Japan, which is located about an hour away from Nagano station in the heart of the Joshinetsu National Park. It's a more Japanese style resort with more traditional style hotels throughout the valley. It's a huge resort with 18 different areas, over 50 ski lifts, and 80 km of amazing runs.
Gear:
* GoPro Hero 8
* Insta360 X2
* Sony a6400
* Tamron 17-70 f2.8
* Rode Wireless Go 2
* DJI Mini 2
Music:
Joyride by Scandinavianz / scandinavianz
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/3nYwvBg
Music promoted by Audio Library • Joyride - Scandinavian...
No fear by de Pablos / de_pablos
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/37cCWKE
Music promoted by Audio Library • No fear - de Pablos (N...
#shigakogen #skiresort #snowboarding

[@trancis_]

Loving ALL of your snowboarding videos! They're really well done with a ton of useful information, cool facts, and awesome snowboarding footage. I hope to make it out there someday!

[@didibryan]

Thank you so much trancis! We hope you come out and enjoy japow someday as well!

[@ukrainewins5742]

Thanks for the vid, going there next week! Love that Japow!

[@didibryan]

Awesome! Have fun!!

[@lorezyra]

I rarely ride the bus between the different parts of the resort as you can ride the lifts to the top and ski across the connections. From Okushiga, I'd ski to Yakibitaiyama then down to the bridge that you can ski across to the Family area of Shigakogen. From there, you can ride the lifts back to the top and ski across to the Giant ski area and then to Maruike ski area via the "secret tunnel." If you know the ski resort, you should never have to ride the bus. You can literally ski from one side all the way to the other side of the resort. An advanced-intermediate skier should be able to do this within a day.

[@champan250]

Shiga Kogen sounds "large" but in fact it is not. The vertical of each area is probably the shortest among all major Japanese resorts. Given almost all of Shiga Kogen areas are interconnected at either the top or bottom (except the separated one you mentioned), one of the achievements to do is to ski/snowboard up-and-down from one end all the way to the another end in a single day. It is do-able within 5 hours, take about 11 or 13 lifts if I recalled correctly...

[@dosaussiethai2127]

I did the Northern part from the Giant area to Okushiga Kogen. Starting at 10am and getting on the bus back to Nagano at 3:40pm from Prince Hotel South Building at Yakebitaiyama area. Not enough time for me to start from the lower areas since it was my first time there and I didn't know my way other than rough knowledge from maps.

[@debdeelie8241]

Shiga Kogen mountain resort website, there are 4 areas. Area 1-3 are connected & can be reached skiing. (won’t recommend it for beginners), while area 4 - Kumanoyu-Yokoteyama-Shibutoge area is stand-alone. Time to get to area 4 via inter-resort shuttle depends on where one is situated, e.g. if you’re at Okushigakogen, with bus timings and bus change, to get to area 4 can take up to 2.5hours!

[@tobyazoor7059]

Hey, thanks for making a such an entertaining and informative video! My friends and I are wondering about the level of English spoken at the resort because we plan on coming here for a trip next season.

[@didibryan]

Hmm good question! I spoke Japanese when I was there so can't say for sure, but at both Niseko and Hakuba, you won't have any problem with speaking English since both of those resorts definitely catered towards tourists in the past. The other 3 you might be able to get by with just English, but wouldn't be surprised if there were fewer people there that could speak.

[@shanefinch7776]

This looks epic

[@didibryan]

Thanks! It was!

[@leafmylife]

LOVE THIS SHOWCASE of the resort, what date/month were you there for?

[@didibryan]

We went in Feb!

[@meivymetta4373]

What time during you record this video? Such a lovely n great video, thx 4 sharing 💜 Hi fr Indonesia 🇮🇩 jakarta

[@didibryan]

Thank you! This was in late Feb 2022!

[@fazankhaliq4077]

What is the name of the hotel you stayed at? Looked good, im looking for a place.

[@didibryan]

We stayed here! Aspen Shiga 0269-34-3700 maps.app.goo.gl/7xnCXMy3NUsnxHY5A

[@dpj9421]

Thanks! Can I ask when exactly was this filmed? As the snow conditions looks good, can't be in March 2022 right?

[@didibryan]

We visited towards the end of Feb

[@final6825]

I’m trying to figure out which mountain to go to why doesn’t anyone talk about this place are the runs not as good?

[@didibryan]

Which place in particular are you curious about?

[@user-rx5pc2vs5o]

Hey! We are beginners and hoping to learn basics of skiing for 3 days from 10-14th December 2023. What ski resort do you think would be open at this time and also good for budget travellers?

