Destination Madarao Kogen Guide

Destination Madarao Kogen is your independent Madarao Kogen guide. See more about us here.

Madarao Kogen & Tangram Resorts in Iiyama City  and the surrounding areas are more than just an increasingly popular ski resort area. Mount Madarao is located deep within the heart of the Japan Alps at the northernmost part of Nagano Prefecture, making it an excellent retreat during any of the four seasons. Here you can experience "ancient" Japan by visiting the many remaining temples or just by viewing its traditional landscapes that are spread across the region. Iiyama City is a former castle town within the Okushinano region of Nagano with many old Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples still standing side by side. The Chikuma River (the longest river in Japan) runs through the centre of the area and becomes known as the Shinano River when it passes into Niigata Prefecture. A virgin beech forest covers 400ha of Mt. Nabekura, providing great opportunities for hiking and sightseeing. The area prides itself on 'green tourism' and is known as 'Japan's Hometown' and 'Little Kyoto'.

• Easy access. Two hours from Tokyo via shinkansen
• Two great resorts co-joined on one ticket
• Trees runs, jumps and the famous Mada-pow!
• English ski school and rentals
• Great range of accommodation to suit all budgets
• Easy access to Nozawa, Togari & Myoko resorts
• Onsen, restaurants and kids activities.

Madarao is a great choice for your Japan ski holiday. Families are well catered for with kid's lessons and rentals in English. Skiers can slay some Madapow in both Madarao Kogen and Tangram Ski Circus ski resorts on the same day ticket. Need to check out some other lines? Nozawa Onsen and the Myoko Kogen resorts are only a short shuttle away whilst Togari Onsen and Kurohime Kogen are also a close drive away. Please refer to our ski and snowboard page for further information. You can check out current conditions at Tangram and Madarao resorts via our live web cams or Madarao Snow Report.

Need a place to stay? There’s a wide variety of accommodation in Madarao Kogen to suit all tastes and budgets from small cosy family pensions to newly renovated lodges, backpacker/hostel type offerings plus some large resort type hotels with great facilities like indoor heated pools. You can check out all the options here or go straight to our secure Madarao booking engine for some great deals. Need some help choosing your Madarao hotel? Contact us via the form here.

Check here for Nozawa accommodation, here for Togari accommodation, here for Lake Nojiri accommodation or here for Myoko accommodation.

Need a car? Madarao car rentals. Pick up at Iiyama or Nagano Station. Click on the above for the best Madarao car rental deals.

Located north-west of Tokyo and 30-60 minutes from Nagano City, getting to Madarao is super easy. See our comprehensive directions to Madarao here. For medium-large groups we can help organise a direct shuttle from the airport or other resorts, whilst shared shuttles are available for individuals. Also find downloadable Madarao ski trail maps and check our comprehensive Google map of Madarao/Tangram.

We can also help arrange all of your needs for a great Madarao ski holiday – ski rental, ski school, child care and backcountry tours. Madarao ski lessons in English are mostly offered as private classes, but there are some opportunities for group lessons.

What about Madarao ski lift passes? You can save around 20-40% with the ski discount coupons and tickets that are available from your hotel or pension. If you pre-purchase online before arrival you can save even more!

Check out snow and weather conditions around the Madarao Kogen, Iiyama City, Tangram Resort, Snow Monkeys, Nozawa Onsen and Lake Nojiri areas via our Madarao webcams. These are usually updated every 30 minutes during the Madarao winter season.

Additionally these live cams display some of the local road conditions in case you are travelling in and around the area. The picture below comes the Madarao Kogen Hotel.

Weather

At our Madarao Snow Report & weather page you can check out all the latest Madarao weather forecasts plus, during the winter ski season, our daily Madarao Snow Report.

In addition to the great Madarao powder snow there are lots of other fun things to do away from your Madarao accommodation. For those having a ski rest day from their Madarao Kogen accommodation, or for non-skiers there is a variety of activities such as tours to various sites (Snow Monkeys, Zenkoji Temple, Lake Nojiri, Togakushi, ice fishing, shopping tours, etc.).  There are also events to take in such as the NY fireworks, a small fire festival, late night NY Eve skiing and much more! See here for more info…

Madarao Kogen tends to be a bit quieter in the eating and drinking department than it's near neighbours Myoko Kogen and Nozawa Onsen. Nonetheless after a day of getting in amongst the Madapow there are still a rapidly growing number of Madarao restaurants and bars in Madarao Kogen to relax with friends and meet locals. There is also a good selection of bars and restaurants down the hill in nearby Iiyama City, including everyone's favourite - a sushi train! Get more details here.

A number of Madarao hotels have onsen (hot springs) plus there are several fine public onsen to be found in the nearby vicinity, plus the novelty of an outdoor cave-like onsen at Silk Inn. Check out our Madarao Onsen info page to find the best places to soak.