Where is Gala Yuzawa?

The Gala Yuzawa Ski Resort is 3km northwest of the town of Yuzawa in the Niigata Prefecture of Honshu, which is about 200km northwest of Tokyo. Gala Yuzawa is just south of the inter-connected Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort and just north of the Yuzawa Kogen Ski Resort.

You can see the map of the Yuzawa ski resorts via the map icon above.

Train to Gala Yuzawa

Gala Yuzawa is a rather unique ski resort because it has its own Shinkansen station at the base, which is operational during the ski season. The ski resort is even owned by JR. To get to Gala Yuzawa from Tokyo, it’s a speedy ride on the Joetsu Shinkansen to the Gala Yuzawa station which is sometimes as little as 75 minutes. On weekends it can be very busy when loads of Tokyo-ites pile out of the bullet train into the base building.

Check out google maps or Japan Travel Navitime for train timetables. Not all trains stop at Gala Yuzawa so the other option is to head to Echigo Yuzawa Station (the main Yuzawa train station – where you can taste sake and check out the interesting shopping!) and then get a free bus to the ski resort, which takes about 5 minutes.

Driving to Gala Yuzawa

Of course you could also drive to Gala Yuzawa, although the traffic can get very snarly on the weekends.

The phone number for GPS navigation is 025-785-6421. Gala Yuzawa Ski Resort is only about a 5 minute drive from the Yuzawa Interchange on the Kan-Etsu Expressway. Gala Yuzawa station is the large white building set back to your left after 3 km. Take a left at the large GALA Yuzawa sign which will lead you to the car parks. Parking is free.

Bus to Gala Yuzawa

There is a myriad of free bus routes around the town of Yuzawa that head to Gala Yuzawa, including buses from both sides of the train station. One example is a very regular bus service between Naspa Ski Garden, the Yuzawa Grand Hotel (opposite the Echigo Yuzawa train station west exit), Yuzawa Toei Hotel (next to Yuzawa Kogen), Yuzawa Kogen ski resort, and Gala Yuzawa. The bus goes every 15-30 minutes depending on the time of day.

Other Transport to Gala Yuzawa

If you’re staying in central Yuzawa accommodation, the other option is to walk to the Yuzawa Kogen Ropeway and with a tri-area pass, it’s easy enough just to ski or snowboard over to Gala Yuzawa Ski Resort.

Other Ski Resorts Nearby

There are lots of nearby ski resorts in the Yuzawa and Minami-uonuma area. See the getting to the Yuzawa ski resorts page for the locations of the other Yuzawa ski resorts.