On first glance at the trail map we were astonished – no restaurants! Luckily, this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are in fact that many eateries and cafés spread throughout the extensive Shiga Kogen valley that they didn’t even bother marking them all on the overall ski map! But fear not – each individual ski resort and section of the ski area has its own trail map and the eating options are all meticulously marked on there.
Views and food on top of Mt. Yokote
The first striking thing about on-mountain dining in Shiga Kogen is that most of it actually isn’t “on-mountain” at all, as the vast majority of lodges are down in the valley, many of them housed within the large hotels. One notable exception is the two quirky eateries up on the summit of Mt. Yokote in the Yokoteyama sub-area. Here you can soak in the most incredible views over the entire Northern Alps chain from the Crumpet Café or Yokoteyama Bakery. The former came as a little bit of surprise to us – emblazoned with British flags and selling food and drink combinations with that most British of snacks: the humble crumpet. The Yokoteyama Bakery meanwhile claims to be Japan’s highest bakery and offers fresh bread and even a bed for the night. Judging by the photos on the wall, the sunrise and sunset up here must be incredible.
Hotel restaurants – good but pricy
The resorts further north tend to pool most of the eateries around the gondola base stations and valley hotels. Run by the Prince Hotels Group, the latter are huge establishments, each offering a range of different restaurants catering to different tastes – from western to typical Japanese fare. We found these restaurants to all be fairly high quality but also slightly pricier than expected. In the middle section of the valley around Giant and Hoppo Bunadaira, the eateries have a much more “European” look to them. Nevertheless, closer inspection usually reveals that they also serve the typical Japanese mountain fare of rice dishes, meat and ramen bowls.
Curry and Italian also on offer
If you like your food spicy then be sure to have a lunch at the Kamoshika Ethnic Beer House in Ichinose. It offers an all-you-can-eat buffet option as well as à la carte on a range of curry, rice and naan dishes. This was one of the best-value eateries we saw in the valley and we particularly enjoyed the naan bread. If you are looking for something slightly more upmarket, then the Italian restaurant La Stella Alpina in Okushigakogen fits the bill. Good Italian food isn’t easy to come by in Japan but we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch here. Washed down with some of that delicious local Shiga Kogen Pale Ale (a must for beer lovers), it was an excellent meal.