Shiga Kogen ski and onsen.
Staying at a ryokan in Yamada Onsen

Skiing at Shiga Kogen and sleeping in a hot-spring inn are two different decisions, and people usually make them in that order.

MATSUKAWAKAN sits at Yamada Onsen in Takayama Village, on the far side of the hills from the ski area. In the ski season the drive is 39.2 km and about 55 minutes. It is not slopeside, and it is not sold as such.

What it gives you instead is free-flowing hot spring water, two saunas, and an inn that takes nine guest parties a night. Below are the figures, the seasons, and the things worth knowing before you book.

Shiga Kogen is about 55 minutes away in the ski season

Measured on Google Maps in August 2026, there are two roads between us and Shiga Kogen Yama-no-Eki. One is 23.0 km and about 43 minutes over prefectural route 66. The other is 39.2 km and about 55 minutes on National Route 292.

In winter only the second one exists. The mountain section of prefectural route 66, between the Yamada Bokujo gate and Kasadake and Hirotoko in Yamanouchi Town, closes for the season — the Takayama Village tourism association gives the closure as from 3 November, with the road due to open again on 22 May.

So plan on about 55 minutes if you are coming to ski, and on about 43 minutes if you are here in the green season. Dates shift with the snow each year; please check the road before you drive.

What Shiga Kogen is: 18 ski areas on one lift ticket

Shiga Kogen is not a single resort. Its tourism association describes 18 ski areas linked by lifts, gondolas and shuttles, spanning over 400 hectares, with one lift ticket covering the whole thing.

The high point is the summit of Mt. Yokote at 2,307 metres. The area lies inside Joshin'etsu Kogen National Park, and it was a venue of the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Practically, that means you can ski for several days without repeating yourself, and it means the drive back at the end of the day is a real part of the plan rather than an afterthought.

We do not run a ski shuttle. We run one from Nagano Station

This is the thing to be clear about before you book, because it decides whether you need a car.

Our free shuttle bus runs between Nagano Station and MATSUKAWAKAN. It is for overnight guests, by reservation, leaving Nagano Station at 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00, and leaving the inn at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:00. There is no service to the ski areas.

If you are skiing, you will want a car. The details of the shuttle and the train routes are on our access page.

Winter driving here: studless tyres, and free parking

Yamada Onsen is at the end of a mountain road, and the cold months are exactly what they sound like.

Snow and ice are ordinary from December through to spring, so please come on studless winter tyres. Parking is free, in the village-run car park, which has about ten spaces.

It is about 40 minutes by car from Nagano Station to us; Google Maps put the quickest route at 24.9 km and about 46 minutes when we measured it in August 2026. In snow, allow more.

After skiing: free-flowing water, then 110°C

A day on the snow ends better in hot spring water than in a hotel shower, and this is the part we are actually good at.

The inner bath at MATSUKAWAKAN runs free-flowing from the Yamada Onsen source. Overnight guests can use it from 11:00 until 24:00, which covers however late you get back.

Then the Forest Sauna: two rooms at 85°C and 110°C, a cold bath 120 cm deep filled with mountain water, and an open-air resting space with a fire lit from 20:00. It is included at no extra cost on room plans, and 20:00 to 23:00 is reserved for overnight guests.

The Tenku Sauna, 1,000 metres up and private for one group at a time, is 3,000 yen per group for 120 minutes for overnight guests, and from 9,800 yen per group on a day visit. Prices are subject to change; please confirm on the booking site.

In the green season the mountain road opens and the drive is 23 km

Shiga Kogen is not only a winter place, and neither is the road.

Once prefectural route 66 opens again, expected around 22 May, the drive drops to 23.0 km and about 43 minutes. The same road passes the high pasture above Takayama Village on the way.

Autumn is the other season worth naming. The mountains stand in front of the Tenku Sauna deck in colour, and the cool-down after the heat is at its best. See the Tenku Sauna page for the view from the deck, and Sauna Stay for how day use and a night here compare.

Frequently asked questions