We are two intermediates and we stayed at Okushiga Kogen for five days (out of nine total at Shiga Kogen). We were here in the first week of January and I was worried it was gonna be busy... we didn't wait in a queue the entire time.

We were joined by two beginner friends and their four year old for three days. Okushiga has an English language ski school and a green run that is pretty much perfect for beginners. By the end of their stay they had moved from the magic carpet to enjoying the lower green run.

The layout here did mean they were confined to that area, as it wasn’t easy for beginners to go further afield. But it didn’t seem to bother them and the green run has some fun little tree runs beginners can venture into.

As intermediates I wouldn’t come here thinking you’re gonna be skiing powder through the trees in Okushiga. There were always a few tracks from experts heading into the in-bounds trees, but we were too intimidated by the terrain to follow any. If you want to ride powder in the trees there are easier spots for us mortals in Shiga Kogen, like Terakoya or Higashitateyama.

But we liked staying here purely because it meant every day was an adventure. Getting out of Okushiga Kogen in the morning, and then knowing you have to beat the buzzer to get back in the afternoon (or else catch the bus) was kinda fun. Plus, the runs at a deserted Okushiga at the end of the day were always some of the best.

By itself, Okushiga Kogen is still a fun little playground too.

Purely for on piste terrain at all of Shiga Kogen I most enjoyed Okushiga and neighbouring Yakebitaiyama. The traverse out of Okushiga and over to Yakebitaiyama each day is a bit tiresome (especially for snowboarders), but it probably is a factor in how nice and quiet it is here. You also don’t need to traverse back, there’s a run from the 1st Yakebitaiyama gondola that will take you to Okushiga Kogen’s gondola. The pistes on the gondola side at Okushiga also offered some fun areas on the lower runs for us intermediates. We finished a lot of runs doing 2 inch jumps in the soft stuff on the edges of the piste.

There were some good shortish spots for powder on ungroomed pistes off the gondola runs. Though we probably found more options for this at Yakebitaiyama and elsewhere in Shiga Kogen. If you’re learning to ride powder the locals didn’t seem to mind anyone cruising through the fresh snow under the beginner lift at Okushiga. As I mentioned above, it looked like if you had a guide and were at an advanced level you could hit the lift accessed tree runs here and never require a hike.

The Okushiga gondola also went on wind hold easily and we were forced to catch the free bus to return to the main area on one of those days. The lifts in the main area were still running though.

For nightlife there’s almost nada.

We stayed at a nice lodge and went to the Okushiga Kogen Hotel for a drink one night. The Phenix also has an amazing looking bar that non-guests can use, though we didn’t sample it.

If you don’t plan to eat at your lodge you may go hungry. We ate at the Okushiga Kogen Hotel one night but they needed a couple of days notice in advance for our booking. They also had toasties and pizzas at the bar. I think they came straight out of the freezer, but they went ok. Otherwise we were just eating our excellent lodge meals each night.

The little rental store at the Phenix (access via the carpark at the back on the lower level) also waxed my skis for me overnight. The lady in here is the best.

We had pre-arranged to leave here after five days and head down to Kumanoyu (the very southern end of Shiga Kogen) as our Okushiga lodge couldn’t accomodate us anymore.

We instead headed for Kumanoyu (which we were stoked we got to check out with its intermediate friendly powder) at the very southern end of Shiga Kogen. Catching the two free busses down there with all our gear was fairly easy and took just over an hour. The bonus in getting on at Okushiga is that you’ll be on first, so you can sit with your ski bag somewhere that won’t hinder all the skier’s and locals that will be jumping on and off. The second bus probably won’t be so busy. If you’re doing it the other way round things might be tougher.

If you’re looking for a chill ski holiday in a quiet spot then I’d recommend Okushiga Kogen.
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Was at this awesome place in 2024 with the Japan Cultural Powder tours
I found the place epic, not overrun by the Hollywood glitz glamour Instagram of the Niseko or Hakuba. 
Probably cause there is no partying here, (hence 5 stars) mellow town at Yudanaka, which is great that’s all you do eat sleep ride repeat.
Worthy of a nice casual quiet snowboard ski holiday
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We couldn’t visit Okushiga Kogen one particularly stormy day because none of the lifts were running, but the next day when the storm cleared, the skiing was off the charts. Semi open zones and the trees offered exceptional powder skiing. There was very little competition for the powder and being there with Japan Powder Culture Tours certainly assisted in readily getting fresh lines.

