May Snow Ski Japan
Can you still ski in Japan?
Have had a few people asking if can still get a ski if visit Japan now? Nozawa Onsen closed the lifts on May 7th at the end of Golden Week but there are still two ski resorts in the area open until this Sunday May 21st! Yokoteyama in Shiga Kogen and Kagura in Yuzawa. Both are pretty marginal this year so just a novelty ski but are open if keen to get in that last turn. These shots are of Yokoteyama in late April a few seasons back and the cover was still great.
The top of Kagura is 1845m above sea level and Yokoteyama the highest resort in the region topping out at 2307m high. So naturally the snow will hold longer with the added elevation. Yokoteyama also boasts the highest Bakery in Japan worth the visit just for that. Kagura is about a 2 hour drive from Nozawa but SHIGA KOGEN only about 1 hour away and a great option for a day trip or a ski early or late season from Nozawa Onsen. You can even get a joint Season Pass – The Big 2 for both Nozawa and Shiga. Check out this post we did a while back on a little trip we made across to there; https://www.nozawaholidays.com/accommodation-nozawa-onsen/road-trip-nozawa-onsen/
Some years there is even a ski tour from Shiga to Nozawa and a beautiful traverse in winter on skis or Summer on the bike. If serious about skiing this time of year then Tateyama is the place to head to for some amazing ski touring with still meters of snow up there and some amazing terrain. Will post more on that soon.
