The Oguna Hotaka ski resort is found in the Hanasaku area attracting a mixed crowd of skiers and snowboarders. The 6 ski lifts leading to 9 different courses open from the 20th of December until late March (8:30-16:30 everyday). About 30% of the slopes are for beginners (green), 40% intermediate (red) and 30% advanced (black). The longest slope is 3,500m long all the way to the bottom of the ski resort and the steepest piste has a maximum slope of 32°.
Unfortunately when we visited Oguna when it was also very snowy, windy and super cold. It felt like we were sitting on the ski lifts longer than the actual time spent skiing down the pistes – this might have just felt like it because it was so cold! So when we reached the highest point of the Hotakasan ski area at an elevation of 1,828m, we sadly saw nothing but snow.
However, around noon the sky cleared up and the warmth of the sunlight transformed the grey ski pistes into a panoramic vista.
Different events including coca-cola drinking contest, costume competition, tug of war or mochi-tsuki.
Read more about the New Year tradition of mochi-tsuki by clicking on the image below.
There are various eateries at the bottom of the pistes. We chose ‘Gohanjo’ which has a special meal that is part of Hagemori. Hagemori is an event where various restaurants in Katashina create a new and special dish for the season. We shared this big bowl of rice with tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) for ¥1,300:
Fees for Day Pass (given in Japanese Yen [¥])
Adults
>55 years
1 Day Pass 3,900 3,200 2,700
2 Day Pass 6,900 5,900 4,900
You can get a ¥100 discount with your ticket for the onsen at Hanasaku-no-yu where you can relax your tired body and warm up again.
Find out more about Hanasaku-no-yu by clicking on the image below:
If you are interested in learning or improving skiing/snowboarding technqiues the same organizations as in Marunuma Kogen and Oze-Iwakura run ski and snowboard lessons here at Oguna.
Ski School (SAJ: 0278-58-4092) Snowboard School (JSBA: 0278-58-2928)
Group Lesson:
Group Lesson:
2 hours
4 hours
2 hours
4 hours
¥3,000
¥5,000
¥4,000
¥6,000
Private Lesson
Private Lesson
2 hours
4 hours
2 hours
4 hours
¥17,000
¥25,000
¥8,000
15,000
3967-3 Kamada, Katashina-mura, Tone-gun, Gunma-ken, Japan
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