Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai is a ski area located on the northwestern slopes of Mt Tateshina in Tateshina Town, in the central-eastern region of Nagano Prefecture.
Snowboarding has traditionally not been allowed at Shirakaba Koken Kokusai, but snowboarders have been welcomed since the 2022-2023 winter season.
This ski area has a 6-person 1,260m gondola lift, a quad lift and one operating pair lift. There are a few tree run courses in the top area.
Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai and Shirakaba 2in1 share a joint lift ticket. Shirakaba 2in1 is about 7km from Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1850
Vertical (m)
300
Bottom/base (m)
1550
Beginner runs (%)
50
Intermediate runs (%)
40
Advanced runs (%)
10
Longest course (m)
5000
Steepest slope (°)
30
Number of courses
7
Ski lifts
3
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
1
Quad lift (4-person)
1
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
1
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai 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
Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai is normally open from 8:30am until 4:30pm.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai.
Tree runs
There are a few official tree run courses at Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai.
Families & children
There is a Beginner Park by the base with a moving walkway. Special kids ski lessons are also available at this ski area. There is a free kids room on the 3rd Floor of the Center House building.
Lessons
Ski lessons are available at Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai.
Rental
Ski 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 (weekends & holidays)
Adult: 5,800 yen
Child: 3,480 yen
1 day (weekdays)
Adult: 5,220 yen
Child: 3,130 yen
4 hours
Adult: 5,220 yen
Child: 3,130 yen
From 2pm
Adult: 3,770 yen
Child: 2,260 yen
1 ride
Adult: 1,000 yen
Child: 600 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 72,500 yen
Child: 43,500 yen
Season ticket (weekdays only)
Adult: 32,600 yen
Child: 19,560 yen
The lift tickets are valid also at the nearby Shirakaba 2in1 ski area.
A season ticket that is valid from for the whole long season at both is 96,000 yen.
A season ticket that is valid from 1pm every day from 13th December 2025 through 29th March 2026 is 25,300 yen for adults.
Cheaper tickets are available on the official website.
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: 14th December - 30th March (107 days)
2023-2024 season: 20th December - 31st March (103 days)
2022-2023 season: 17th December - 31st March (105 days)
2021-2022 season: 11th December - 27th March (107 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 110cm on 12th-24th February
2024-2025 season: 110cm on 19th-24th March
2023-2024 season: 110cm on 24th-26th March
2022-2023 season: 95cm on 11th-17th February and 19th February - 9th March
2021-2022 season: 160cm on 20th February - 13th March
2020-2021 season: 100cm on 9th-21st February
2019-2020 season: 75cm on 6th-17th February
2018-2019 season: 130cm on 11th-21st March
2017-2018 season: 100cm on 12th February - 5th March
2016-2017 season: 90cm on 10th February - 2nd April
2015-2016 season: 65cm on 10th-15th February and 15th-19th March
2014-2015 season: 125cm on 18th February - 17th March
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
SnowJapan Directory: ski school listing in the region
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.
Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai is the only ski area currently operating in Tateshina Town. The other is Shirakaba 2in1.
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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