Yuzawa Town Niigata
Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture is known as “yukiguni” which translates to “snow country”. This is very apt considering the many Yuzawa ski resorts get dumped on with snow each winter. The Yuzawa skiing and snowboarding is well renowned and popular because it’s the most convenient ski region to get to from Tokyo (only 75 to 80 minutes on the bullet train to Echigo Yuzawa).
Yuzawa skiing also has a distinct advantage because lots of the Yuzawa ski resorts are within very close proximity of each other, so it’s very easy to sample multiple ski resorts on the one trip.
And with the Yuzawa ski resorts, it doesn’t just need to be all about the skiing and snowboarding.
Pros and Cons of Yuzawa Japan
Pros
- Yuzawa is the most convenient ski region to get to from Tokyo. The big Shinkansen running through the middle of town detracts from its attractiveness but it sure makes it mighty accessible.
- Yuzawa has a high concentration of ski resorts, providing an abundant variety of slopes to choose from, and if you stay in town, it’s easy to get to lots of the resorts via bus.
- The views across the mountains are rather spectacular.
- The town of Yuzawa is not overrun with gaijin, so a Yuzawa snowboarding or skiing trip can provide lovely cultural immersion.
- Staying in the town of Yuzawa provides a nice “non-resortified” Japanese experience.
- There are lots of Yuzawa restaurants and bars to choose from, including some where you can partake in karaoke, a quintessential Japanese activity!
Cons
- Yuzawa is an onsen town, but if you have images of a pretty little traditional town with cobble stone pathways and folks wandering round in their yukatas on the way to the onsen (like Shibu Onsen or Yudanaka), you’re thinking of the wrong town.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- Due to its accessibility, Yuzawa can get slammed with crowds on the weekends and many of the slopes become congested, particularly at the ski resorts that are the easiest to get to. Most Tokyo-ites only stay for Saturday night and accommodation availability on Saturdays can be scarce and hotels tariffs are hiked up. Conversely if you can travel mid-week, Yuzawa is a great value for money ski destination and crowds are fine.
- Most of the Yuzawa ski resorts are ideal for beginners and intermediate skiers and snowboarders wanting to ride groomed runs. Only a few of the resorts are well suited to powder hounds wanting to ride off-piste.
Yuzawa Ski Resorts
There are about a dozen ski resorts within the Yuzawa town area and various ski areas in the neighbouring Minamiuonuma city.
The Yuzawa ski resort line-up ranges from little ski areas with less than a handful of lifts to interconnected mega resorts such as
Naeba and
Kagura. Another example of a large interconnected Yuzawa ski area is the
Gala Yuzawa,
Yuzawa Kogen and
Ishiuchi Maruyama trio. These inter-connected ski areas of Kagura/Naeba and Gala/Yuzawa Kogen/Ishiuchi (Yuzawa Snow Link) offer cross-resort lift tickets.
Joetsu Kokusai and Iwaparra also offer a lift pass that’s valid at both ski areas, although these are not geographically co-located. Wouldn’t it be great if all the other Yuzawa ski resorts were more collaborative and offered a Yuzawa/Minami-Unonuma wide multi-day pass?! Alas, that’s not the case.
| Yuzawa Ski Areas to the South |
| Ski Area |
1°
Aspect |
Top
(m) |
Base
(m) |
Vert
(m) |
Runs |
Lifts |
Max **
Pitch ° |
Location
* |
| Naspa*** |
SE |
691 |
431 |
260 |
8 |
5 |
38 |
1.5km S |
| Kandatsu |
N |
1000 |
460 |
540 |
13 |
5 |
45 |
4.3km S |
| Iwappara |
SSE |
985 |
400 |
585 |
20 |
8 |
35 |
3.5km E |
| Yuzawa Park |
NW |
650 |
440 |
210 |
11 |
6 |
31 |
5.5km E |
| Yuzawa Nakazato |
NW |
702 |
458 |
244 |
17 |
6 |
32 |
6km SE |
| Nakazato Snow Wood |
NW |
670 |
487 |
183 |
3 |
2 |
31 |
6.5km SE |
| Ludens Yuzawa (closed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6.5km SE |
| Kagura |
NE |
1845 |
620 |
1225 |
30 |
18 |
32 |
7.5km SW |
| Naeba |
E |
1789 |
900 |
889 |
22 |
12 |
32 |
21km S |
* distance relative to Echigo Yuzawa train station ** max pitch is on-piste *** skiing only
| Ski Areas to the North of Echigo Yuzawa Train Station |
| Ski Area |
1°
Aspect |
Top
(m) |
Base
(m) |
Vert
(m) |
Runs |
Lifts |
Max **
Pitch ° |
Location
* |
| Yuzawa Kogen |
NE |
1170 |
330 |
840 |
7 |
5 |
30 |
0.5km NW |
| Gala Yuzawa |
E |
1181 |
358 |
823 |
16 |
11 |
33 |
3km NW |
| Ishiuchi Maruyama |
NE |
920 |
256 |
664 |
23 |
14 |
35 |
5km N |
| Maiko |
NNW |
920 |
260 |
660 |
26 |
10 |
32 |
9km N |
| Mt Granview - closed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9km N |
| Joetsu Kokusai |
SE to E |
1017 |
200 |
817 |
22 |
19 |
38 |
14km N |
| Chateau Shiozawa |
SE |
579 |
210 |
369 |
7 |
4 |
37 |
16km N |
| Muikamachi Hakkaisan |
SW |
1147 |
355 |
792 |
15 |
4 |
38 |
30km NE |
* distance relative to Echigo Yuzawa train station ** max pitch is on-piste
You can also click on the map icon above to see the locations of the Yuzawa ski resorts. You can also see how we rate these Yuzawa ski areas on our
Honshu ski resort ratings, and we outline the pros and cons on our write-ups of each ski area.
Where is Yuzawa?
Yuzawa is located in the Niigata Prefecture, about 200km northwest of Tokyo. Getting from Tokyo to Yuzawa on the Joetsu Shinkansen (bullet train) is very fast, so even though it seems very close to Tokyo, Yuzawa feels worlds away from the buzz of the highly urbanised Tokyo.
Once in Yuzawa, it’s really easy to get to the many Yuzawa ski resorts via buses and train.
Yuzawa Hotels
If you want to sample multiple ski resorts in Yuzawa, you can stay in Yuzawa and enjoy the non-resortified experience of a Japanese town. There are lots of options for Yuzawa hotels ranging from Japanese ryokans and family run inns to western style hotels, and various budgets are covered.
Yuzawa Hotel Listings
Or if you want to stay slopeside and enjoy the convenience of ski-in ski-out accommodation, some of the ski resorts have a range of lodging options:
Yuzawa Activities
The town and region are well known for the onsen (hot springs) so it seems only fitting to have a soak to sooth your weary muscles after skiing or snowboarding. There are onsen at some of the Yuzawa hotels, at public bath houses, at many of the ski resorts, or there’s the foot bath on the main street of Yuzawa.
The area also has a lot of fireworks displays and it seems that each Yuzawa ski resort has to take it in turns to host the display.
And if you’ve got a chance, check out the Echigo-Yuzawa train station. In addition to the many market stalls where you can sample your way around all the Japanese snacks, it’s nice to visit the sake museum and learn about the art of sake making the best way; by tasting it! You can even have a sake onsen.