Shirakabako Royal Hill is a ski area located on the south side of Lake Shirakaba in Chino City in the central-eastern region of Nagano Prefecture.
This ski area has an upper and lower area. The upper area offers gentler slopes while the lower section has a hotel at the base and offers night skiing every day for most of the season. The main car parks are located between the two areas.
There are three ski lifts at Shirakaba Royal Hill - two quad lifts (750m and 510m) and one pair lifts (410m). There is also a 150m snow escalator in the base area.
The ski area uses snow-making machines when required and boasts of fine, clear weather conditions 80% of the time.
Shirakabako Royal Hill has been operating since 1961.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1750
Vertical (m)
300
Bottom/base (m)
1450
Beginner runs (%)
35
Intermediate runs (%)
40
Advanced runs (%)
25
Longest course (m)
1800
Steepest slope (°)
26
Number of courses
10
Ski lifts
3
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
2
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
1
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Shirakabako Royal Hill usually plans to be open from mid-December until late March or early April. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Shirakabako Royal Hill is normally open from 8:30am until 4:45pm during the daytime.
Night skiing
Night skiing is daily between Saturday 20th December 2025 and Sunday 15th March 2026. The lifts close between 4:45pm until 5:30pm for course maintenance. Night skiing is from 5:30pm until 9:30pm.
Parks
There are three park areas Park 1, Park 2 and Free Ride Area. Park 1 and Park 2 in the lower area are usually open during night skiing operations.
Families & children
There are two Yuki-asobi-hiroba ('playing in the snow') areas for kids. One is by the base hotel (Number 1 quad lift) and the other is by the base of the Number 3 pair lift. A 1 day ticket to use the snow escalator costs 1,500 yen for the day or 800 yen for a half day. There is a Kids Room on the 1st Floor of the base hotel. People not staying at the hotel can also use that facility.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Shirakabako Royal Hill.
Family
Ski and snowboard equipment & wear rental is available by the base (Shirakabako Royal Hotel). Changing rooms and lockers are 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: 1,200 yen
Season: 4,800 yen
1 day passport
Adult: 7,500 yen
Child: 1,300 yen
Season: 6,000 yen
5 hours
Adult: 5,500 yen
Child: 1,000 yen
Season: 4,400 yen
Night skiing until 9:30pm
Adult: 3,500 yen
Child: 1,000 yen
Season: 3,500 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 800 yen
Child: 800 yen
Season: 800 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 70,000 yen
Season ticket (weekdays only)
Adult: 60,000 yen
Season ticket (night skiing only)
Adult: 45,000 yen
The 1 Day Passport ticket is valid from opening until the end of night skiing.
The 5 Hour ticket is valid for five hours from the time of purchase.
All season tickets include night skiing.
Charges for using the snow escalator are 1,500 yen for the day and 800 yen for half day.
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 - 31st March (109 days)
2024-2025 season: 14th December - 30th March (107 days)
2023-2024 season: 16th December - 31st March (107 days)
2022-2023 season: 13th December - 2nd April (111 days)
2021-2022 season: 11th December - 10th April (121 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 95cm on 21st-24th February
2024-2025 season: 100cm on 20th-23rd March
2023-2024 season: 85cm on 13th-16th March
2022-2023 season: 95cm on 11th-20th February
2021-2022 season: 140cm on 20th February - 10th March
2020-2021 season: 90cm on 19th February - 9th March
2019-2020 season: 60cm on 7th February - 2nd March and 15th-22nd March
2018-2019 season: 90cm on 2nd February - 26th March
2017-2018 season: 95cm on 15th February - 7th March
2016-2017 season: 165cm on 4th-6th April
2015-2016 season: 70cm on 21st-22nd January
2014-2015 season: 130cm on 16th January - 23rd February, 25th February and 14th-19th 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.
Shirakabako Royal Hill 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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