Sugadairakogen Pine Beak Ski Area is a ski area in Nagano, Japan, on slopes between roughly 1,246 and 1,485 m. Its mapped area is about 3.1 km across, with 29 marked runs and 6 lifts (about 16 km of piste in all).
Over the last twelve winters the ERA5 weather model gives it 153 cm of snowfall a season, 316th of the 397 ski areas we measure in Japan. It swings a lot from year to year: the biggest winter, 2014/15 (226 cm), brought more than twice as much as the leanest, 2025/26 (108 cm). March still brings 41 cm on average, close to January, its snowiest month. Weather models read low in the mountains: a Japan Meteorological Agency station 1.8 km away measured 379 cm a winter over the last three seasons, against 156 cm from the model. Snowfall days average −5.0 °C at mid-mountain, and its snow-quality score ranks 174th of 397 in Japan.
Below is a link to its official live camera.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugadaira Taro Area | 2.6 km | 153 cm | 1621 |
| Sugadaira Kogen Davos Hill Ski Area | 4.4 km | 153 cm | 1621 |
| Minenohara Kogen | 5.7 km | 198 cm | 1164 |
| Kazawa Snow Area | 12 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
| Palcall Tsumagoi Resort Ski & Hotel | 13 km | 178 cm | 1335 |
When it falls, and how winters differ
Month by month
Month by month, the most snow falls in January. March brings 93% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 41 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Winter by winter
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 153 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2025/26 with 108 cm; the biggest was 2014/15 with 226 cm (2.1 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
91% 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
Lift types
- Chairlift6
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
This ski area does not put a camera on its own slopes. The nearest live view is the road below.
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.
Sugadaira webcams & snow report — all 4 ski areas →
What was actually measured nearby
Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 菅平 weather station — 1.8 km from this ski area, 112 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 379 cm |
| 2023/24 | 509 cm |
| 2024/25 | 345 cm |
| 2025/26 | 284 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 156 cm.
A weather station is not a ski slope. We picked one at a similar elevation, but it stands in a valley or a village. More snow falls on the mountain above it. We have not tried to guess how much more.
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency historical records
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Azumaya四阿山 | Mountain | 9.4 km |
| Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters松代大本営跡 | Historic site | 10 km |
| Matsushiro Castle松代城 | Historic site | 11.5 km |
| Ueda Castle上田城 | Historic site | 14.2 km |
| Nagano Olympic Stadium長野オリンピックスタジアム | Leisure | 14.6 km |
| Zenkō-ji Temple善光寺 | Temple | 19.2 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
