Iiyama City,
Nagano Prefecture

Madarao Mountain Resort (known as 'Madarao Kogen' in Japanese) is located in the north eastern part of Nagano Prefecture.  It is connected to the Tangram Ski Circus resort at the top and a joint ticket is available to let you ski or snowboard at both resorts.   Well known as offering some excellent powder snow conditions in season, the resort offers a good choice of courses suitable for beginners to more advanced snow riders.

In Madarao, 60% of the courses are ungroomed, so there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to enjoy a fluffy, deep powder when you ski. Also, since not as many people as you might think like to ski on untouched powder, there is not a lot of competition for the slopes!

Mt. Madarao stands 1382 meters tall and has 25 separate courses. There are 15 lifts, all of which are free for children 12 and under. The ski area features a unique bowl-shape. Since Madarao was host to Japan’s first Freestyle Skiing Competition, there are many unique courses to choose from. There are groomed courses, ungroomed courses, the Tree Run course, Free Ride Park, Kid’s Park, and wave courses - Madarao can be enjoyed by everyone from first timers to advanced skiers!

POWDERWAVE I & II
Along with AIRWAVE is our brand new course AIRWAVE II, making its debut this year.  Both courses take advantage of the natural landscape to create a unique and challenging course.  Given the irregularities of the natural landscape, these are technical courses geared toward experienced skiers.

Whether you are in the mood for a powder run, are looking for some natural hits, or want to enjoy an air session, this is the course for all you advanced skiers out there.  AIRWAVE II can be accessed by way of Tangram Lift 2.

River Line is a V-shaped course filled with the remains of rivers, making long pathways in the snow which can be “surfed” like waves!

This course takes advantage of the natural landscape to provide a challenging and technical course for advanced skiers.

River Line will be open on an on-and-off basis depending on weather conditions - if it is closed, there will be a “closed” sign placed at the entrance. Under no circumstances may guests enter River Line if it is closed.

USAGI
Opened just last season is the popular tree-run course, USAGI.  You'll feel just like a rabbit (usagi), zipping through the trees.  

Definitely worth trying your skills at if you consider yourself an advanced skier!

Click on the map below for larger English version

TRAIL MAP - COURSE & LIFT DETAILS HERE

Round in classic ski area tour

What is "Round in classic ski area tour"?  The owners of lodges in Madarao Kogen Ski Area would like to introduce an exciting tour to you!

On this tour, you can stay at a comfortable lodge in Madarao Kogen and enjoy skiing and snowboarding in Madarao as well as other famous nearby classic ski areas, such as Nozawa, Myoko and Shiga Kogen.  Madarao Kogen Ski Area is located in the center of these famous classic ski areas.

It takes less than forty minutes to Nozawa and Myoko, and just sixty minutes to Shiga.... so Madarao makes for a great base-camp to go to these other classic ski areas.

Facilities

<p >Found in the central area, Restaurant Heidi is the main restaurant of the resort.  In addition to a sit-down area for restaurant eating, there is also a drink counter, snack shop, ski/snowboarding goods shop and a crepe shop.<p >Open from 9am until 4pm, capacity 800 people.  Non smoking.
Next to the Kids Park, Restauramt Tyrol has a kids room and other child services available.  Suitable for families.   9am-4pm.  150 seats.
Found in the lower part of Crystal Course is Restaurant Banff.  Popular meeting place as well as restaurant.  9am,-4pm.  250 seats.
Restaurant Wasanku.  This restaurant is found in the central area of the resort serving popular dishes and cakes.  10am-4pm.  100 seats.
Madarao Kogen Onsen is a natural onsen inside the Madarao Kogen Hotel at the entrance to the resort.  Great to relax and recharge.  People not staying at the hotel can also use this onsen.   Opening times are 7am-10am & 12pm-10pm.  Adults: 800 yen.  Children: 500 yen.  Includes facetowal.
Madarao no Yu.  This can be found 5 minutes on the way back down to Toyota.   Good place to pick up some souvenirs too.  Opening times are 10am-8pm (closed on Tuesdays).  Adults: 500 yen.  Children: 350 yen.

Lift Tickets

During the 12/13 snow season, all children under the age of 12 years old can ski at Madarao Kogen FOR FREE - every day of the season!

There are two kinds of tickets on sale - those for Madarao Kogen only and also a joint ticket that allows you to ski or snowboard at both Madarao Kogen and the connecting Tangram Ski Circus resort.

Madarao Kogen and Tangram Ski Circus resorts joint ticket

Ski & Snowboard Rental

A wide range of skiing and snowboarding equipment is available for rental at the resort.  Basic charges are as below:

Webcam

For current conditions, please see the Madarao website (in Japanese) or the weather report on SnowJapan.  Below is a current webcam image from the resort.

Current live camera webcam image from Madarao Kogen:
(please note that we do not control this camera)

How to get to Madarao Mountain Resort

Madarao is located in the north eastern part of Nagano Prefecture, on the border with Niigata Prefecture.  It is just an hour or so from central Nagano City and part of Iiyama City.  Buses are available from Nagano Station direct to Madarao Kogen.  If you are arriving by car, from the Toyota Iiyama IC Madarao is just a 25 minute (16.5km) drive up into the mountains.

Both the Myoko Kogen resorts in neighbouring Niigata Prefecture, and the Kijimadaira, Nozawa Onsen and Shiga Kogen resorts in Nagano are within reach from Madarao.