Sakae Club is a ski area located in Sakae Village in the northeastern region of Nagano Prefecture, close to the border with Tsunan town in Niigata Prefecture.
This ski area is the most northerly ski area in Nagano Prefecture.
Sakae Club has three pair lifts and normally leaves the snow in several areas ungroomed on weekdays during the main season.
A few kilometres from the ski lifts, the nearby train station on the Iiyama line, Morimiyanohara Station, boasted a remarkable snow depth record of 7.85m in 1941! While it might not snow quite that much every season, consistent heavy snowfall is a feature of this Nagano-Niigata border region.
The famous Nozawa Onsen ski area is about 22km to the southwest of Sakae Club.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
800
Vertical (m)
400
Bottom/base (m)
400
Beginner runs (%)
20
Intermediate runs (%)
60
Advanced runs (%)
20
Longest course (m)
1500
Steepest slope (°)
34
Number of courses
9
Ski lifts
3
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
0
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
3
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Sakae Club usually plans to be open from mid-December until late March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Sakae Club is normally open from 8:45am until 4:00pm on weekdays and from 8:30am until 4:00pm on weekends and national holidays. The Number 3 lift (lower left side) is often closed on normal weekdays, with some exceptions. All of the ski runs at Sakae Club are still available when that lift is closed.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at this ski area.
Ungroomed
A few areas are left ungroomed on weekdays in January and February.
Families & children
There is a sledging area at the base of the ski area.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Sakae Club.
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: 4,500 yen
Child: 2,500 yen
Senior: 4,000 yen
4 hours
Adult: 4,000 yen
Child: 2,100 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 450 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 30,000 yen
Child: 16,000 yen
Senior: 25,000 yen
Season ticket (weekdays only)
Adult: 12,000 yen
Child: 12,000 yen
Senior: 12,000 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: 27th December - 22nd March (86 days)
2024-2025 season: 21st December - 23rd March (93 days)
2023-2024 season: 19th December - 28th March (101 days)
2022-2023 season: 25th December - 28th March (94 days)
2021-2022 season: 18th December - 27th March (100 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 300cm on 30th-31st January
2024-2025 season: 420cm on 23rd-25th February
2023-2024 season: 140cm on 10th-11th and 22nd March
2022-2023 season: 280cm on 30th January
2021-2022 season: 400cm on 7th and 24th February
2020-2021 season: 290cm on 6th and 19th February
2019-2020 season: 170cm on 11th February
2018-2019 season: 310cm on 29th January
2017-2018 season: 300cm on 30th-31st January
2016-2017 season: 310cm on 15th-16th February
2015-2016 season: 165cm on 18th February
2014-2015 season: 420cm on 10th February
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.
Sakae Club is the only ski area currently operating in Sakae 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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