Pilatus Tateshina Snow Resort is a ski area located in the Tateshina highland area of Chino City in the central-eastern region of Nagano Prefecture.
The courses at this ski area are on the southern slopes of Kitayokodake. There are two main areas at Pilatus Tateshina, lower and upper, and the 100-person capacity Kitayatsugatake Ropeway (2,147m) connects the two.
In the past the ropeway has been known as Nihon Pilatus Yokodake Ropeway (1967-1085), Pilatus Yokodake Ropeway (1985-2001) and Pilatus Tateshina Ropeway (2001-2012).
There is also one quad lift and one triple lift in the lower area.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
2237
Vertical (m)
466
Bottom/base (m)
1771
Beginner runs (%)
40
Intermediate runs (%)
40
Advanced runs (%)
20
Longest course (m)
4000
Steepest slope (°)
33
Number of courses
7
Ski lifts
3
Ropeway cable car
1
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
1
Triple lift (3-person)
1
Pair lift (2-person)
0
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Pilatus Tateshina Snow Resort usually plans to be open from mid-December until early April. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Pilatus Tateshina Snow Resort is normally open from 9:00am until 4:00pm. The Ropeway normally operates every 20 minutes (maybe more often at busy times).
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at Pilatus Tateshina Snow Resort.
Snow shoe
Snow shoe tours are available and gear is available to rent.
Families & children
The Kids Area at Pilatus is located at the base near the triple lift. It is open from 10:00am until 4:00pm and entry is free ('snow walker' snow escalator us 500 yen for the day).
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Pilatus Tateshina Snow Resort.
Rental
Ski and snowboard equipment & wear rental is available.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day
Adult: 6,000 yen
Child: 3,000 yen
2 days
Adult: 10,200 yen
Child: 5,100 yen
Half day
Adult: 4,400 yen
Child: 2,200 yen
1 lift voucher
Adult: 600 yen
Child: 600 yen
Ropeway 1 time
Adult: 1,400 yen
Child: 700 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 55,000 yen
Child: 33,000 yen
Children under 6 years can use the lifts for free when with by an adult
A sightseeing ticket for the Ropeway is available:
Return - 2,600 yen (adults); 1,300 yen (children)
One-way - 1,400 yen (adults); 700 yen (children)
* It is unclear sure why there is a 'one way sightseeing ticket' during winter!
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: 13th December - 5th April (114 days)
2024-2025 season: 14th December - 6th April (114 days)
2023-2024 season: 23rd December - 7th April (107 days)
2022-2023 season: 17th December - 2nd April (107 days)
2021-2022 season: 18th December - 24th April (128 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 100cm on 11th-26th February
2024-2025 season: 130cm on 21st February
2023-2024 season: 110cm on 8th-26th March
2022-2023 season: 100cm on 11th-21st February and 2nd-3rd March
2021-2022 season: 150cm on 15th February - 8th March
2020-2021 season: 110cm on 18th February - 1st March
2019-2020 season: 115cm on 19th-26th March
2018-2019 season: 110cm on 2nd-4th February and 14th-20th March
2017-2018 season: 110cm on 11th February - 5th March
2016-2017 season: 120cm on 21st February - 21st March
2015-2016 season: 80cm on 25th-27th January and 29th January - 8th March
2014-2015 season: 130cm on 11th February - 17th March and 25th March
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Nagano Prefecture is located in the Chubu region of the main island of Honshu. It is one of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, bordered by Niigata, Gunma, Saitama, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Toyama.
Nagano Prefecture is sometimes referred to as 'the roof of Japan' because of the steep, rugged terrain of the many 2,000-3,000m mountains that comprise the Japan Alps. The Northern Alps are located along the northwestern region bordering Gifu and Toyama. The Central Alps are in the southwestern region, and the Southern Alps are along the southeastern border.
After Hokkaido, Nagano Prefecture is home to the second-largest number of ski areas in Japan. It has multiple world-class winter sports resorts within its boundaries, and some were venues for the main events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. There are ski areas throughout the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, but the majority are in the northern and central regions.
There are a number of ski areas in the highland region near Lake Shirakaba, between Mt Kirigamine and Mt Tateshina, and within Chino City, Tateshina Town, Nagawa Town and Suwa City. The region usually enjoys a relatively large amount of clear weather conditions during the winter. As a result, it generally receives less snowfall than some other highland areas.
Pilatus Tateshina Snow Resort is one of 5 ski areas currently operating in Chino City.
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.
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