Shigakogen Sun Valley Ski Area — Attraction in Yamanouchi

My husband and I loved our stay here. It was perfect for a very easy ski trip! You can rent gear directly from the hotel (in the basement, including clothes), and it’s a 2 minute walk from the front door to the ski lift. There was a nice loop of green (easy) ski slopes that took us across to the other mountain and back to the hotel without ever needing a bus, almost zero lines at the lift. The Japanese dinner in the hotel was delicious (but you need to request a reservation in advance so they have enough food reserved). The beds were very comfortable and the spa/onsen was perfect with a beautiful overlook on the forest. The bus stop for the express bus that will take you to Nagano station is a 5 minute walk, but the hotel very nicely drove us to the stop with our luggage so we didn’t have to drag it through the snow. Note that the express bus doesn’t take reservations and was pretty full so plan accordingly! Would...

This is not an area for great beginners, it was my second day trying snowboard (and I never tried skiing) and I struggled (falling) for about 2 hours on the easiest slope. Even though I learned a lot, it cost me a headache.

The lift staff is nice and polite as often in Japan.

There is the station's restaurant close by for lunch, as well as breakfast and dinner restaurants/cafés (at the nearby hotels) which are closed for lunch.

There's also a bus stop in front of the station.

It's good to know that there's a list of all the ski stations and their specs on...

First time ever experience in snow! It was an amazing experience when the normal road suddenly turned like a magical dream world filled with snow all over the place while we cruise in car!!!! I don't know anything about skiing but the place was awesome with not even a single tourist (Thanks to the weather forecast :D).Date of...