Shigakogen Mountain Resort

The praise is for the size and the snow: a dozen and a half separate areas share one lift pass, making this the largest ski district in Japan. The altitude is high for Honshu, so the snow is plentiful and good, and for the acreage there are remarkably few people, especially midweek. The northern and southern sectors are linked by lift, so a group of mixed ability can ski together.

The lack of steeps draws criticism: genuinely serious runs are few, the terrain is mellow, and tree skiing is banned outright in places - deep powder in the woods means going elsewhere. A separate headache is the inter-area bus network, whose timetable and map are called confusing. Some of the "resorts" inside Shiga Kogen amount to one lift and one run.