White Valley is located in the Tanigawa Onsen area of Minakami town in Gunma Prefecture. This small ski hill first opened in 1962.
On powder days a full 90% of White Valley is left untouched by groomers (all but the lower area serviced by the Number 1 lift). They call it 'Premium Powder Day' and these days are announced the previous day via official sources. Would love to share statistics on how many times in a season this happens, but alas this information is not available. (Let us know if you know!) Fun fact when you're not riding the powder... the Joetsu Shinkansen tunnels go right under the base area of White Valley.
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. 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.
A free shuttle bus service is available from Minakami Station during the peak season.
By Car
6.9km from the Minakami IC on the Kanetsu Expressway
17.5km from the Tsukiyono IC on the Kanetsu Expressway
Nearest national route: Route 291 (2.7km away)
Nearest prefecture road: Prefecture Road 252
Direction
White Valley is just under 7km from the Minakami IC exit of the Kanetsu Expressway.
At the Minakami IC exit traffic lights, turn left onto Route 291. After 1.3km turn left at the first traffic lights to continue on Route 291 towards central Minakami. After another 3km, at the Tanigawa Onsen Iriguchi traffic lights, take a sharp turn left onto Prefecture Road 252. Follow this road for about 2.5km to reach White Valley.
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