Ontake is a ski area on the southeastern slopes of Mt Ontake in Otaki Village in the western region of Nagano Prefecture.
This ski area opened as Kokusetsu Ontake in 1961. It was once also known as just Ontake before changing its name to Ontake 2240 in 2007. That name referenced the top elevation of the ski area at 2240m.
Ontake temporarily closed in 2014 due to volcanic activity on Mt Ontake.
With new management and a rebranding in 2021 to just Ontake, it claims to embrace history and tradition with the phrase 'The Japan Ski Village'.
Since the 2021-2022 season, three ski lifts have been operating at Ontake - the Karamatsu pair lift, Number 5 quad lift and Number 7 quad lift. Other ski lifts, including the gondola, are not being used.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
2220
Vertical (m)
790
Bottom/base (m)
1430
Beginner runs (%)
30
Intermediate runs (%)
45
Advanced runs (%)
25
Longest course (m)
4000
Steepest slope (°)
35
Number of courses
13
Ski lifts
4
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
1
Information
Normal season dates
Ontake 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
Ontake is normally open from 8:30am until 4:00pm. The quad lift is open from 9:00am until 3:45pm.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at Ontake.
Families & children
There is usually a free Kids Area by the base area and includes a sledging area. Sledges are available to rent.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Ontake.
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: 5,000 yen
Child: 1,500 yen
Senior: 4,500 yen
4 hours
Adult: 4,500 yen
Senior: 3,900 yen
Ontake Day
Adult: 3,300 yen
Child: 1,500 yen
Senior: 2,700 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 500 yen
Senior: 4,500 yen
5 lift coupons
Adult: 4,000 yen
Senior: 4,500 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 48,000 yen
Child: 18,000 yen
Senior: 38,000 yen
An Ontake Day ticket is available every Tuesday and cheaper than normal.
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 - 30th March (108 days)
2024-2025 season: 20th December - 13th April (115 days)
2023-2024 season: 9th December - 7th April (121 days)
2022-2023 season: 11th December - 7th April (118 days)
2021-2022 season: 29th December - 17th April (110 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 140cm on 8th February
2024-2025 season: 190cm on 13th February - 1st March
2023-2024 season: 170cm on 21st March
2022-2023 season: 155cm on 11th-22nd February
2021-2022 season: 180cm on 22nd February - 14th March
2020-2021 season: 160cm on 19th January - 21st March
2019-2020 season: 150cm on 18th February - 12th March and 15th-27th March
2018-2019 season: 180cm on 15th-18th April
2017-2018 season: 280cm on 2nd-5th 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.
Ontake is the only ski area currently operating in Otaki Village.
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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