Minenohara Kogen is a ski area located in Suzaka City in the northern region of Nagano Prefecture.
The ski area was originally known as Minenohara Kogen, then as Minenohara Kogen Ski Resort in 2019. In 2020, it changed its name to REWILD NINJA SNOW HIGHLAND before announcing a rebranding back to Minenohara Kogen in early summer 2026, in time for the 2026-2027 ski season.
During the Rewild Ninja phase, it leaned into ninja theming, but it remains to be seen what happens for the 2026-2027 season. Updates on the ski area's plans for the 2026-2027 season will be added to this listing later in the year.
The ski area has two pair lifts, in recent years known as the NINJA pair lift (616m) and the REWILD pair lift (557m). All the ski runs end up back at the base area.
In the evening on Saturdays (and some other dates in the season), there is usually night-time light show called Aurora.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1550
Vertical (m)
170
Bottom/base (m)
1380
Beginner runs (%)
30
Intermediate runs (%)
50
Advanced runs (%)
20
Longest course (m)
1800
Steepest slope (°)
30
Number of courses
9
Ski lifts
2
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
0
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
2
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Rewild Ninja Snow Highland usually plans to be open from mid- to late December until late March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Rewild Ninja Snow Highland is normally open from 8:30am until 4:30pm. The NINJA lift is open from 8:30am until 4:30pm. The REWILD lift is open from 9:00am until 4:00pm
The ski area is open on these dates:
- Every Saturday and Sunday between 29th November 2025 and 12th April 2026
- Daily between 25th December 2025 and 7th January 2026
- Monday 12th January 2026
- Wednesday 11th February 2026
- Monday 23rd February 2026- Friday 20th March 2026
Otherwise, on most weekdays it is either open for private reserved events (and therefore not open to the general public) or 'closed for maintenance'.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing.
Park
The Rewild Park features various items.
Families & children
The Ninja Kids Park is 'one of the largest in Japan' with over 30 activities and a general ninja theme. It is 1,000 yen to enter (or free with a valid ski lift ticket) and usually open from 9:00am until 3:00pm.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available.
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: 2,000 yen
Senior: 3,800 yen
2 days
Adult: 8,000 yen
Child: 3,500 yen
Senior: 7,000 yen
Half day
Adult: 3,500 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 500 yen
5 lift coupons
Adult: 2,000 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 37,500 yen
Child: 12,000 yen
Senior: 32,000 yen
Cheaper tickets are available online.
Children under 3 years are not charged.
A one day ticket for people 70 years and older is 3,000 yen.
A one day ticket for one adult and one child is 6,000 yen.
A two day ticket for one adult and one child is 10,000 yen.
A season ticket for one adult and one child is 46,000 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: 13th December - 4th April (113 days)
2024-2025 season: 21st December - 23rd March (93 days)
2023-2024 season: 27th December - 24th March (89 days)
2022-2023 season: 24th December - 21st March (88 days)
2021-2022 season: 25th December - 27th March (93 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2017-2018 season: 110cm on 6th February - 8th March
2016-2017 season: 150cm on 21st January - 12th March
2015-2016 season: 120cm on 22nd January - 25th February
2014-2015 season: 120cm on 17th January - 31st 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.
Minenohara Kogen is the only ski area currently operating in Suzaka 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.
Learn more about how we research, check and update information on SnowJapan.