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.
See our video here