Hakuba Valley has 10 resorts on one pass, Shiga Kogen links 18 areas and 45 lifts, Nozawa Onsen pairs one big mountain with an onsen village.
Nagano's three big ski destinations are Hakuba Valley, Shiga Kogen and Nozawa Onsen. Hakuba Valley has 10 resorts on one pass (adult day ticket ¥11,100 for 2026-27) and the most restaurants and bars. Shiga Kogen links 18 ski areas and 45 lifts on one ¥9,500 ticket, with hotels beside the lifts. Nozawa Onsen is a single mountain, about 1,085 m of vertical, above a hot-spring village, and costs ¥7,800 a day. The three are not connected by lifts, so most people pick one as a base.
| Hakuba Valley | Shiga Kogen | Nozawa Onsen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ski areas on one ticket | 10 | 18 (45 lifts) | 1 |
| Adult day ticket, 2026-27 | ¥11,100 | ¥9,500 | ¥7,800 |
| 2026-27 season | Varies by resort | 5 Dec 2026 to 5 May 2027 | Early season from 28 Nov, full season from 19 Dec 2026 |
| From Tokyo | About 2 h 50 min at best (Shinkansen + bus) | Shinkansen to Nagano (1 h 19 min at best), then about 70 min by bus | Shinkansen to Iiyama, then 25 min by bus |
| Where you stay | Happo, Echoland and other villages spread along the valley | Hotels next to the lifts, little town life | A traditional onsen village at the foot of the slopes |
| Good fit for | Variety, steeper terrain, eating out | Mileage, long seasons, ski-in/ski-out | Village atmosphere, hot springs, one big mountain |
Prices are adult window rates from the Hakuba Valley, Shiga Kogen and Nozawa Onsen official sites. For other resorts, see Japan lift ticket prices for 2026-27.
Hakuba Valley is a group of 10 separate resorts along one valley in western Nagano: Jigatake, Kashimayari, Sanosaka, Goryu, Hakuba47, Happo-One, Iwatake, Tsugaike, Norikura and Cortina. The Hakuba Valley ticket covers all of them, and on days you use the pass you can ride the Hakuba Valley shuttle buses for free (the night shuttle is not included).
Happo-One is the best known. It hosted the men's and women's downhill at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and has long, steep runs from the top lifts. Goryu and Hakuba47 are linked at the top and share a ticket. Tsugaike has wide, gentle slopes that suit beginners and families. Cortina, at the far north end, is known for heavy snow and tree skiing, and the best lines are tracked out quickly on a powder morning.
Most restaurants, bars and English-speaking ski schools are in Happo and Echoland. The downside is distance: the resorts are spread over the valley, and a day at Cortina or Tsugaike from a Happo base means a bus ride each way. Our Hakuba access guide covers buses from Nagano Station and Tokyo.
Shiga Kogen is the largest linked ski area in Nagano: 18 ski areas and 45 lifts and gondolas on one shared ticket (official ticket page). The top lifts climb above 2,000 m, higher than most resorts in Honshu, which keeps the snow colder and the season long. For 2026-27 the shared lift ticket is valid from 5 December 2026 to 5 May 2027.
The terrain is mostly intermediate cruising, spread across several connected mountains. It hosted the slalom and giant slalom races at the 1998 Olympics, so there are steeper pitches, but the main draw is the amount of skiing you can do without taking a bus.
There is no real town. You stay in hotels next to the lifts, at areas such as Ichinose, Hasuike or Yakebitaiyama, and most guests eat where they sleep. That suits families and people who want to ski all day. The express bus from Nagano Station takes about 70 minutes to the central Hasuike area. The Jigokudani snow monkey park is on the way down to Yudanaka. More detail: what to know about Shiga Kogen.
Nozawa Onsen is one ski area above an old hot-spring village. The lifts run from 565 m to 1,650 m, a vertical of about 1,085 m, and the longest course, Skyline, is 4.5 km (resort course map). It hosted the biathlon at the 1998 Olympics.
The village has 13 free public baths (sotoyu), maintained by local residents, and a lot of small inns, soba shops and izakaya along steep, narrow streets. Nightlife is quieter than in Hakuba. The Dosojin Fire Festival takes place every year on 15 January.
Nozawa is one of the snowiest places in Nagano. The JMA station in the village averages 1,087 cm of snowfall a season, with snow depth peaking at about 2 m in February. Season dates and monthly figures are in our Nozawa Onsen snow and weather guide.
To get there, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Iiyama, then the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus (about 25 minutes, ¥600).
You can, but plan a travel day for each move. The three areas are in different valleys, and most connections run through Nagano Station. Going from Hakuba to Shiga Kogen via Nagano takes about three hours or more. If you have one week, one base plus a day trip is usually more skiing than three short stays.
Do not book a hotel in Nagano City expecting to ski from it. The city is a transport hub, more than an hour by bus from Hakuba and Shiga Kogen.
Shiga Kogen and Tsugaike in Hakuba have the most gentle, wide terrain close to the hotels. Nozawa also has easy runs, but the village is on a slope and the walk to the lifts is steep.
If you plan to ski more than one resort in the valley, yes. Single-resort tickets are cheaper, so if you will stay on Happo-One or Goryu all week, buy that resort's ticket instead.
All three are in the snowy north of Nagano, and the difference from one week to the next is larger than the difference between them. Our live cameras and each resort page show current depth and the 7-day forecast.