Plan Your EPIC Family Snow Trip to SHIGA KOGEN Ski Resort JAPAN 

Thanks for your kind comments. Doing this more for memories than anything serious.

One day I hope to go there in summer.

Thank you and have fun!

Happy to hear that!

You can't go wrong with either. Great choice!

Yeah season started really late this year. Out of the 10+ days we were there.. probably only had 2-3 days of good dumps.

Thank you! Cheers!

I must say I don't have much to offer in advice for a family as big as yours! :) It's pretty hard to single out a single resort. Kids just need a bit of snow and they can play with it regardless of which ski resort they go to. But if you want a resort that caters to kids.. then Hakuba maybe a good option, especially at the larger resort like Happo One where there's good English speaking ski schools. On days you're not skiing, you can head up to Iwatake for all sorts of non-ski related activities (cafe / toboggan / giant swing etc). Good luck with it though. You can have fun at just about any of the ski resorts in Japan (I feel!)

15th to 28th Dec 2023. Season started a bit late this season.. but did have a few good days

Visited around mid-December. Definitely slightly on the early side. We were told snow arrived really late this season. Quite a bit of the resort weren't open when we were still there, eg. Sun Valley. Didn't bother us though. There were enough snow at the resorts that were open (higher elevation), which we were happy with.

They are both comparable when it comes to skiing especially if it's your first time. It comes down to other considerations, eg. Things you want to do, logistics in terms of moving around. For example.. Hakuba has a village.. so if you want to shop, try different restaurants.. you can stay in Hakuba town and there's things to do after skiing. Shiga Kogen on the other hand tends to only offer half or full board hotels. It's a national park so there's no on- mountain town so no variety in terms of shopping or cafes etc. But Shiga Kogen has the monkey park which is a must see. Can't go wrong with either to be honest. Just depends on your priorities!

@@whereisant Thanks for your advice! :)

Do you mean within Shiga Kogen? If so, there is a few to choose from. Suggest taking a look at this official info which lists all kids snow park around Shiga Kogen: www.shigakogen.gr.jp/english/topics/kids-snow-parks.html Don't think you can go wrong with any of them. If you mean outside of Shiga Kogen, I personally like Iwatake located in the Hakuba area, as it has a good combination of non-ski activities for both adults (photos / views / cafe) and kids (sleds, swings etc). Have a look at this: hakuba.com/experiences/snow-activities/iwatake-white-park-to-do/#:~:text=The%20Park%20features%20the%20popular,having%20to%20ski%20or%20snowboard.

They are listed on booking.com / Agoda.com / japanican.com. Their officlal site points to Booking.com www.booking.com/hotel/jp/shirakabaso-yamanouchi.en-gb.html