Shiga Kogen Prince Hotel West Building - Shiga Kogen

SHIGA KOGEN
   Ichinose - Yakebitaiyama - Okushiga Kogen
NAGANO

03 February, 2025

All the information you provided pre-trip for Shiga Kogen was really good and took a lot of the anxiety out of the trip. This included the bus services and timetables and the restaurants at Ichinose,which was really great to have. We used Blackcat to get most of our gear to and from the resorts and that was excellent. I saw some of the other companies' treatment of gear and was not impressed but Blackcat were excellent.

Access from Nagano was fairly easy because we sent the baggage by Blackcat. The limited numbers of Nagaden buses could be a problem if you were not there early enough to get a seat. 

Prince West resort was pretty good. It was comfortable and modern. Not anything to do other than ski/board. It was fairly busy over this time as it coincided with holidays. The room was a decent size but only just enough storage for clothes etc. The staff spoke enough english to be of great assistance. They were also friendly and helpful. The onsen was closed for too long during the day - 9am to 2pm.

Eating - breakfast, your typical buffet and it was good. Dinner was also good but expensive. The basic level of a dinner buffet meal is substantial enough not to go for the top level. Other than the Hotel there are limited options to eat out especially at a reasonable price. The ramen restaurant there was great. The chinese restaurant was expensive. Ichinose was also very limited. The Shabushabu at ? in Ichinose was excellent and of good value. The Temu bar was closed for food.

Medical facilities at Ichinose Family were very helpful but if you had a serious injury I'm not sure they would be of much service. Other than that there is not any medical support for a serious injury.

Skiing: The terrain at yakebitaiyama was good. It is not really a beginner mountain. Lots of intermediate and advanced intermediate. Enough to keep advanced skiers and boarders happy also. We had lots of snow while there which was great. If there was not a lot of snow it would get very firm and icy as a lot of the terrain starts and flows though certain areas and gets a  lot of traffic. The lift system is not that well set out.  Lots of flats to traverse at Yakebitaiyama and also getting to and from Okushiga Kogen. Also you need to ride the gondola all the time so for snowboarders you are in and out of your bindings - takes more time. Yakebitaiyama and Ichinose Family were the busiest resorts. Yake had lots of people in the main areas although the lift lines were not too bad - mainly busy at the gondolas. If you had the All Mountain pass heading down through the "Central" the skiing was much less crowded but access was more difficult and it would take quite a few chairs to get back to the hotel.

Pros -  Protected from winds so stays open if bad weather. You get two free tickets per week if you stay 7 days. There are free washers and driers.Free bus service to and from Ichinose both community and Prince Hotels in the evening.

Cons - Yakebitaiyama is pretty busy. There is limited terrain for beginners and nearly all of the runs have at least some intermediate sections.  You have to do a fair bit of skating or poling as there are quite a few flat areas. So much harder for snowboarders. Some of the runs can get a bit "hard/firm" because the traffic stays in those areas and they are access areas. Ski school classes are very large and can clog up chairs and one of the gondolas if you arrive at the same time as them. They are also a hazard on the runs.  Gets lots of people during bad weather because all the other areas can close down.  Lifts don't link easily - some areas you have to ride a lift and a gondola to get top to bottom. Despite the negative it is quite a decent place though.  Gets busy on weekends and holidays.

**It is the only place so far in the two seasons and four resorts that we have encountered poor behaviour by Aussies.

Grant Edwards

24 January, 2025

Great time as usual. The snow was great and the hotel exceptional as usual. Also no injuries which is good.

We even got to have some drinks one night and a ski with general manager Mr Yamazaki who we have gotten to know over our times there. He is so accomodating and genuinely cares about making sure his guests have a great time. Could you please pass on my comments regards Mr Yamazaki to your contacts at Prince Hotel?

Please register our appreciation for Miyumi who works for Mr Yamazaki. We have known Miyumi for a number of years and she is always willing to assist us with any issues at the hotel. Miyumi is an asset to the hotel and does everything in her power to ensure the guests have a wonderful stay.

Looking forward to our next trip

Darryl

20 January 2025

Thank you Hisae for helping us organize our sabbatical. Shiga Kogen fully met our expectations. The Prince West Wing hotel was comfortable and the catering offer was vert good.  The ski area offers a wide variety of slopes, perfect for us. The NSS transfers, which you had booked for us, were very helpful. A highlight of the trip was the Niigata Otaru ferry that you had suggested to us. I give you 10/10 for your entire service.

Francois Desjardins

Mid January 2025

Thank you for all your assistance with our trip this year.

