Biwako Valley
Official name びわ湖バレイ · Formerly サンケイバレイ
Shiga · 950–1,174 m · 9 runs · 8 lifts
- 2025-26 season: Dec 20 – Mar 22
- Summit: Today clear 6–10°C / Tomorrow clear 4–14°C
- Snow report (official) →
Biwako Valley trail map
Biwako Valley spreads along the ridge between Mount Uchimi and Mount Horai in the Hira range, high above the west shore of Lake Biwa, and most of its slopes look straight down onto the lake. It is one of the closest ski areas to Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe: a fast ropeway lifts visitors from the car park to the summit area, where the gentle Uchimi slope beside the top station suits first-timers and children. Runs dropping off the ridge are mainly intermediate, including the 1.4 km Champion course and the 30-degree advanced Horai North slope. A snow-play area and the Biwako Terrace viewpoint café add to the day, and the resort is reachable by train and bus from Kyoto.
Biwako Valley weather at the top (1,174 m, hourly, 14 days)
Sunrise today 06:19, sunset 17:01
| Tue, 11/3 | Wed, 11/4 | Thu, 11/5 | Fri, 11/6 | Sat, 11/7 | Sun, 11/8 | Mon, 11/9 | Tue, 11/10 | Wed, 11/11 | Thu, 11/12 | Fri, 11/13 | Sat, 11/14 | Sun, 11/15 | Mon, 11/16 | Tue, 11/17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japan time | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 15 | |
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| Temperature | °C | 10° | 8° | 6° | 6° | 6° | 5° | 5° | 4° | 5° | 9° | 12° | 14° | 13° | 10° | 10° | 9° | 9° | 9° | 10° | 14° | 14° | 11° | 10° | 10° | 10° | 9° | 10° | 14° | 12° | 7° | 6° | 4° | 4° | 3° | 5° | 5° | 4° | 2° | 2° | 2° | 3° | 4° | 5° | 6° | 6° | 5° | 4° | 4° | 4° | 4° | 7° | 7° | 3° | 3° | 7° | 9° | 4° | 2° | 5° | 5° | 3° | 1° | 6° | 8° | 3° | 4° | 5° | 5° | 4° | 1° | 7° | 10° | 4° | 5° | 8° | 9° | 8° | 9° | 10° | 7° | 3° | 3° | 4° | 7° |
| Precipitation | mm | 3.4 | 5 | 5 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 4.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 3.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New snow | cm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Snow depth | cm | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wind | m/s | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Wind gusts | m/s | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 12 |
| Wind dir. | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | |
Biwako Valley live cams
Biwako Valley lift tickets and prices
2025-26 prices
- 1-day ticket
- Adult ¥6,800 (at the counter) · Child ¥5,200 (at the counter)
- Half day
- ¥5,800
Early-bird tickets
- Online advance facility ticket (ski/snowboard), 1 day
Discounts
- Infant (age 3+) 1-day ticket ¥2,700 at the window
- Afternoon ticket (from 12:00) window only: adult ¥5,800 / elementary ¥3,800 / infant ¥2,200
- On specified days (2026/2/22, 23) all ticket types cost ¥500 more than the window price
Show all (4)
- Facility ticket for snow play / Biwako Terrace adult ¥5,000 (Snow Land sled ¥500/60 min)
Opening hours
- Lifts
- 8:30-17:00 (ropeway; last ride up 16:00; lift hours vary by lift)
- Night skiing
- no night skiing
Getting to Biwako Valley and parking
- Car
- Shiga IC on the Kosei Road (from Kyoto-higashi IC on the Meishin Expressway via the Nishi-Otsu Bypass), 5 min
- Parking
- Paid (cash only; amount not given on the access page)
Train
- Kyoto Station → Shiga Station JR Kosei Line · about 40 min · Only local trains stop at Shiga (change from the Special Rapid at Kyoto). About 1 hr 20 min from Osaka Station; about 1 hr 30 min from Nagoya Station by Shinkansen, changing at Kyoto → Kojak Bus route bus to the last stop, Biwako Valley-mae, about 10 min
Official access page → Timetable → Directions (Google Maps) →
Biwako Valley runs and lifts
Lifts
Show all
Runs
Show all
Backcountry
Leaving the ski area's managed boundary, or skiing off designated courses inside it, is prohibited.
Rental, lessons and facilities
- Rental (adult set ¥6,000)
- Ski school (Japanese, English)
- Kids area (Snow Land (snow-play area at 1,100 m, sled rental))
- Restaurants: Café 360, Cafe Stand, Lake View
- Hot spring (Hira Topia (about 20 min north), Ogoto Onsen (about 30 min south))
- Activities: Sledding, Zipline, Snowshoeing