OFFICIAL：びわ湖バレイ×岡田良菜2026ライディング
By: 【OFFICIAL】びわ湖バレイ · 15 Feb
No snow yet. Not open yet for 2026/27. We have not yet found an official opening date. Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear once snow is on the ground or forecast.
Typical snowfall
98cm
A weather-model figure, worked out the same way for every ski area, and lower than what actually falls. Use it to compare ski areas, not against the resort’s own totals. How we measure →
- Elevation
- 941–1,172 m
- Across
- 1.4 km
All the skiing is on the mountaintop, reached by a glass-walled ropeway that climbs from the base in about five minutes, with Lake Biwa opening up beneath the cabin. The gentle Uchimi slope is right beside the top station. The rental shop is at the base only, so pick up skis and clothing before boarding. Sources: biwako-valley.com (sources read 13 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
How much snow it gets
Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Seasonal snowfall
98cm
per season
Worst of 12 winters
12cm
The middle winter of the 12: 110 cm. The best: 146 cm.
World rank
2397
of 3,069 worldwide
Rank in country
378
of 397 in Japan
Elevation rank
118
Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 1,018 m, 252 m above the national median.
Quality rank
357
of 397 in Japan
Temp when snowing
−4.0°C
Japanese median: −3.6°C
Rain days
27%
Japanese median: 16%
Days over 5 cm
5%
Japanese median: 15%
Wind when snowing
23km/h
Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops
Dryness 43
Frequency 14
Freedom from rain 35
Calm when snowing (model grid) 91
The tick marks the median across every Japanese ski area we measure. All four bars run the same way — longer is better.
The quality score leaves out how much snow falls (it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind).
Compared with what is nearby
Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kutsuki Snow Park | 13.0 km | 118 cm | 2117 |
| Hakodateyama Ski Resort | 27.0 km | 113 cm | 2196 |
| Ohana Resort | 40.0 km | 116 cm | 2148 |
| Akoyama Skijo Snowpal | 48.0 km | 142 cm | 1775 |
Compare side by side with Kutsuki Snow Park and Hakodateyama Ski Resort →
Runs and lifts
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Marked runs
7
Run length
4.8km
Lifts
8
Vertical
231m
Top 1,172 m · base 941 m
Run map
NoviceEasyIntermediateAdvanced Lift
Slope shape, difficulty and lift types
The shape of the mountain
Longest run on the map1.3 km
Steepest pitch24°measured over at least 30 m
Average gradient of the runs11.4°
Which way the slopes face
North 64%
East 21%
South 0%
West 15%
85% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. Those slopes get the least sun, so the snow lasts longer.
By difficulty
Novice 1 · 0.4 km
Easy 1 · 1.3 km
Intermediate 4 · 2.7 km
Advanced 1 · 0.4 km
Lift types
- Chairlift7
- Cable car1
See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
When it falls, and how winters differ
Month by month
The most snow falls in January. March brings 29% of January’s snowfall. That is a steeper fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%): the snow here is concentrated early in the season. In amount, March brings 11 cm, less than the median of 46 cm.
23cmDec
38cmJan
27cmFeb
11cmMar
Winter by winter
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 98 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 12 cm; the biggest was 2016/17 with 146 cm (12.2 times as much).
61
12
146
113
126
66
97
128
111
84
126
109
14/1515/1616/1717/1818/1919/2020/2121/2222/2323/2424/2525/26
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
Live cameras
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Videos
Videos remain the copyright of whoever filmed them. JAPANSNOWLINE stores no video and plays everything through the standard YouTube player.
Official YouTube channel
More than we show here.
Hot springs nearby, as analysed
4 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 32.1 °C).
Show the sources
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH | Type | Analysed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 御所湯温泉(仮称) | 3.9 km | 25.1℃ lukewarm | 7.76 mildly alkaline | radioactive (radon) | 1986 |
| a spring in 志賀町 | 3.9 km | 14.4℃ cold | 6.29 neutral | radioactive (radon) | 1996 |
| a spring in 志賀町 | 3.9 km | 13.8℃ cold | 6.02 neutral | radioactive (radon) | 1997 |
| a spring in 志賀町 | 4 km | 32.1℃ lukewarm | 7.53 mildly alkaline | chloride, bicarbonate | 1990 |
These are analyses of hot spring sources, not a list of baths you can visit. They date from 1910 to 2005, many from decades ago, so today’s temperature and chemistry may differ. Names are as recorded in Japanese. Temperature and pH bands follow Japan’s standard for analysing hot springs.