Your prompt service and competitive priced packages are appreciated.

Kind regards
Steve Proctor

Mid Feb 2024

Mid Feb 2024

David

Early Feb 2024

James 

Early feb 2024

Really enjoyed the trip. The Prince Hotel was clean with good facilities and friendly staff. Awesome skiing! A good place to base from considering the expanse of Shiga Kogen. The immediately accessible Yakibitaiyama ski area was always well groomed every morning and there were no big lift queue’s. All the other ski areas are easily accessible via connecting lifts. Thanks for your service again.I will be in contact with you later in the year to book next year’s accommodation.

Regards

Brendan Hatherly

Early Feb 2024

Gary

1st February 2023

As always we enjoyed our time at Shiga Kogen it is an amazing resort. The Prince Hotel delivered as usual with breakfast a highlight as it was a great way to start the day. Great weather was a bonus with plenty of snow along with very cold temps. We certainly picked a good time to go.

The only negative was that Nagano shuttle no longer picks up direct from the hotel as they used to and expect you to catch the local bus (packed to the hilt) down the hill to Nagano. The way it used to work was in my opinion much better and maybe you can make that comment to them for us.

Your service I must say was exemplary and made everything so easy for us. Your organisation from start to finish was flawless.  We would be pleased if you would arrange next years trip for us. For next year we are thinking of splitting our time between Hakuba and Shiga and look forward to you advising us of the best deals for next year as they become available.

Thank you so much for the service you provided and we look forward to next year

Regards

Darryl Searle

Mid Jan 2024 

The accommodation, access to the connected ski fields and the bus service in the evening to open up food options are all fantastic. It was great to wake up to this view.

Jason

Early Jan 2024

Paul

January 2023

Hi Sayuri and the team

Mid Jan 2020 

Yes we had a great time. This was our 5th trip to Japan. Despite the lack of snow (worst start to season in 30 years) it was still fun.

Shiga Kogan was easy to get to. We took the Shinkansen to Nagano, then the bus to the Prince Hotel which goes from right outside the Station. Dropped us off right outside the Prince West hotel.

Our twin rooms with ensuites were a big enough size for 12 days and the big wardrobe enabled us to hang our ski gear and get bags out the way. The beds were a little on the firm side. It not the most flash hotel but was clean and friendly. English was less spoken by the front reception so we had some interesting conversations a couple of times. The Japanese are so lovely though and go out of their way to help. 

 

Despite some of the reviews we felt the west wing was the best. It has the onsen – so you don’t need to catch a bus to get one as you do from the other wings. The ability to do laundry was great. washing and drying machines located in the onsen change rooms, male and female sides, were very busy! We took our own boards and the free lockers next to the ski entrance was great. There is rental and tuning available in the hotel, also next to the ski entrance.

 

We had pre-booked the buffet breakfast which was very good. Big enough selection for the 12 days. Dinner was more of an issue. We had a couple of meals in some of the restaurants attached to the main hotel. We had noodles a few nights in our rooms but the rest of the time we caught the free hotel bus to Ichinose (700m away!).  It leaves from the hotel entrance  and just loops back and forth to Ichinose and the 3 wings from about 5 pm.  In Ichinose there were a few more restaurants with good prices. Including one that did crepes! We walked to Ichinose a few times during the stay. An easy 10 min walk. There is very little there, no real shopping to speak of – a couple shops selling ski gear, quite a few restaurants and a convenience store, good for chocolate! We got our boards waxed at SnowCan ski shop in Ichinose which was a lot cheaper than the hotel price. Our son also needed to see a local doctor (GP) who works in the same building as SnowCan – this was great - saving us a long trip to Nagano and back.

 

The mountain attached to the 3 Prince hotel wings had some great runs and good lift structure. The free hotel lift passes were used if we wanted a quieter or half day. The snow outside the main exit was still dry lose powder when we arrived, 3 days after the last snowfall. I was very surprised as many Honshu resorts we have stayed in prior would have been hard packed within hours. The snow at Shiga was definitely drier than Myoko/Nozawa/Madarao.

 

The other parts of Shiga Kogan ski fields were easily accessed. We didn’t use the free bus- you can easily ski around 80% of the resorts by the interconnected runs and lifts. The electronic pass system worked great. You could buy a 4 day plus pass that was good for the rest of the season! So if we missed a few days by using our free hotel passes it didn’t matter. The lift passes were cheaper than other resorts we have boarded at in Japan. Very good value for the huge amount of terrain you have access to. The views at the top of the runs (2000 metres plus) were spectacular. (attached). You feel like you are on top of the world at Shiga.

