The Okushiga Kogen Autumn Foliage Festival is currently taking place from 10/12 (Sat.) to 10/14 (Mon.). This year, the venue has been moved to the parking lot in front of the Okushiga Gondola base station (pictured), and the Okushiga Gondola is in operation during the festival. There were 9 stalls set up around the venue, as well as a free kids area with badminton, hammocks and striders.
[Okushiga Kogen・Gondola Base Station Area]
Advance Discount Lift Tickets for the Okushiga Kogen Ski Resort were being sold at the gondola ticket counter for JPY3,800 (while supplies last), and there was a roulette-style drawing in the free rest area for those who followed SAVREQ social media accounts. I was lured by the clear blue sky, and boarded the gondola to head for the summit of Yakebitaiyama (2,009m) via a hike up the Fourth Slope (pictured) from the summit station.
[Okushiga Kogen・Fourth Slope]
It took me about 20 minutes from the gondola summit station to reach the Chigo-ike Pond at the top of Yakebitaiyama. There I spoke with a couple from Nagano City (pictured), who told me, “This is our first time visiting Shiga Kogen in autumn. The weekend weather has been bad for several weeks, so this is our first hike in a while.” There were a lot of visitors up at Chigo-ike Pond, including families with children.
[Yakebitaiyama Summit・Chigo-ike Pond]
For me, the main attraction at the stalls were the organic grapes (and they were cheap!), local sake, local beer and local miso. In other news, from 10/4 (Fri.) to 10/18 (Fri.), a “Food Truck Fair” (pictured) is being held in the parking lot in front of the Yama-no-Eki station, with a total of 6 sellers offering rice flour churros, Hokkaido-style fried chicken, kebab sandwiches, meat-wrapped rice balls, venison sushi and more.
[Hasuike・Yama-no-Eki station]
*The Okushiga Gondola will be in operation from 9:30 to 15:30 on 10/12 (Sat.) to 10/14 (Mon.). Round-trip tickets are JPY1,500 for Adults & JPY800 for Elementary School Students and younger, while One-way tickets are JPY1,000 for Adults & JPY500 for Elementary School Students and younger. (Free for preschool-age children and dogs.)
*A “Craft Fair” with over 80 stalls is set to take place on 10/19 (Sat.) & 10/20 (Sun.)!
[Shiga Kogen Opening Information]
* Period … Yokoteyama Skylator and Sky Lift 4/24 – late October (*Open 5/20 – 5/31, scheduled), Shibu-toge 1st Romance Lift 5/20 – 5/31 and 6/29 – late October (scheduled), Shiga Kogen Golden Line 6/15 – 11/4 (scheduled), Maeyama Summer Lift 6/15 – 10/27 (Sat, Sun, holidays and reserved days), Kumanoyu 3rd Quad Lift 7/13, 14, 20, 27 and 8/3, 10, 11, 17, Takamagahara Summer Lift 8/10 – 8/18.
* Summer Lift Fees … Shiga Kogen Golden Line round trip 1-day pass / Adults JPY3,000, Child JPY1,800, Takamagahara Summer Lift round trip / Adults JPY1,200, Child JPY800, Maeyama Summer Lift one way / Adults JPY500, Child JPY300, Kumanoyu 3rd quad lift round trip / Adults 1,400 JPY, child 1,000 JPY, Yokoteyama Sky Lift and Sky Lift round trip / adult 2,000 JPY, child 1,700 JPY, Shibutoge Romance Lift round trip / adult 2,000 JPY, child 1,700 JPY.
*Click here to purchase photos found in this report.
reported by Snownavi