Shiga Kogen

Shiga Kogen is a sprawling volcanic highland in the mountains of northern Nagano, part of Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, and one of the finest natural playgrounds in central Japan. In winter it is the country's largest connected ski resort, a maze of interlinked slopes and lifts that hosted events at the 1998 Nagano Olympics; in the green months it becomes a serene world of alpine ponds, wetland marshes, virgin forest and cool mountain air, protected as a UNESCO biosphere reserve for its exceptional biodiversity. Few places in Japan pack so much varied nature into a single accessible plateau.

The defining feature of the summer landscape is water. Scattered across the highland are dozens of ponds and small lakes, many formed by ancient volcanic activity and glacial action, ringed by larch and beech forest and fringed with marshland. Well-maintained walking trails link them, ranging from short, flat loops suitable for families to longer routes that climb between the peaks. Ponds such as Onuma, Maruike and Kido offer mirror-still reflections of the surrounding mountains, while the marshes burst with alpine wildflowers in June and July and turn to gold and crimson in the autumn colour season, which arrives here earlier than on the plains below.

Ropeways and chairlifts that serve skiers in winter keep running in summer to lift walkers up to the higher trailheads, making the alpine zone unusually easy to reach. From the top of the Higashitateyama ropeway, gentle paths thread through highland meadows past a string of ponds, and on clear days the views extend across the ranges of the Japan Alps. Birdwatchers prize the reserve for its woodland and wetland species, and the forests shelter deer, foxes and, higher up, occasional sightings of larger wildlife.

Shiga Kogen sits at the heart of a region rich in other attractions. Below it lies the Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen hot-spring valley, and nearby is the famous Jigokudani Monkey Park, where wild macaques bathe in steaming pools; combining the highland with a soak in an onsen and a visit to the snow monkeys makes for a classic northern Nagano itinerary. The altitude keeps summers cool and comfortable, a welcome escape from the humid lowland heat.

Access is straightforward despite the mountain setting. From Nagano Station, reachable in about 90 minutes from Tokyo on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, take the Nagano Electric Railway to Yudanaka, then a local bus that climbs up into the highland in 40 minutes to a little over an hour depending on your destination within the resort. In winter, buses connect directly to the ski bases. A network of hotels and lodges scattered across the plateau makes it easy to stay a night or two and explore the ponds and peaks at leisure, whether on skis in the snow season or on foot amid the summer greenery.