Very belated update that I was snowboarding in Shiga Kogen last weekend, staying in the Villa Ichinose hotel in Ichinose village. For once, the roads were clear both ways (the Kanetsu).
The weather was great, the snow was good, and best of all, as it was the weekend between a national holiday and pay day so the slopes were pretty empty. We all got a lot of good runs in, and because it was empty, there was no waiting for lifts. I got to try out some runs goofy (having the right leg forward – I usually go regular – left leg forward) for practice, and some 360 spins on the snow – but I quickly discovered that if you do 4 you tend to get a bit dizzy.
Shiga is a great place for people who like a variey of runs, but nothing too steep. It’s a pretty family oriented place too, which is a good thing.