The ski area was becoming progressive several years ago and then after another change in ownership, not too much has changed in recent years and the lifts haven’t had an upgrade. The old gondola was still old and we still had to scramble to get in with our skis hanging out the top of the cabin. Wind fences still haven’t been installed and this trip cemented that Okushiga Kogen can’t fully operate when big storms come in.

Whilst the ski in ski out hotels are great for families who need ski school and the convenience of slopeside accommodation, we were glad that we were staying down in Yudanaka and that our guide had the flexibility to take us to other Shiga ski areas on a stormy day.

Lunch at St Christoph was pretty nice with its quirky menu.

You can see how we rate Okushiga on various categories on our Honshu ski resort ratings.
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With low expectations I visited this place at the end of the trip. I was there at a weekday and it was almost empty even with 35 cm new snow. I was very supprised to find short but nice tree runs with amazing snow! The forest is a little tick but is has some open fields that seems to have been part of the pist 20 years ago. This snow is better then Hakuba, Myoko, but more rare I guess.
Be carefull about the tree wells!
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My husband and I and two boys (12 and 10) had an awesome week at Okushiga Kogen staying at Okushiga Kogen hotel and snowboarding the area. We had blizzard conditions and amazing snow for the first 3 days, we didn’t explore too far due to the heavy snow and unknown area but could still ski the gondolas every day. The trees were awesome but powder was a bit deep for the boys but the trails were great for them. Had a great blue sky day and snowboarded around the Shiga Kogen area which was great fun, would do more of this if we come back. The snow was definitely better at Okushiga Kogen and no problem skiing trees here, where other fields had signs and barriers. The Hotel was great and breakfast was good and included, nighttime meals were very expensive but there was a bar 100 meters away with reasonable price yummy food (although this is the only cheap option available). Public transport was amazing and always ran on time. The free shuttle was great to get around. The snow monkeys are a must if you have time!
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Our second time at Okushiga does not disappoint. Perfect powder almost every day, and a great time for our kids (two families, under 8). Can't dream of anything better than this. Nothing compares - even in Europe. Where else can you find uncrowded slopes? We are spoilt rotten each time we are here - with ski-in ski-out, ski rentals on site, and the fantastic ski school next door. The interconnecting ski lifts and slopes offered lots of variety for all. Kids loved skiing between the trees off-piste. Fred and his international team are simply superb - and not to mention Fred's a world class magician...There's simply no need for anything else. We relished the use of the onsen each afternoon apres ski, as well as the yummy chocolates and cakes that greeted us when were were done for the day. We don't want to go home....
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We stayed in Okushiga Kogen from the 5th-14th of January in 2017. We had skied in nearby Hakuba Valley and Nozawa Onsen in previous years, but were blown away by the conditions at Okushiga Kogen! Almost every morning we were greeted with a noticeable amount of fresh snow from overnight and experienced continued snowfall throughout the day. We even had a couple of bluebird days during our stay as well. My family and I have skied in lots of different countries and resorts and we all agree that this was the best snow we had ever experienced! Trails were not busy at all and virtually no lift lines. There was also a good amount of off-piste action as well if you are into that kind of skiing.

We stayed at the Okushiga Kogen Hotel and had a lovely time. The staff (especially Fred and Allan) were very welcoming and made us feel like family during our stay. I would say that the hotel is also quite family friendly as they ran nightly activities such as live music, karaoke, campfires and magic shows. I would not come here expecting lots of nightlife, however if you travel in a big group you will still have a great time.
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Okushiga Kogen is our favourite of the Shiga Kogen ski areas due to the snow quality, the ability to ski off-piste legally, and the varied and interesting off-piste and sidecountry terrain. Okushiga Kogen is rather progressive (especially relative to some of the dinosaur Shiga Kogen ski areas) so this is a ski area to keep an eye on, as bigger things are likely to develop (e.g. more glading, backcountry tours, 5 star condos).

Other pros include the group ski and snowboard lessons in English and the quality ski-in ski-out hotels.

You can see our Japan ski resort ratings to see how it compares to other ski areas. Of course Okushiga Kogen can't really be reviewed in isolation because it's connected to an abundance of other Shiga Kogen ski areas that provide even more terrain variety.
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