31 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within 3 km of this ski area, listed cheapest first.
| Property | From | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ロッヂ・ヴィスタ | ¥6,500 | — | 1.2 km | 北陸新幹線 上田駅から車で５０分 |
| 菅平高原 プチホテル ちょっと屋ガーデン | ¥6,710 | 4.50 14 reviews | 2.3 km | 上信越自動車道「上田菅平IC」または「須坂長野東IC」より30分／長野新幹線・信越本線 上田駅から車で50分 |
| ウッドラフ | ¥7,500 | 4.33 35 reviews | 0.4 km | JR上田駅よりバスにて55分、郵便局前下車バス停から送迎 |
| 菅平ホテル | ¥7,500 | 4.20 67 reviews | 2.0 km | 信越本線上田駅→バス・タクシーにて４０分／中央自動車道・長野自動車道「須坂長野東IC」→R４０６→菅平高原 |
| ロッジやまぼうし | ¥10,120 | 4.00 7 reviews | 3.5 km | 上田菅平IC・須坂長野東ICからいずれも約30分（約20km）、須坂駅からタクシーで約30分 |
| 菅平高原 ペンション ＥＳＴ(エスト)ＳＵＧＡＤＡＩＲＡ | ¥10,920 | 3.50 88 reviews | 1.9 km | 車：上信越道上田菅平ＩＣより２５分。電車：長野新幹線・上田駅→菅平高原行きバス・菅平アリーナまたは表太郎下車徒歩５分 |
| プチホテル ゾンタック | ¥14,000 | 1.00 9 reviews | 0.4 km | ＪＲ 上田駅より路線バスにて５０分「大松（オオマツ）」下車（送迎有り・要連絡） |
| 小さなロッヂ 青葡萄 | — | — | 0.4 km | 長野新幹線 上田駅よりバス３０分 |
| ロッジ＆レストラン八幡屋＜長野県＞ | — | — | 0.7 km | ＪＲ 上田駅よりバスで５５分／上田菅平ＩＣ・須坂長野東ＩＣより約２５分 |
| ロッヂありす | — | — | 0.8 km | 上信越道 上田菅平インター下車R144号より20km、30分 |
| 四季の宿 まさき | — | 5.00 5 reviews | 1.0 km | 長野新幹線 上田駅下車 上田バスで約50分 上信越自動車道 上田菅平ＩＣ～約３０分 |
| 菅平イナリールホテル | — | 3.86 7 reviews | 1.2 km | ＪＲ 上田駅よりバスにて５５分、お車にて４０分 |
Show the other 19
| Property | From | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ロッヂまえざわ | — | 4.83 17 reviews | 1.2 km | バス：上田駅より約50分。車：上信越道上田菅平ＩＣより約３０分。 |
| 菅平高原温泉ホテル | — | — | 1.9 km | 上信越道【上田・菅平I.C】から車で25分、JR北陸長野新幹線【上田駅】から菅平高原行きバスで60分 |
| 山本館＜長野県＞ | — | — | 1.9 km | 上田・菅平ICより車にて30分 |
| 上信越高原国立公園山岳リゾートロッヂ ホテル富士屋 | — | 4.50 17 reviews | 2.0 km | 上信越道・上田菅平ＩＣより車で３０分 |
| エーデルホテル | — | 4.33 38 reviews | 2.1 km | 長野新幹線上田駅より路線バス５０分/上信越道「上田・菅平」ICより２５分 |
| 太郎館 | — | 4.71 14 reviews | 2.1 km | 車：上信越道上田菅平ICで降り菅平方面へ30分 電車：JR上田駅 |
| リゾートイン 菅平スイスホテル | — | 4.25 51 reviews | 2.2 km | 関越道・上信越道から上田菅平ＩＣから１４４Ｒから４０６Ｒ |
| スポーツハイム初音館 | — | — | 2.2 km | 上田駅よりバス約５０分 上田菅平ＩＣより約２５分 |
| ホテル マッキンレー | — | 4.00 7 reviews | 2.3 km | 上田菅平ＩＣより車で３０分 ＪＲ新幹線上田下車 |
| 菅平リゾートマンション | — | — | 2.4 km | 上田駅よりお車で４０分、公共バスで１時間、上田菅平ＩＣより２０分、須坂長野東ＩＣより２０分 |
| ホテル亀屋 ＜長野県＞ | — | 3.83 23 reviews | 2.4 km | 上田駅からお車で４５分 |
| ホテル朝日 | — | — | 2.7 km | 上田駅よりバスにて５５分 |
| リゾートロッヂ すずもと | — | — | 3.1 km | 長野新幹線上田駅から車で45分／上信越道「上田菅平IC」より車で30分 |
| ホテルニューダボス | — | — | 3.3 km | 北陸新幹線 上田駅よりバス５５分 |
| ホテルやまびこ | — | 4.50 26 reviews | 3.3 km | 上田、菅平ＩＣ及び須坂、長野東ＩＣより約３０分。最寄りのバス停『菅平高原ダボス』までの送迎あり（要予約）。 |
| 菅平 サンホテル | — | 2.00 50 reviews | 3.3 km | ＪＲ 上田駅より菅平高原行きの上田バスにて「ダボス」バス停下車 ＊お電話頂ければお迎えに上がります＊ |
| ベル・フレール 鈴蘭舘 | — | 3.13 27 reviews | 3.4 km | 上田菅平ICから車で30分、JR上田駅よりバスで75分（路線バス延伸！最寄りバス停：菅平高原裏太郎より徒歩1分） |
| セッションクラブ | — | — | 3.5 km | ＪＲ長野新幹線 上田駅より菅平高原行きバスにて５５分／ダボスバス停より徒歩１５分 |
| 菅原高原 ペンション＆レストラン ＨＩＲＯＳＴＲＡＤＡ | — | — | 3.5 km | 上田菅平インターより約40分 |
Contains advertising · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)
Stay nearby
4 places within 12 km of the slopes. Most of them do not take online bookings — open the map for contact details.
Nearest: 0.5 km
Nearest first
- プチホテル ゾンタック Hotel 0.5 km
- 松代荘 Hotel 10.4 km
- Matsushiro Guesthouse Hotei-Ya Hostel 11 km
- メルキュール長野松代リゾート＆スパ Hotel 11.4 km
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