Sun Valley is a ski area located in Yamanouchi Town in the northestern region of Nagano Prefecture. It is one of a group of ski areas collectively known as Shiga Kogen.
Sun Valley is the first ski area reached on arriving at Shiga Kogen from the west. It has one 518m quad lift.
The upper part of Sun Valley is connected with Maruike and then nearby Hasuike.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1585
Vertical (m)
170
Bottom/base (m)
1415
Beginner runs (%)
20
Intermediate runs (%)
60
Advanced runs (%)
20
Longest course (m)
800
Steepest slope (°)
30
Number of courses
3
Ski lifts
1
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
1
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
0
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Sun Valley usually plans to be open from late December until late March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Night skiing
Night skiing is from 7:00pm until 8:30pm on 30th and 31st December 2025 and 1st January 2026.
Lessons
A number of ski and snowboard schools operate around the Shiga Kogen ski areas.
Rental
A number of ski and snowboard equipment and wear rental facilities are available around Shiga Kogen.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
The below lift tickets are valid at all of the ski areas within Shiga Kogen during the main season.
4 hours
7,000 yen; 3,500 yen; 6,000 yen; 6,500 yen
1 day
9,000 yen; 4,100 yen; 6,700 yen; 6,900 yen
2 day
17,500 yen; 7,700 yen; 12,900 yen; 13,300 yen
3 day
26,000 yen; 11,300 yen; 19,100 yen; 19,700 yen
4 day
34,500 yen; 14,900 yen; 25,300 yen; 26,100 yen
5 day
43,000 yen; 18,500 yen; 31,500 yen; 32,500 yen
6 day
51,500 yen; 22,100 yen; 37,700 yen; 38,900 yen
7 day
60,000 yen; 25,700 yen; 43,900 yen; 45,300 yen
8 day
68,500 yen; 29,300 yen; 50,100 yen; 51,700 yen
9 day
77,000 yen; 32,900 yen; 56,300 yen; 58,100 yen
10 day
85,500 yen; 36,500 yen; 62,500 yen; 64,500 yen
The four charges above represent charges for: Adults, 0-12 years, 13-18 years, 60 years and over.
The multiple day tickets can be used on any day during the 2025-2026 season; they do not need to be consecutive.
Early Season is from Saturday 6th December 2025 until Friday 19th December 2025.
Spring Season is from Wednesday 1st April 2026 until Wednesday 6th May 2026.
Cheaper tickets are available during the Early and Spring season periods.
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: 20th December - 31st March (102 days)
2024-2025 season: 21st December - 31st March (101 days)
2023-2024 season: 30th December - 31st March (93 days)
2022-2023 season: 25th December - 2nd April (99 days)
2021-2022 season: 20th December - 3rd April (105 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 110cm on 10th-23rd February
2024-2025 season: 190cm on 23rd February - 12th March and 20th-24th March
2023-2024 season: 120cm on 21st-24th March
2022-2023 season: 160cm on 21st February - 9th March
2021-2022 season: 210cm on 21st February - 15th March
2020-2021 season: 140cm on 18th February - 10th March
2019-2020 season: 120cm on 11th-13th February
2018-2019 season: 150cm on 1st-3rd February
2017-2018 season: 110cm on 5th February - 5th March
2016-2017 season: 220cm on 22nd January - 23rd March
2015-2016 season: 70cm on 10th-20th February and 1st-5th March
2014-2015 season: 190cm on 15th February - 18th March
Resources
Daily weather & snow reporting on SnowJapan
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [links open in new window]
SnowJapan Directory: accommodation listings in the region
Hotel Khuls Shiga Kogen (Ichinose Family)
Okushiga Kogen Hotel (Okushiga Kogen)
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.
Shiga Kogen is a highland area in the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park in the northeastern region of Nagano Prefecture. Skiing in the region dates back to the early 1910s, and thanks to the high altitude and cold temperatures, the region often enjoys good snow quality.
Many people treat Shiga Kogen as one huge ski resort, but it is actually a group of 18 (mostly) interconnected and individually named ski areas, stretching over 12km from Okushiga Kogen in the north to Shibutoge in the south. A shared lift ticket covering the entire area is available for most of the season, and regular buses also connect the ski areas.
Shiga Kogen hosted some events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. The alpine skiing slalom and snowboarding giant slalom were at Yakebitaiyama, and the alpine skiing giant slalom was at Higashidateyama.
Shiga Kogen currently promotes itself as Shiga Kogen Mountain Resort, with five 'snow activity areas': Chuo (Central) Area (comprising 13 ski areas), Okushiga Kogen Area, Yakebitaiyama Area, Kumanoyu Area and Yokoteyama/Shibutoge Area.
The famous onsen-enjoying monkeys of the Jigokudani Yaen Koen Snow Monkey Park are less than 10km from Shiga Kogen.
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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