Echo Valley is located to the north west of Lake Shirakaba in Nagawa town in the central eastern region of Nagano Prefecture. It has been operating since 1981.
This ski area is usually known as just Echo Valley, but the official full name is currently 'Blue Resort Echo Valley'. Unfortunately, after a bit of on-off drama in the autumn months, Echo Valley has finally announced that it will not be opening for the 2020-2021 season; hopefully they will be back for 2021-2022.
There are a number of ski and snowboard resorts scattered around the mountainous area that stretches from Kirigamine highland and Kurumayama to the north, over to Lake Shirakaba and Mt Tateshina a little further to the east and then Mt Yokodake and the Yatsugatake mountain range further south. This region usually gets a relatively large amount of clearer weather conditions and does not usually receive as much snow as other highland areas. The region is part of the Yatsugatake Chushin Kogen Quasi-National Park and is a popular tourist destination throughout the year. The famous Venus Line sightseeing road runs through the area.
Nagano Prefecture is located in the Chubu region of the main island of Honshu. Most of the Northern Alps, Central Alps and Southern Alps are located within Nagano (along with neighbouring prefectures). Nagano has the second highest number of ski and snowboard resorts in all of Japan and they are spread around the whole prefecture. Nagano city and many of the major ski resorts are located in the northern region.
26.8km from the Suwa IC on the Chuo Expressway
29.8km from the Suwa Minami IC on the Chuo Expressway
39.4km from the Saku Minami IC on the Chubu Odan Expressway
Nearest national route: Route 152 (2.3km away)
Direction
Echo Valley is located to the north west of Shirakaba lake and just over 2km off Route 152, otherwise known as Daimon Highway.
From the Suwa IC exit on the Chuo Expressway, turn right onto Route 20 and just over 1.3km later turn left onto Route 152. Follow this road up to and past Lake Shirakaba and follow the signs to the resort which is signposted off Route 152 to the north of the lake.
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