Suginohara is a very nice ski and snowboarding park that I went to a couple of times. I went from Nagano City driving along the Joshin-Etsu expressway north until the Myoko turnoff. You could also travel along route 18 from either north or south. There are also trains that run there on the Nagano-Naoetsu train line. Suginohara was absolutely beautiful on a sunny day with views of Nijiri-ko (lake), Madarao and nearby Kurohime mountain. There is a gondola that goes close to the top of the mountain and a long ski run down. Lift tickets are 4000Yen. Great!