[@didibryan]

Are you coming from Tokyo? If so, i'd probably recommend one of the resorts in the Yuzawa area as they're the easiest to get to via the shinkansen with lots of accommodation options. Some resort names are Gala Yuzawa, Naeba, and Kagura.

[@cmtang304]

Awesome 🎉 very nice video...wonder if I can carry my ski bag on Shinkansen...and a big suitcase too....btw...what bus did you take to Shigakogen...and I assume I can buy a return ticket in advance on the day I travel to Shigakogen...if not, I don’t think hotels at Shiga can offer any help on this issue.

[@didibryan]

You can bring your bag onto the shinkansen. In fact you'll see plenty of other people doing the same. Yes you can buy the day of as well

[@cmtang304]

@@didibryan Thank you 🙏🏻

[@dosaussiethai2127]

There is a shuttle bus from Nagano station that does a day trip to Shiga Kogen, but only Sunday has an early bus that's worth doing a day trip. One-way ticket costs 1,800 Yen to 2,100 Yen depending on where you get off/on at Shiga Kogen. You pay the fare in cash as you get on the bus.

[@blade1535]

Japanese don’t really love foreigners dragging all their big bags and ski bags into the Shinkansen. I think you can pay a little more to get a spot to store big bags. I would ship my ski stuff as soon as I arrive from the airport. It’s cheap.

[@valhazlife]

Do u think there'll be snow about 17~20 December in shiga kogen? >_

[@didibryan]

Yup there will be snow!

[@valhazlife]

@@didibryan Thank you!! :D

[@skirolf]

Why don’t Ski maps of resorts show veritable drop, hight of mountains, base stations? Many lifts looks slow moving?

[@dosaussiethai2127]

You'll be lucky to find a good quality Shiga Kogen trail map on the internet. In general, I find Japanese Trail Maps lack in detail even the big ones. Many of them have very vague run layouts that only remotely resemble the real place. Some of them have a lot of information that I don't think is needed on trail maps like the length of every run etc. but I suppose the Japanese like them that's why they design them that way.

[@kassylan8965]

Hello there, I’m trying to choose which resort should I go in April. Could you recommend the best one for a beginner? Thank you

[@didibryan]

April is quite late and I'm not sure if the resorts will have much snow left... So my recommendation would be to go in February at the latest especially for beginners

[@kassylan8965]

@@didibryan thank you, but could you recommend where should I go if I use public transportation?

[@didibryan]

The easiest resort to access by public transit is gala yuzawa as the shinkansen goes directly to the resort.

[@kassylan8965]

@@didibryan thank you so much

[@repodesk]

Ichinose at Shiga Kogen is a good beginner area. The "Diamond" is truly a beginner's hill, but branches off quickly to "Family" hill which is great on weekdays. One tip for non-beginners: on days of big snow storms, most people are sitting in the chalets. But "Family," the first, main hill at Ichinose will usually remain open. You can ski it as if you are skiing on powder, and the hill will be mostly empty.

[@flaviotk7094]

Hello, when did you travel?

[@didibryan]

We went in Feb!

[@davemitchell3998]

Any form of Apres ? Nothing wild like Austria but some?

[@didibryan]

There's a few restaurants and some hotels you could stop by, but it's overall really quiet. If you're looking for better apres skiing, maybe check out Nozawa onsen nearby, which has amazing options.

[@davemitchell3998]

Thanks..I did have my eye on that place

[@davelonton8783]

Hi. Where did you stay for this trip?

[@didibryan]

The hotel is called Aspen Shiga

[@davelonton8783]

Thanks @@didibryan

[@davelonton8783]

@@didibryan, how is the snow looking at Shiga Kogen so far this season?

[@didibryan]

We haven't gone this year but from the forecasts it seems pretty good www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Shiga-Kogen-Yakebitaiyama/6day/mid

[@stonebai7203]

Me in nagano crying bc of the snow is going to be dry after being pumped for a week. :((((

[@didibryan]

Oh nooo this has been a really hot year so there hasn't been a lot of snow 😭😭 but I heard it's getting colder this weekend

[@kavarasings9813]

which area again did you stay? new subscriber. I have my music channel too 👌👌

[@didibryan]

We stayed at a hotel called Aspen shiga. Welcome!

[@Simadashinsukebo]

The biggest snow resorts in Japan is Niseko or Hakuba. You are not correct.

[@plucas]

Negative, you are wrong. Shiga kogen is the biggest.

[@dosaussiethai2127]

Hakuba resorts retain their separateness. They are only "one" when you buy Valley Pass which is quite expensive 8,500Y compared to Shiga Kogen 6,500Y. Also, each of the resorts at Hakuba distinctly stands alone or in pairs while the ski areas at Shiga Kogen feel like the same resort that keeps going on.