Suffice to say that you probably aren’t heading to the mountains of Japan for the nightlife and that’s probably a good thing! If you are, you will likely come back disappointed. That being said, Shiga Kogen still offers up a few activities after the lifts close for the day, just don’t expect any umbrella bars…
On visiting, you quickly come to realise that most of the bars and restaurants here are pooled in the large hotels which populate the valley. There is a specific reason for this – as the ski area is located in a national park, bars are only permitted within hotels. Most of the life after dark tends to centre around Ichinose and Yakebitaiyama but this only involves a few bars and not much else. If you choose to stay down in Yudanaka (as we did) there is much more on offer and we can definitely recommend Chamise (incredible cocktails with miso) and D-Line for food and drinks after dark.