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 most of the upper area of White Valley is left untouched by groomers - they call it 'Premium Powder Day' and these days are announced the previous day via official sources. 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. 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 White Valley.
Equipment Rental
Ski Rental:
Available
Snowboard Rental:
Available
Ski and snowboard equipment rental is available.
Children's facilities
The 'Chibbiko Hiroba' kids sledging area is located near the bottom of the Number 1 pair lift in the base area.
Park information
There are no special snow park facilities.
White Valley 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 8:00am until 4:30pm
Weekdays
Normally open from 8:30am until 4:30pm
'Nighta' (night skiing)
Weekends and holidays
No
Weekdays
No
Opening information
White Valley is normally open from 8:00am until 4:30pm on weekends and holidays, and from 8:30am on weekdays. In March, it is open from 8:30am until 4:30pm on weekends and holidays.
There is no nighta at this ski hill.
White Valley Lift Ticket Charges
Adults
Child
Elementary School age
Senior
55 years & over
1 Day
4,200 yen
2,600 yen
3,500 yen
Sunrise (open-12pm)
3,400 yen
Sunset (12pm-closing)
3,400 yen
1 Lift Coupon
550 yen
550 yen
550 yen
11 Lift Coupons
4,000 yen
4,000 yen
4,000 yen
Season Ticket (all)
36,500 yen
20,000 yen
33,000 yen
Season Ticket (weekdays)
21,000 yen
16,000 yen
Elementary School age children can ride the lifts for free on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month.
Pre-school children can ride the lifts for free.
Getting to White Valley
By public transport
Train
14.1km from Jomo Kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen line
3.4km from Minakami Station on the Joetsu Line
Information
White Valley is located 3km from Minakami Station on the local Joetsu line and about 14km from Jomo Kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen line.
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.
As the 2018-2019 winter season approaches, we are gradually updating the information on these pages (for every ski resort in Japan).
Many ski resorts in Japan do not update their own information until late autumn. Our process of updating information will be ongoing right through until the end of November. In the meantime, ski resorts usually open and close around the same dates each year - so even if the planned season dates shown on this page are still from the 18-18 season, they can be used as a good indication of the upcoming season.
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.
Ropeways
Gondolas
Quad lifts
Triple lifts
Pair lifts
Single lifts
Other
