The Shiga Heights Ski Resort is the largest ski resort in Nagano and is located in the Joshin Etsu Kogen National Park. This ski area can be reached by taking the Nagano Dentetsu Railway limited express to Yudanaka and then transferring to a bus or taxi to reach the various ski grounds. During the peak ski season, buses travel directly to Shiga from Tokyo. There is a large variety of terrain in the Shiga ski area that is made of up of 22 different ski grounds. This resort has 81 lifts, that include gondolas, ropeways, and chairlifts.
Snow conditions are excellent and a wide variety of terrain exists for skiers of all abilities.
The three northern most prefectures of the island of Honshu are called Aomori, Akita, and Iwate. These three prefectures offer some great ski areas and beautiful national parks. The Towada-Hachimantai National Park can be visited in the Aomori Prefecture and is most famous for the colorful foliage in autumn, and the beautiful Lake Towada. The Iwate Prefecture contains the Rickuchu Kaigan National Park known for its beautiful seacoast with towering, rugged cliffs. There are ruins of an ancient castle in the city of Morioka, which is also in the Iwate Prefecture.