Information about Skiing in Japan
Information about Skiing in Japan
Gifu Prefecture is located in the central part of Honshu (main land), it is the west side of Nagano Prefecture. Gujyo is the located in the north-west part of Gifu and the most popular area for Skiing in the Gifu. This area is sometimes referred to as "Oku-Mino". Gujyo area is a cluster of ski resorts, which has total nine ski resorts, such as Dynaland, Takasu Snow Park, Washigatake, White Pia Takasu, Meiho etc.. The Tokai Hokuriku Highway runs through the cluster of the ski resorts, and most of the ski resorts are close from the interchange. The access from Nagoya is very convenient. From Nagoya it takes less than two hours to get to the Gujyo area. From Kansai is also convenient and it takes approx 3.5 hours.
Since 2019-2020 season six ski resorts in Takasu village in Gujyo area have come together as "TAKASU MOUNTAINS". They have started to sell "Multi-ski-area lift ticket (Takasu Mountains Common pass)" and operate shuttle bus service between the ski resorts including several accommodations. Visitors can stay in Takasu village of Gujyo and enjoy a variety of ski resorts.
The other advantage of Gujyo area is Sightseeing. It just takes around 1 hour to get to the world famous sightseeing spot such as Shirakawago (a World heritage) and Takayama City (Hida-Takayama). Takayama City has a variety of accommodations from western style to Japanese Ryokan including Onsen. It is one of the option to enjoy skiing as a day trip, while staying in Takayama City.
There are 9 ski resorts in the Gujyo area. 6 ski resort out of 9 are located in the Takasu village. These six ski resorts have a common name of "Takasu Mountains". Detailed about "Takasu Mountains" is explained at the lower part of the page. Wing Hills Shiratori and Snow Wave Park Shiratori are located in the Shiratori village. Shiratori village is on the border between Gifu Prefecture and Fukui Prefecture and well known for heavy snowfall. Meiho ski resort is the 2nd biggest ski resort in the Gujyo area which is located in the most southern part of Gujyo. The access from Nagoya is quite good.
| Resort | Vertical | Area | Course | Lift | Longest | Level | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max | Min | Beginner | Inter-M | Advanced | |||||
| Dynaland | 1,430m | 983m | 80ha | 20 | 6 | 3,200m | 40% | 32% | 28% |
| Takasu Snow Park | 1,550m | 950m | 100ha | 12 | 4 | 4,800m | 47% | 24% | 12% |
| Hirugano Kogen | 1,040m | 890m | 50ha | 8 | 5 | 1,500m | 45% | 55% | 0% |
| Gujyo Vacance | 1,150m | 1000m | - | 2 | 2 | 500m | 80% | 20% | 0% |
| White Pia Takasu | 1,405m | 1050m | 60ha | 13 | 4 | 2,600m | 30% | 40% | 30% |
| Washigatake | 1,350m | 910m | 55ha | 13 | 5 | 3,500m | 45% | 55% | 0% |
| Meiho | 1,600m | 900m | 96ha | 14 | 5 | 5,000m | 45% | 40% | 15% |
| Wing Hills Shiratori | 1,350m | 870m | 50ha | 9 | 5 | 3,500m | 40% | 30% | 30% |
| Snow Wave Park Shiratori | 1,600m | 1000m | 76ha | 5 | 3 | 2,500m | 30% | 60% | 10% |
You can use following links to obtain detailed information about Ski resort in Gujyo regions. Features and recommended courses of each resorts are introduced.
Since 2019-2020 season six ski resorts in the Takasu village in Gujyo area have come together as "TAKAS MOUNTAINS". They have started to sell "Multi-ski-area lift ticket (Takasu Mountains Common pass)" and operate shuttle bus service between the ski resorts including several accommodations. While "Takasu Mountains Common pass" is sold. An independent ticket for each ski resort is also available. The price of common ticket is a little higher than independent ticket. For the visitors who staying more than a few days the common ticket is recommended.
From Nagoya-city (Toyota Junction) It takes approx 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours by car. From Osaka (Suita-IC), It takes approx 3 hours to 3 hours and 20 minutes. Travelling by railway is not recommended, since stations are not near from ski resorts and access from the station is limited. From major cities such as Nagoya, Osaka, express bus and one-day tour bus is available. The method of access to each ski resort by public transportation is explained as follows.
Take the express bus from Nagoya station, which is bound for Takayama and Shirakawa-go. It is not a direct bus to the ski resort. The bus stops at the Hirugano Kogen service area on the highway (There is a bus top in the service area of the Highway). Express buses are operated by Gifu-Bus and VIP-Liner. The former depart from the Meitetsu bus center in the Nagoya station and it takes approx 1hour and 40 minutes. The latter departs from Nagoya VIP lounge (5min from Nagoya station by walk) and takes approx 2 hours and 20 minutes. After getting off from the express bus, transfer to the free shuttle bus operated by ski resort called "Takasu Snow Shuttle". To get to Takasu Snow Park it takes approx 30 minutes, to Dynaland it takes approx 60 minutes.
The bus (Gifu bus) departing from Nagoya Station at 8:20 arrive at Hirugano Kogen SA at 11:00. Transfer to the Takasu snow shuttle which depart at 10:25.It arrives at Takatsuki Snow Park at 10:40 and Dynaland at 11:05. *information as of Feb 2020
Basically access to White Pia Takasu and Washigatake from Nagoya is almost same as the route getting to Dynaland and Takasu Snow Park. The difference is the line of Takasu Snow Shuttle. The name of the line is "Washigadake-Line". To White Pia Takasu it takes approx 30 minutes, to Washigadake it takes 65 minutes.
Since 2019-20 season free shuttle bus service from Takayama station and Gujyo hachiman station is available. It is operated by Meiho ski resort and free and pre-booking is required. From Takayama station, it takes approx 1 hour and 10 minutes (8:45-9:55). From Gujyo Hachiman station, it takes approx 1hour (8:40-9:37). *information as of Feb 2020
There is no public transportation to two ski resorts in Shiratori village. One day bus-tour operated by travel agencies is available.
In the Guyjyo area, there are several accommodations managed by ski resorts. Most of them is ski-in ski-out style or walking distance. Information about those accommodations are summarized in the table below. They are quite popular and numbers of rooms are limited. Early booking is recommended. In Gujyo area there are several other accommodations. Details of them will be explained on the introduction page of each ski resort.
(Upper Left)Villa-montsaint(Lower Left)Center house of White pia Takasu(Upper right)Hotel Rainbow(Lower Right)Shiratori Kogen Hotel
| Resort | Name of Accommodation | time to Slope | Type | Onsen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynaland | Villa-montsaint | 5min walk | Hotel（western rooms available) | No |
| Takasu Snow Park | - | - | - | - |
| Hirugano Kogen | - | - | - | - |
| Gujyo Vacance | Gujyo Vancance Hotel | 0min | Hotel（western rooms available) | No |
| White Pia Takasu | Center house in the resort | 0min | Simple Accomodation with skiers beds, western rooms | No |
| Washigatake | Hotel Rainbow | 0min | Hotel（western rooms available) | No |
| Meiho | - | - | - | - |
| Wing Hills Shiratori | Hotel Villa Wing | 3min walk | Hotel(simple room with bunk bed) | Yes |
| Manten no Yado | 3min walk | High grade Japanese Inn | Yes | |
| Snow wave park Shiratori | Shiratori Kogen Hotel | 3min walk | Hotel（western rooms available) | No |
