Shiga Kogen

There is no single ski hill called Shiga Kogen. It is a group of 13 resorts that sit next to each other in the mountains of Nagano. Together they make one of the largest connected ski areas in Japan, and they run on one shared lift pass. What surprises people is that the skiing here is as big and varied as Hakuba, but the area still gets far fewer overseas visitors than Hakuba or Nozawa. Some of the hotels are ski-in, ski-out, so you can start riding straight from the door.

The reason I bring families here is the snow. Yokoteyama is the highest ski area in Japan, at 2,307 metres, and the snow quality at that height is the best I have found anywhere in the country. This matters more for beginners than most people think. When you are still learning, good snow is easier and safer to turn on, and you improve faster. So I would rather put a first-time skier on great snow up high than on hard, icy snow lower down.

Now the honest part. You cannot ski all 13 resorts in one day. It is simply too big. So the "13 resorts on one pass" idea sounds great, but in practice it does not mean as much as it seems — you will only use a few of them on a normal trip. The other thing to check is English. Because there are fewer overseas visitors here, English lessons are not offered everywhere. The resort with English lessons may not be the same resort you most want to ski. So plan your lessons and your base around that, not the other way round.

If you want big, varied terrain with excellent high-altitude snow, and you do not mind doing a little planning, Shiga Kogen is a strong choice — especially for a family that wants quieter slopes than Hakuba.