Norn Minakami is conveniently located close to the Minakami IC exit of the Kanetsu Expressway, just to the south of central Minakami in northern Gunma Prefecture. The resort is on the eastern slopes between Mt Azumaya and Mt Omine.
Norn has a large area at the base for families and children and for general 'playing in the snow'.
This area does not get as much snow as the nearby resorts to the north, but Norn has 50 snow making machines to help out if and when the weather is not being co-operative. In the spring time the daffodil park is popular. Norn Minakami has been operating since 1994.
Minakami town is separated from Yuzawa town in Niigata Prefecture to the north by the impressive Tanigawa mountain range. The nine separate ski and snowboard resorts in Minakami are quite spread out throughout the central region of the town. These maps show all of the ski and snowboard resorts in the Minakami area together. Minakami is a popular year-round destination offering a wide range of outdoor sports and activities... and the onsen hot springs are very popular too.
Gunma Prefecture is located in the north west area of Kanto region on the main island of Honshu and shares borders with Niigata Prefecture to the north and Nagano Prefecture to the west. There are over 20 ski and snowboard resorts in Gunma Prefecture and they are mainly concentrated in the northern regions of Minakami and Katashina and the western region of the Prefecture.
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Norn Minakami.
Equipment Rental
Ski Rental:
Available
Snowboard Rental:
Available
Ski and snowboard equipment rental is available. Ski and snowboard wear rental is also available.
Children's facilities
The 'Norn Minakami Snowland' area is located at the base of the resort and offers a variety of 'yuki-asobi' (playing in the snow) activities including items for children, snow strider, snow shoe and snowmobiles. Entry to Snowland is 1000 yen. Rental of sledges and snow tubes is free, charges apply for some other activities.
The 'Snow Kids' child care facility is on the 1st Floor of the main Center House building. A half day costs 4,000 yen and a full day costs 7,000 yen for a 1 or 2 year old child. A half day costs 3,500 yen and a full day costs 7,000 yen for a child aged 3-12.
Park information
The ENJOY PARK is located in the D and E Course area.
Norn Minakami Season & Opening Times
Typical season is from Mid December until Late March
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
Daytime
Weekends and holidays
Normally open from 7:00am until 12:00am
Weekdays
Normally open from 8:00am until 10:00pm
'Nighta' (night skiing)
Weekends and holidays
Yes
Weekdays
Yes
Opening information
From 20th December 2018 until 27th December 2018, opening times are 8:00am until 4:00pm. From 28th December 2018 until 3rd January 2019, opening times are 8:00am until 10:00pm. On Mondays-Thursdays between 4th January and 9th March 2019, opening times are 8:00am until 10:00pm. On Fridays between 4th January and 9th March 2019, opening times are 8:00am until midnight. On Saturdays and days before holidays between 4th January and 9th March 2019, opening times are 7:00am until midnight. On Sundays and national holidays between 4th January and 9th March 2019, opening times are 7:00am until 10:00pm. From 10th March until 21st March 2019, opening times are 8:00am until 10:00pm. From 22nd March until 31st March 2019, opening times are 7:30am until 4:00pm.
Norn Minakami Lift Ticket Charges
Adults
Child
Elementary School age
Senior
55 years & over
1 Day (open-5pm)
4,500 yen
3,600 yen
4,000 yen
5 Hours
3,900 yen
3,000 yen
3,400 yen
Early Morning (7am-10am)
2,100 yen
1,800 yen
2,000 yen
Twilight (2pm-10pm)
4,000 yen
3,100 yen
3,500 yen
Nighta 22 (4:30pm-10pm)
2,300 yen
1,700 yen
2,100 yen
Nighta 24 (4:30pm-12am)
2,700 yen
2,100 yen
2,500 yen
1 Lift Coupon
450 yen
450 yen
450 yen
11 Lift Coupons
4,500 yen
4,500 yen
4,500 yen
Season Ticket (all)
43,000 yen
25,000 yen
39,000 yen
Season Ticket (weekday)
30,000 yen
Season Ticket (early/nighta)
30,000 yen
The 5 Hour ticket is valid for 5 hours from the time of purchase.
Getting to Norn Minakami
By public transport
Train
10.8km from Jomo Kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen line
5.8km from Kamimoku Station on the Joetsu Line
7.6km from Minakami Station on the Joetsu Line
Information
The closest train station is Kamimoku Station on the local Joetsu line, which is 6km away.
The Jomo Kogen Station (Joetsu Shinkansen) is just under 11km to the south of Norn Minakami.
Free shuttle buses services are available from Jomo Kogen Station and Minakami Station.
The shuttle buses from Minakami Station and Jomo Kogen Station both take around 20 minutes to get to the base of Norn Minakami.
By Car
3.8km from the Minakami IC on the Kanetsu Expressway
16.4km from the Tsukiyono IC on the Kanetsu Expressway
Nearest national route: Route 291 (3.7km away)
Direction
The car parks of Norn Minakami are just over 4km from the Minakami IC exit of the Kanetsu Expressway.
From the Minakami IC exit traffic lights, turn left onto Route 291 and after just over 100m turn left again. Soon after that turn right and follow the road up to the base area of Norn Minakami. The resort is well signposted.
There are a number of car parks close to the base of Norn Minakami.
A free shuttle bus takes people parking in Car Parks 4-7 to the resort base. The car parks are open 24 hours a day and free to use every day of the season.
The 2018-2019 winter season is approaching! Hurray!
At the time of writing more than 60% of the ski hills in Japan have still not updated their own information for the upcoming season. We are continuing to manually update the information on these ski resort pages of SnowJapan but for the moment things are unavoidably a mix of old and new. In most cases ski resorts open and close around the same dates each season, so even if the planned season dates shown on this page are still from the 2017-2018 season, that is usually a good indication of what to expect this time round.
For more details and explanations about the information presented on this page,
please read this.
It is very important to us that the information presented on SnowJapan is correct and up-to-date. Checks and updates are made throughout the year. If you find information that you feel needs checking and updating, please let us know by contacting us. We appreciate your support.
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