 

We certainly will go back to Shiga Kogan again. Hopefully next time we will have at least an average snowfall.

 

Thanks Hisae for your recommendation and help, as usual it was spot on. 

 

Rob 

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Mid Jan 2018

 

We really loved Shiga Kogen and the variety of runs spread over the resorts. Each resort has quite different runs and it is a good combination of wide groomers, challenging bumps and some pretty cool tree skiing. The snow was as good as we have seen in Japan, probably the best in our six trips there. The extra altitude certainly makes it al lot colder but the advantage is that the snow stays in excellent condition.

 

The All Mountain Pass is such a bonus in Shiga Kogen. Linking all the resorts by the lifts or shuttle bus it gives you tremendous flexibility to do something different each day. 

 

We stayed one week at the Prince Hotel East Wing and then another week at the Prince Hotel west Wing. We were not expecting too much as everything we read said how old and tired the hotels were and how tiny the rooms are. Well, we were actually quite pleasantly surprised. Yes old and tired and tiny rooms but it was fine. Everything clean, very helpful staff, Pretty good in Room Wi Fi. We felt the South Wing was much better than the West Wing. A bit more intimate with a much better restaurant area.

Rooms were far nicer as well. Not luxury at all but very comfortable.

 

The location just close to ichinose was a bonus and gave some good dining options other than the Hotel which is very overpriced for meals. Get the packages with meals included.

 

As usual Japan Snow Accommodation were excellent. Hisae always organises everything well and never any issues. We would recommend them happily.

 

Here are a few snaps of Shiga Kogen. Beautiful place.

 

As a another quick tip, if you are staying in Tokyo, Shinjuku is a seriously good suburb to stay in. Busy, exactly how you picture Tokyo to be but with superb dining, great shopping,

close to lots of sights and transport to everywhere else from the sprawling Shinjuku station.

 

Cheers

Ben van Dorsselaer
Hobart

 

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Mid February 2014

Shiga was wonderful. We had forgotten just how good it is. Plenty of variety, good facilities and great snow. Prince west was very good.  It’s location is excellent.  Long, enjoyable runs right on our doorstep.  We like to get out early and enjoy the snow while it is still in pristine condition.  Prince was perfect for this. We couldn’t fault the rooms, staff were friendly and helpful.  The bed and breakfast rate was excellent value.   

View from our twin room was wonderful (attached photo).  We particularly enjoyed the breakfast arrangement.  Everything from traditional Japanese to cooked western to fruit and yoghurt. Only negative comment was the dinner arrangement.  Dinner in the hotel was expensive (4,000 yen pp fixed price), and didn’t look that inviting.  We had dinner next door at the Chinese restaurant or walked into Ichinose.  The walk only took about 10 minutes and was actually quite enjoyable. We certainly plan to return, and will probably stay at Prince West again.  I will be in touch later in the year to get things organised.    I have already recommended the hotel to a couple of people. Thank you for all your help and advice with the holiday, we are already looking forward to next year’s trip.

One Happy Family

January 2014

We had a another terrific holiday skiing in Japan- we all enjoyed it very much. Shiga Kogen and Nozawa are, as you will be aware, very different and so there were mixed opinions within the family as to which place was best. Some of us enjoyed Shiga Kogen best as the quality of the snow was great (we had some lovely powder snow while we were there) and there was good access to a large range of different ski areas.

The rooms at the Prince Hotel (East) were comfortable and had a wonderful view onto the slopes and the hotel is absolutely ski in- ski out. The reception staff spoke reasonable english and were very helpful. The lack of internet in the rooms meant that all the guests congregated in the lobby, which was not particularly comfortable or atmospheric, to get wifi access in the late afternoon/evening, at which time the internet became painfully slow. The hotel food was very nice but very expensive, particularly given that we were travelling with children.

The isolation of the hotel meant that there was no other place nearby to visit easily. We were lucky to have a hire car which meant that we could drive to Ichinose for dinner, but it would have been very frustrating (& expensive!) had we not been able to do so as (inter-resort buses did not seem very frequent). The main criticism of Prince Hotel would be the lack of apres ski activites (no café for a snack, no nice communal gathering area, no easy access to internet). For this reason, if I were staying for any length of time at Shiga Kogen without transport, I might consider accommodation in one of the village resorts.

So, in my view, Shiga Kogen was best for the skiing, and Nozawa was best for the all-round experience. Thank you for your assistance in finding suitable accommodation for us. I have attached a few of photographs of our two are of my son in the powder at Shiga Kogen.

Julia Jago