Day skiing at Joetsu Expressway SA / PA ski resort Nagano

Saku Ski Garden Parada ~ Nagano Day ski resort commutable from Tokyo and Saitama at the Saikudaira Parking area on the Joestsu Expressway

Day skiing in Nagano

Day skiing at a Parking area ski resort – Recently, we went skiing in Nagano. I use the term “skiing” as a general term for being in the snow, seen as very little skiing was actually accomplished. Plus, the snow was fake as at the time we were having a particularly warm winter. Regardless of the lack of real snow, or perhaps thanks to it, the kids had a blast. This is a good place to introduce young children to snow and/or skiing for the first time.

We went to Saku Ski Garden Parada which is a day resort; there is no night skiing and there is no hotel attached to it. We stayed in Karuizawa on one of our visits and commuted from Saitama in less than 2 hours on our next visit.

The resort says about 70% of their business is from families and that is the overall impression I got on our visits. There were kids of all ages enjoying the snow and plenty of younger kids in the designated snow play areas.

Parking area ski resort

A round up of what I like about Saku Ski Parada;

•  The resort has two parts – North and South. The South area is a Parking Area on the Joshin-etsu expressway meaning that, apart from being convenient, it is quite safe to travel to the South slopes even in the height of season. Update January 2022 the south slopes are closed and they seem to be doing some work on that side. But the North slopes are open.
  • (In Japan the highways are well maintained and serviced even in the snow. However, I would recommend snow tyres even for commuting to the South slopes, which are right on the highway. For the North slopes snow tyres are essential. Please note, if there has been a heavy fall, there is a possibility that the highway will be closed.)
• You can move between without restriction between the South and North slopes once you have paid into one. Actually, you don’t even have to pay if you just want to spectate. While the South slopes and amenities are literally right on the highway, the North, which has the better snow, is about 5 kilometres off the highway, through windy mountainous roads.
• Due to the spread of the areas the place is a good size and there aren’t a huge amount of lifts or courses; 7 of each.
• On our first trip we went to the South, and our more recent visit was to the North. Thanks to the division of the resort, the North can be less populated as it is harder to get to. On the day we went, I thought it was busy, but my husband told me that was only a tenth of how busy it gets.

With kids

• It is a very family friendly resort. They have rest areas and facilities for babies. We didn’t avail of it this time, but I like that there is a creche, where you can leave children while you ski. They take children from as young as 6 months old.
• Both North and South areas have a great kids play area. They can use sleds and tubing or just play in the snow. There is also bouncing castles. They have a mascot, which is a giant beetle, which comes around to meet the kids.
• There is a snow escalutor in the kids play area.
• They have lessons for kids from as young as 3 years old.
• It is part of the family ski group; you could apply for a free lesson for a primary school aged child at the resort, but the closing date is gone for this year.

Preparation

•  We didn’t need to bring very much with us in terms of changes of clothes and we could hire boots and equipment there. We brought our own apparel and sleds. Clark’s winter lined boots sufficed for our 3 year old and 1 year old, as they were just playing in the snow, and we rented proper ski boots for 4 year old and 6 year old.
• They have restaurants. The food is quite reasonable for the type of place that it is. The pizzas are good value and are actually quite nice. They are made up fresh, so expect to wait about 20 to 30 minutes for a pizza order to be ready. The fast food counter is just that – fast! They also have a self service restaurant.

Overall I thought it was good value, even for a family of six. I did have discounts for lift passes and for the play area, but asides from that the costs are fairly standard for that area.

Parking area ski resort Parada Information

Address:  2681 Shimohirao, Saku, Nagano 385-0003

TEL: North Parada – 0267-68-5116, South Parada – 0267-67-8100

For people coming by train it is also quite convenient as there is a free shuttle bus that takes 10 minutes from Sakudaira Station, which is less than an hour from Omiya by bullet train. It makes Parada a popular spot for those on a day ski trip from Tokyo or Saitama. From Tokyo its only 90 minutes by train and bus.

You can get up-to-date information on costs, snow, weather and more on the well maintained English webpage for the resort.

For things to do in Winter in Saitama, click here.

Accurate and up to date to the best of my knowledge at the time of publishing in 2016. Last update in 2019.