Source: processed from the hot spring analysis data in the Geothermal Information Database (GRES-DB), Geological Survey of Japan, AIST
Worth seeing nearby
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
Show the list
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Sanzen-in Temple三千院 | Temple | 11.6 km |
| Shirahige Shrine白鬚神社 | Shrine | 12.9 km |
| Hiyoshi Taisha日吉大社 | Shrine | 15.7 km |
| Enryaku-ji Temple延暦寺 | Temple | 16.5 km |
| Mount Hiei比叡山 | Mountain | 17 km |
| Sakamoto Castle坂本城 | Historic site | 17.1 km |
Chosen from the places most read about on Wikipedia, favouring those with an English article. Based on the Japanese Wikipedia lists of sights in each prefecture, as compiled in travel-log-data (CC BY-SA 4.0). English names from Wikidata (CC0). The content of this section is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Coordinates: 35.2135, 135.8898
Getting there
- By train
- Shiga Station (JR Kosei Line): about 10 minutes on the Kojak bus from Shiga Station to the last stop, Biwako Valley-mae; the slopes are reached by ropeway
- By car
- about 5 minutes south on Prefectural Road 558 from Shiga IC (Kosei Road); the only entrance is the T-junction with the large Biwako Valley sign on Road 558, not the Hachiyado junction
- Winter roads
- the approach road to the ropeway base station is usually passable on normal tyres, but cold snaps can bring snow down to the base car park, so the resort recommends winter tyres or carrying chains
Source: biwako-valley.com · checked 7 Nov 2026. Shuttle days and times change with the season; check the official site before you go.
Going with children
- Kids’ area
- Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
- Childcare
- Not checked
- Parking
- Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
- Rental
- Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Checked on the official site (13 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →
Places to stay nearbyPR
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.
18 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 12 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i-same Guest house | ¥3,500 | 5.00／5 29 reviews | 3.5 km | 電車の方はJR湖西線にて志賀駅下車、改札出て右出口(琵琶湖側)左へ徒歩で約3分。左に見えるオレンジ色の家です(新快速不可 |
| ENINARU/民泊 | ¥27,840 | — | 4.7 km | 比良駅から徒歩で3分 |
| 比良レークハウス | ¥6,600 | 4.38／5 102 reviews | 5.0 km | JR湖西線 比良駅より徒歩にて5分/湖西道路志賀ICより10分 |
| アルヴィラ近江舞子 ^ | ¥22,736 | — | 5.2 km | 比良駅から徒歩で約25分 |
| 比良招福温泉 ホリデーアフタヌーン | ¥4,900 | 3.74／5 146 reviews | 6.1 km | JR近江舞子駅から送迎します/ 京都東ICよりバイパスで比良出口から5分/カーナビはTEL077-596-2206 |
| ジェイホッパーズ琵琶湖ゲストハウス | ¥2,500 | 4.33／5 28 reviews | 6.3 km | 近江舞子駅より徒歩にて約15分。京都南IC⇒京都東IC⇒西大津バイパス/国道161号線経由で約45分 |
| ザ グラン リゾート近江舞子 | ¥5,300 | 4.33／5 114 reviews | 6.5 km | 近江舞子駅より徒歩にて約15分 (※カーナビをご利用の方はマップコードをご利用下さい。263 190 824*12 ) |
| 民宿 舞子屋 | ¥3,500 | 4.06／5 181 reviews | 6.7 km | JR 近江舞子駅より送迎有り |
| ペンション B.B.Dylan | ¥7,700 | 4.27／5 32 reviews | 7.0 km | JR 近江舞子駅より徒歩にて約3分 無料駐車場有り |
| ホテル琵琶レイクオーツカ | ¥12,650 | 4.57／5 205 reviews | 7.0 km | JR近江舞子駅より徒歩5分 京都東IC経由、志賀バイパス近江舞子ランプ5分 |
| KINOTOMI 近江舞子/民泊 | ¥12,296 | — | 7.1 km | 近江舞子駅から徒歩で約1分 |
Pick dates and guests to check rooms on Rakuten Travel
Prices are the lowest Rakuten Travel lists; a property name, or “Pick dates and guests” above, shows prices and rooms for your dates.
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese. · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)
Places to stay on the map
10 places within 12 km of the slopes, as mapped on OpenStreetMap, many of them small inns and pensions. Many are not on booking sites — open the name for the website or the map.
Nearest: 9.1 km
Show the nearest places
Nearest first
- 門前茶屋 9.1 km
- 美山荘 9.1 km
- Okamoto Ryokan 9.9 km
- 宿屋きよみ荘 10.0 km
- Ryokan Yamatsune 10.3 km
- ホテルセルベーヌ堅田 10.4 km
Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap
Other booking sites: Booking.com ↗ · Agoda ↗ · Rakuten Travelad ↗
“ad” marks links that pay us a commission if you book. Links without it are not affiliated.
Guides covering Shiga
Where the snow falls · 5 Sep 2026
Is Western Japan Snowier Than It Looks? Our Model Against the Weather StationsWestern Japan's ski areas look thin in our data — a median of 125 cm against a national 249 cm. Against 16 Japan Meteorological Agency stations, the model we use returns 44% of what the ground records there. The region is far snowier than our own numbers say.
Compare0/3Compare →