Mt Norikura Snow Resort is a ski area located on the eastern foothills of Mt Norikura, in the west region of Matsumoto City in central Nagano Prefecture.
This ski area has been operating since 1961. It used to be known as Norikura Kogen Onsen and has been known by its current name since 2012.
Mt Norikura Snow Resort covers a wide area and is known for often good snow conditions. There are also a few official ungroomed snow areas.
In recent years, not all installed lifts at Mt Norikura Snow Resort have been operating. Until the end of October 2024, it was looking like this ski area might not be able to open at all for the 2024-2025 season. Happily, a last minute campaign to support the operation resulted in the ski area opening and it will also be open during the 2025-2026 season.
Currently, one 1515m quad and three pair lifts (500m, 554m and 544m) are operating.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
2000
Vertical (m)
500
Bottom/base (m)
1500
Beginner runs (%)
40
Intermediate runs (%)
45
Advanced runs (%)
15
Longest course (m)
5000
Steepest slope (°)
33
Number of courses
20
Ski lifts
4
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
1
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
3
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Mt Norikura usually plans to be open from early to mid-December until late March or early April. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Mt Norikura Snow Resort is open from 8:45am until 4:30pm.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at Mt Norikura Snow Resort.
Park & ungroomed
There is a park area as well as a number of ungroomed course areas at Mt Norikura.
Families & children
There is a kids park called Kids Park Norikurando. Entry is 500 yen and it is open from 10:00am until 3:00pm on weekends and holidays. The mascot for the ski area appears to be an eye-patch wearing bird... looks quite friendly though, and the kids seem to like him/her!
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Mt Norikura 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: 5,500 yen
2 days
Adult: 11,000 yen
3 days
Adult: 16,500 yen
4 hours
Adult: 4,500 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 700 yen
3 lift coupons
Adult: 2,000 yen
12 lift coupons
Adult: 7,000 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 55,000 yen
The lift tickets shown are for most weekends in the main season.
Under 18 years olds are free (senior high school students must show ID).
Cheaper tickets are available on weekdays (when a 1 day lift ticket for adults is 4,500 yen).
The 4 Hour ticket is valid for four hours from the time of purchase.
If you are a resident of Nagano Prefecture, a cheaper one day lift ticket is available (1,000 yen discount).
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 - 29th March (107 days)
2024-2025 season: 21st December - 30th March (100 days)
2023-2024 season: 9th December - 31st March (114 days)
2022-2023 season: 10th December - 26th March (107 days)
2021-2022 season: 11th December - 3rd April (114 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 130cm on 8th-13th February
2024-2025 season: 160cm on 9th February - 2nd March
2023-2024 season: 120cm on 6th-15th February and 21st March
2022-2023 season: 100cm on 25th February - 5th March
2021-2022 season: 150cm on 14th-27th January
2020-2021 season: 140cm on 17th-21st February
2019-2020 season: 130cm on 12th-14th February
2018-2019 season: 150cm on 1st February
2017-2018 season: 210cm on 2nd-10th February
2016-2017 season: 180cm on 10th-12th March
2015-2016 season: 130cm on 25th-30th January and 10th-11th February
2014-2015 season: 200cm on 14th-17th 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.
Mt Norikura Snow Resort is one of 2 ski areas currently operating in the western region of Matsumoto City. The other is Nomugitoge.
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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