Nagano Prefecture is the heart of mountainous central Honshu and home to the famous Northern Japan Alps. Nagano Prefecture has some world-class winter sports resorts within its boundaries, some of which were used for the main events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.  Nagano has some excellent skiing and resorts areas spread throughout most areas of the prefecture. The main regions are Hakuba Village, Shiga Kogen and the Nozawa Onsen area – all of which hosted Olympic events.

Hakuba is arguably the most popular winter sports region on Honshu and has a collection of resorts and some truly spectacular mountainous scenery. There are more than a dozen ski & snowboard resorts lined up along a 30-kilometer stretch of mountains. Within the Hakuba village area are found resorts the likes of Happo-one, Hakuba Goryu, Hakuba 47, Hakuba Iwatake, Tsugaike Kogen, Sun Alpina.  Over the last few years interest in Hakuba from overseas has seen a dramatic increase and so it will be interesting to see how that develops over the coming few seasons.

Hakuba maybe be the heart of Japanese skiing, but Shiga Kogen is the giant of the Japanese resort areas and is actually one of the largest ski resort areas in the world. There are around resorts in all that make "Shiga Kogen" and you'll need at least a few days to ski every course. Shiga Kogen boasts some excellent facilities and good skiing late in the season.  Special mention to the monkeys of Jigokudani that live close-by.... to read more about them view this Feature).

Nearby Nozawa Onsen is the place to go if you want the feel of an old-time Japanese village, while experiencing one of the best single ski & snowboard resorts in Japan.  The little village also offers a great selection of onsen hot springs that should be experienced.  Nozawa, although a large resort in its own right, has somehow retained a friendly atmosphere that visitors really enjoy. If you are wondering why one of the runs is called the Schneider slope, it is in honor of the Austrian ski pioneer, Hannes Schneider, who came to Japan 80 years ago. Nozawa calls itself "the birthplace of Japanese skiing", and the Schneider course ends up at the door of the Japan Ski Museum where you can learn about the rich alpine history in the area.

Other popular regions of Nagano include Sugadaira just to the south of Nagano City and Madarao/Tangram resorts which are to the north of Nagano and also reachable from the Myoko region of Niigata. 

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