Shigarai is a ski area located in Nishiwaga Town in the western region of Iwate Prefecture.
This small ski area is on the western slopes of Mt Shigarai and has two 'superstar' surface lifts.
The other ski area in Nishiwaga Town is Choei Yuda.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
380
Vertical (m)
90
Bottom/base (m)
290
Beginner runs (%)
60
Intermediate runs (%)
30
Advanced runs (%)
10
Longest course (m)
325
Steepest slope (°)
30
Number of courses
1
Ski lifts
2
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
0
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
0
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
2
Information
Normal season dates
Shigarai usually plans to be open from late December until mid-March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Normally open from 9:30am until 4:30pm during the daytime. The ski area is closed on Mondays.
Night skiing
Night skiing is usually from 6:00pm until 9:00pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day
Adult: 610 yen
Child: 4100 yen
Half day
Adult: 310 yen
Child: 200 yen
Night
Adult: 520 yen
Child: 260 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 6,600 yen
Child: 4,400 yen
Historical snow depth data
The following ski season and official snow depth data have been independently compiled by SnowJapan for publication on this website. Where available, the data is updated annually after each ski season.
First and last dates of recent seasons
2025-2026 season: 6th January - 8th March (62 days)
2024-2025 season: 24th December - 16th March (83 days)
2023-2024 season: Actual dates unconfirmed
2022-2023 season: 27th December - 12th March (76 days)
2021-2022 season: 28th December - 13th March (76 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
Data is not available for this ski area.
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Iwate Prefecture is located in the Tohoku region, on the northeastern side of the main island of Honshu. It is the second-largest prefecture in Japan (after Hokkaido). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the west, and Miyagi Prefecture to the south.
Most of the ski areas in Iwate Prefecture are in the western mountainous regions of the prefecture, close to the border with Akita Prefecture.
Appi, Hachimantai Resort Panorama & Shimokura and Shizukuishi are in the northwestern region within the boundaries of Hachimantai City or Shizukuishi Town. In Kitakami City, further to the south, Geto Kogen usually receives some of the heaviest snowfall in Japan and refers to itself as ‘King of Snow’.
In recent years, both Appi and Geto Kogen, in particular, have been working to attract overseas visitors.
Most of the other ski areas in Iwate Prefecture are smaller operations.
About the information on this page
SnowJapan independently researches, checks and updates the information on this page at least once each year, in the lead-up to every ski season. We also update it whenever we become aware of other changes. The information published on SnowJapan is based on independent research using official Japanese-language sources and is not supplied by ski areas. If you are planning to visit a ski area, we recommend checking the official ski area website for the latest operational information. We take great care to keep the information on SnowJapan accurate and up to date. However, SnowJapan accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on information published on this website.
Learn more about how we research, check and update information on SnowJapan.