Okushigakogen officially tolerates freeriding, which offers powder lovers a sizeable chunk of terrain to explore. This sub-area also boasts some of the best quality snow in the ski area due to its elevation and orientation, so this often yields some great riding. The other notable freeride area is Shibutoge on the far side of Mt. Yokote. This seems like a largely forgotten zone and was incredibly quiet when we visited. This sub-area offers a large, if very mellow, off-piste area for skiers of all levels to cruise the pow.
Better ungroomed action elsewhere in Japan
Generally speaking, however, off-piste skiing is frowned upon in Shiga Kogen. Aside from the two resorts named above, the rest of the ungroomed terrain is pretty much roped off. There is a little sidecountry in-bounds action to enjoy, but the topographical features would often make further off-piste riding difficult in any case. All in all, it would be fair to say that if freeride is your thing, then you should probably head elsewhere in Japan.