Pilatus Tateshina Snow Resort is a ski area in Nagano, Japan, on slopes between roughly 1,744 and 2,229 m. Its mapped area is about 2.4 km across, with 7 marked runs and 3 lifts (about 5.4 km of piste in all).
Over the last twelve winters the ERA5 weather model gives it 143 cm of snowfall a season, 329th of the 397 ski areas we measure in Japan. Its winters are fairly steady; even the leanest, 2025/26 (95 cm), reached 66% of the average. March is usually the snowiest month, with about 51 cm. Snowfall days are cold, averaging −6.4 °C at mid-mountain, and its snow-quality score ranks 197th of 397 in Japan.
Below are links to 2 official live cameras.
Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear here once snow starts to fall. Until then, the long-run record comes first.
Elevation range is estimated by sampling points across the ski area.
How much snow it gets
Measured by us across 3,069 ski areas by one identical method. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
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 deliberately excludes how much snow falls — it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind. Snowing a lot and snowing well are different things.
Compared with what is nearby
Within 50 km straight line. Measured the same way, so the ranks compare directly. Ski areas a few kilometres apart share a weather grid cell and can return the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tateshina Tokyu Ski Area | 4.9 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
| Shirakaba 2 in 1 | 5.3 km | 133 cm | 1909 |
| Yachiho Kōgen Ski Resort | 5.7 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
| Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai Ski | 6.6 km | 140 cm | 1801 |
| Shirakabako Royal Hill | 7.0 km | 133 cm | 1909 |
When it falls, and how winters differ
Month by month
Month by month, the most snow falls in March. March brings as much as January, or more. In amount, March brings 51 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Winter by winter
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 143 cm, and 7 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2025/26 with 95 cm; the biggest was 2023/24 with 186 cm (2.0 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
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.
Run map
The shape of the mountain
Which way the slopes face
Only 1% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. More of the terrain faces the sun.
By difficulty
Lift types
- Chairlift2
- 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.
Live Cameras
Road conditions decide whether you can get there at all. Check before you leave.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Shirakaba and Kurumayama webcams & snow report — all 10 ski areas →
Official YouTube channel
More than we show here.
Hot springs nearby, as analysed
25 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 90.5 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH | Type | Analysed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 蓼科温泉親湯 | 3.8 km | 29.5℃ lukewarm | 3.6 mildly acidic | simple | 1983 |
| 渋川温泉 | 3.9 km | 19.5℃ cold | 4.2 mildly acidic | iron | 1965 |
| 奥蓼科温泉渋川温泉ホテル | 3.9 km | 19.5℃ cold | 4 mildly acidic | — | 1980 |
| 奥蓼科温泉明治湯 | 4.2 km | 24.2℃ cold | 4 mildly acidic | iron | 1980 |
| 奥蓼科温泉明治上湯 | 4.2 km | 22.2℃ cold | 3.9 mildly acidic | iron | 1980 |
| a spring in 茅野市三室平6号 | 4.7 km | 90.5℃ hot | 2.8 acidic | chloride, sulphate, acidic | 1969 |
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
Places within 20 km of this ski area, for a day off the slopes or an evening. Chosen from those most read about on Wikipedia, favouring places with an English Wikipedia article, and listed nearest first.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kitayatsugatake Ropeway北八ヶ岳ロープウエイ | Nature | 0 km |
| Mount Kitayoko北横岳 | Mountain | 1.5 km |
| Mount Tateshina蓼科山 | Mountain | 3.6 km |
| Lake Megami女神湖 | Nature | 8 km |
| Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group八ヶ岳 | Nature | 12.6 km |
| Suwa taisha諏訪大社 | Shrine | 19.3 km |
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.
Map
Where it sits relative to nearby resorts. For a piste map, see the official site.
