Gransnow Okuibuki
Gransnow Okuibuki Ski Resort in Shiga Prefecture is a very popular ski resort because of its proximity and ease of transport from the heavily populated cities of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The popularity of Oku Ibuki also stems from it being one of the largest ski resorts in the Kansai region, although that’s not saying much.
In a land where humility is considered a virtue, the Gransnow Okuibuki Ski Resort sure makes a lot of grand claims. The marketing team at Gransnow Okuibuki don’t just embellish their strengths but also make stuff up. As an example, they claim that Okuibuki has “the world’s greatest powder snowfalls”. What a farce (see the snow section below regarding this claim to fame)! Okuibuki has “a Whopping 14 trails” and note that this is with a capital “W”! The ski resort certainly has a mere 14 trails, so perhaps they think that “whopping” relates to something akin to telling a whopper! They rave about the high elevation, which might be impressive if Oku Ibuki was located way further north in Hokkaido. The marketing BS also includes that they have the “the fastest lift in Japan” at 5m per second. There are various gondolas and cable cars in Japan that go faster than that, and there’s little point boasting about a fast lift that generally runs slowly and stops frequently to cope with the vast number of beginners who have difficulty getting on and off the lift! And this boasting about the speed of the lift doesn’t take into account how long it takes to stand in the lift queues.
Despite the marketing team being on drugs, Gransnow Okuibuki Ski Resort has its place for the Kansai region. It accommodates the needs of beginners and others skiing in Japan for the first time who are visiting Kyoto, and it’s an OK proposition for some piste and park if you can’t commit to going to the ski resorts further north in the prefectures of Nagano and Niigata.
Pros and Cons of Gransnow Okuibuki
Pros
- It is an OK sized ski resort by Kansai region standards.
- Oku Ibuki is very family friendly and the kids park for snow play and tobogganing is popular.
- The pricing of lift passes and rentals are quite reasonable.
Cons
- As one of the most visited ski resorts in Japan, and considering it’s not that big, it can get ridiculously crowded on weekends and holidays. Good luck!
- A few of the runs at Gransnow are narrow, which exacerbates the congestion.
- A few of the lifts weren’t well planned and you have to walk uphill to get to the next lift.
- Like a lot of ski resorts in Japan, there is very little on offer for the advanced skier or rider and off-piste opportunities are limited.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- Gransnow Okuibuki is close to Kyoto and Osaka, and also the Nagahama Castle, so it’s easy to combine skiing with other parts of your Japan holiday.
- Like other ski resorts near big cities, weekdays are the pick.
- Okuibuki can get some decent snowfalls, but it is unreliable, and the ski area relies heavily on manmade snow.
Gransnow Okuibuki Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Okuibuki Ski Resort is a small to medium sized Japanese ski resort with 14 trails, and only 13 of these are open to snowboarding. That’s of course if all the runs are open. There are two distinct sides to the ski area, with lookers’ left heading up to Sunrise Mountain at 1,045m elevation, and lookers’ right up to 1,250 metres. The base is at 700m, so the vertical is 550 metres. See the chuckle worthy Gransnow Okuibuki ski trail map below.
Gransnow Ski Resort has 9 chair lifts which comprises 1 quad, 1 triple, and 7 doubles of which 2 run in parallel, plus a magic carpet. Like too many ski areas in Japan, the lift lines are poorly organised which adds to the wait times.
The terrain itself is quite good for beginners and it would be a nice spot to learn on weekdays, whilst weekends may pose some challenges as people crash into each other, especially considering there are terrain park features on a key beginner run.
Intermediates have a handful of runs and the upper slopes tend to be less clogged. There are only 3 black runs. The Champion Course is for skiers only, so the moguls have a nice consistent shape (that’s if you find moguls “nice”). The Heavenly Course reaches a maximum of 46 degrees gradient. You guessed it - the resort claims it’s the steepest run in Japan! What the resort doesn’t tell you is that the run is rarely open because it doesn’t have enough snow, or it has glide cracks that weren’t managed earlier in the season, or it's covered in icy bumps.
Pending the right snow conditions, there is a little bit of off-piste fun to be had off the top 2 lifts.
Gransnow Okuibuki has a terrain park with a few kickers and a couple of boxes and tabletops.
Okuibuki Snow
It’s likely that the “Gransnow” part of the name is because the resort thinks it has record breaking snowfalls. Mount Ibuki, which is sort of nearby and is 1,377 metres high, broke the Guiness Book of World Records for the most snowfall in 24 hours (2.3 metres) and the deepest snowpack measured at 11.8 metres. But get this, the record was set way back in 1927!!
The annual snowfall at Gransnow Okuibuki is not recorded or cited in the 21st century. These days, Gransnow Okuibuiki gets good seasons and has a base of over 1.5 metres, whilst other seasons the snow is mostly contained to the piste, with bare patches off the trails. The ski area is quite close to Wakasa Bay on the Sea of Japan, so it often scores well from the “sea effect” storms that come in from the NW, but the snow is not consistent. With a southerly position, a modest elevation, and a mostly westerly aspect, the snow is not what it once was. Thankfully the two top lifts have some northerly orientation. See the Japan snow statistics for ski resort comparisons for latitude, elevation and aspect.
Gransnow has lots of piste with snow guns. If the ski resort was to break a record, it would be for the size of the snow making whales it creates in early season.
Where is Gransnow Okuibuki?
Gransnow Ski Resort is located in Maibara City in northern Shiga Prefecture. The ski area is to the northeast of Lake Biwa and not far from the border with the Gifu Prefecture.
Road distances to Oku:
- Nagoya is 81km to the southeast
- Kyoto is 114km to the southwest
- Osaka is 158km to the southwest
- Kansai International Airport is 200km to the southwest
- Chubu Centrair International Airport is 127km to the southeast
- Nagahama Castle Historical Museum is 32km to the southwest
- Biwako Valley Ski Resort is 102km to the southeast (but a long drive)
- Tokyo is 421km to the east
Maibara Station is the closest shinkansen station to Okuibuki (see google maps for train routes, timetables and fares) from which there are moderately priced shuttle buses that take 55 minutes. There are also direct buses from Osaka Station (3 hours), Kyoto Station (2.5 hours), and Nagoya Station (2 hours).
If you’re driving there, the car park is massive and there are shuttles to get you near the base, plus an escalator to get you up to the day lodge.
Okuibuki Accommodation
This is a ski resort for a day trip, so chances are you’ll be staying in Osaka or Kyoto. Or if you’re also in the area to visit the Nagahama Castle, you may want to stay in the towns of Nagahama or Maibara.
Ski Resort Facilities
Gransnow Okuibuki has a modern day lodge that houses many of the amenities. It has a large rental shop for ski and snowboard equipment and clothing, which can get very busy on weekends. There’s also a retail shop for basic accessories such as beanies, goggles and gloves. Ski school offers private lessons in English.
The resort has 3 restaurants, although it can be hard to get a seat at lunch time on peak days, in part because of the custom to use the table to have a nap or store gear.
The kids snow play park is a major feature of the ski resort and is popular with adults too.