Yuzawa Restaurants & Bars

One of the lovely things about the town of Yuzawa is its many restaurants and little bars. After a big day of skiing or snowboarding, and then your obligatory onsen, it’s time to wander the streets in search of some great Japanese food. 

Yuzawa Restaurants

The highest concentration of Yuzawa restaurants is on the street (462) that runs parallel to the train line, outside the Echigo Yuzawa train station west exit. Also head up some of the little laneways and side streets to explore.

The restaurants are mostly Japanese (this is Japan after all!) but there is plenty of variety including izakayas, teppanyaki, and lots of seafood specialty restaurants. Some restaurants have English menus, some have picture menus, and some neither.

Our favourite Yuzawa restaurant was probably more of a bar considering its name was “Bar” (+81 25-784-3441)! It’s not on the “restaurant side” of town, but rather you need to head out the station east exit, go down the street with the covered footpath, and then turn left and the restaurant is about 50 metres along on the left. The fare includes a big range of sushi and lots of other treats. There are no English or picture menus, but this is part of the fun of Japan! Best of all, this bar specialises in sake tasting. It has a big fridge full of all sorts of fantastic sake that’s very reasonably priced and you can sample away! It’s an aesthetically pleasing establishment with a bar made of raw timber. You might need to book if it's the weekend.

For day time fare and coffee you might want to try the Mizuya coffee shop that has the foot onsen outside (opposite the west exit of the station). It’s a beautiful building with some nice cakes and onsen fed filtered coffee – a unique experience!

Otherwise head to the Echigo Yuzawa train station where there are various restaurants and cafes and take-away food outlets.

Yuzawa Bars

A very good Yuzawa bar is the Swing Bar, which is managed by made keen skiers so it’s a good place to go to pick their brains about some of the best ski and snowboard spots around Yuzawa.

Many of the little bars have karaoke on offer, so drink some sake and then get your game face on!