Official piste map ↗Places to stay nearby
17 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within 3 km of this ski area, listed cheapest first.
| Property | From | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| サンダンス・リゾート蓼科 | ¥5,370 | 4.16 49 reviews | 3.0 km | 茅野駅よりお車にて約５０分 |
| ポイントバケーション蓼科高原 | ¥5,750 | 4.40 41 reviews | 1.7 km | 茅野駅からバス41分／北八ヶ岳ロープウェイから車5分・徒歩23分／諏訪南ICから50分 |
| ペンション ピラタス ２ | ¥6,300 | 3.33 6 reviews | 1.3 km | ＪＲ中央本線 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行路線バスにて５０分、終点下車、徒歩にて７分 |
| 泊まれるレストラン ペンションピラタス | ¥7,300 | 4.45 86 reviews | 1.2 km | 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行き路線バスで約５０分「北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ」下車後、徒歩約７分 |
| 森のペンション・リトルフット | ¥7,500 | 4.43 18 reviews | 1.3 km | 中央本線「茅野駅」よりバスにて５０分。中央道 諏訪ＩＣよりビーナスラインを４０分。 |
| ペンション グリーンアローズ | ¥9,000 | — | 1.5 km | JR茅野駅よりタクシーで40分 |
| ペンション 蓼科倶楽部 | ¥9,000 | 4.73 34 reviews | 2.8 km | 中央道諏訪ICより車で35分。ビーナスライン沿いに立地。 |
| 四季の宿 すばる | ¥9,400 | 3.71 43 reviews | 1.4 km | ＪＲ中央線 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行バスで約５０分。終点下車し徒歩８分。 |
| 絶景の宿 ドレミファン！ | ¥9,900 | 4.83 294 reviews | 1.2 km | ＪＲ茅野駅よりピラタスロープウェイ行きバス５０分。 |
| 蓼科リゾートイン プリマリオ | ¥11,990 | 4.00 27 reviews | 1.1 km | 中央道諏訪ICより４０分。ＪＲ茅野駅よりバス４０分 |
| ハイランドリゾート アゲイン | ¥13,800 | 4.33 8 reviews | 1.4 km | JR中央線茅野駅より路線バス「ピラタスロープウェイ行」終点下車／中央道諏訪ICビーナスライン |
| ラリックス蓼科Ｖｉｌｌａ ＾ | ¥15,080 | — | 1.2 km | 茅野駅から車で約２８分 |
Show the other 5
| Property | From | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ペンションサンセットお料理自慢の宿 | ¥16,500 | 4.86 126 reviews | 1.4 km | 中央道 諏訪ＩCよりクルマ４０分／ＪＲ中央線 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行バス約５０分終点下車、急な登山道徒歩３０分 |
| 露天風呂のオーベルジュ つつじとかえで | ¥18,500 | 5.00 50 reviews | 2.0 km | ＪＲ 中央線 茅野駅／アルピコバス「北八ヶ岳ロープ―ウェイ」行きバスにて５０分／石臼台別荘地下車より徒歩２分 |
| 蓼科高原 ヴィラ「山ぼうし」 ＾ | ¥20,713 | — | 1.0 km | 松原湖駅から車で１時間約２８分 |
| ペンション オルゴール | — | — | 1.3 km | ＪＲ中央線 茅野駅よりバス５０分 バス停まで送迎有り |
| ペンション 歩絵夢（ぽえむ） | — | — | 1.7 km | 中央本線 茅野駅よりバス約４０分／中央高速 諏訪ICより約３０分／関越高速 佐久ICより約４０分 |
Contains advertising · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)
Stay nearby
2 places within 12 km of the slopes. Most of them do not take online bookings — open the map for contact details.
Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap
More places to look
Guides covering Nagano
- A Historic El Niño Is Forecast. Here Is What the Last Big One Did to Japan's Snow. NOAA gives a very strong El Niño better than a 90% chance this winter. We measured every Japanese ski area across the last 12 winters: El Niño winters ran 88% of normal, and the strongest of the twelve left Japan at 63%. But Hakuba held 92% of its average that winter while Niseko fell to 57%.
- Which Famous Ski Resorts Actually Get the Most Snow? 24 Names, Measured Niseko is 526th in the world for snowfall. Zermatt is 554th, Jackson Hole 924th, Aspen 1,201st. Measured identically across 3,069 ski areas, the names everyone books and the places it actually snows turn out to be two different lists.
- How Japan's Early-Bird Lift Tickets Work: At Hakuba Happo-One, Eight of the Nine Need a Japanese ID Card Hakuba Happo-One opened early-bird sales at 10:00 on 1 October. A day costs ¥6,400 against ¥9,800 at the window, 35% off. But every ticket on the list except one needs a My Number Card and a Japanese phone app. A visitor from abroad can buy exactly one of them, at 15% off.
Updated: 8 Oct 2026, 00:52