Naeba Ski Resort Japan

Naeba Ski Resort in Japan is a purpose-built resort that was born during the Japanese bubble economy era. Whilst it may lack the historical and traditional charm that is apparent at a few Japanese ski villages, it has the advantage of having well developed facilities and infrastructure.

The Naeba Prince Hotel forms the centrepiece of the resort and acts as the main accommodation and hub for restaurants, facilities and activities. This is one amazing juggernaut of a hotel! There is also a small town that grew around the ski area that almost turned into a ghost town for a while and is now slowly reviving itself. 

Pros and Cons of Naeba Japan

Pros 

• Naeba has lots of terrain to choose from.
• Naeba is connected with Kagura Ski Resort via a long gondola (albeit a slow connection) to form a big ski area by Japanese standards.
• It is quick and easy to get to Naeba from Tokyo.
• Naeba is good for intermediates and lower end advanced riders with plenty of steep groomers. Beginners will also be kept happy.
• Naeba Ski Resort has some good sidecountry and there are guided powder tours.
• The Prince Hotel is very conveniently ski-in ski-out.
• Compared to many of the Yuzawa ski resorts, the top elevation is much higher and the snow quality better.

Cons

• Due to ease of access from Tokyo, it gets busy on weekends at the hotel and the ski area. Expect to line up for everything.
• The ski resort is an ugly place. Even the town is not aesthetically pleasing, with its many high rise buildings, many of which sit vacant because the bubble era of skiing in Japan has passed.
• Naeba doesn’t get the same snow volumes compared to other Yuzawa ski resorts.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• Naeba is quite family friendly. Children 12 and under ski for free, there are child specific ski areas, and various activities to keep the little nippers entertained for hours. Small children can have lessons that progress from indoors to outdoors, whilst other ski and snowboard lessons in English are only in a private format for which you’ll pay a premium. Adults sans kids may not enjoy staying at the Prince Hotel.
• The resort lacks charm. The Naeba Prince Hotel offers a modern Japanese resort experience with a raft of conveniences.

Mt. Naeba

Naeba is linked to the Kagura ski resort to form a large area referred to as Mount Naeba. Kagura ski resort is made up of three ski areas: Kagura; Tashiro; and Mitsumata. Naeba and Kagura are interconnected by the Naeba-Tashiro Gondola aka the Dragondola, which is an impressive engineering feat.

Naeba Ski and Snowboard Terrain

Naeba is a large ski area by Japanese standards and it has 24 courses and 11 lifts. Naeba is best known for the piste runs, the groomers in particular, with an even spread of terrain for beginners, intermediates and advanced riders. Historically Naeba had a very restrictive off-piste policy with all the tasty areas roped off and Big Brother scalding off-piste offenders over the loudspeaker. The ski patrollers have relaxed somewhat over the years, but you might still come across an old-schooler.

The Naeba ski resort is also renowned for the infrastructure on offer for freestylers and families, with good terrain parks, a banked slalom course, kids’ snow park, kids’ indoor ski area, and family snowland.

Naeba has a decent lift system which includes 2 gondolas (one doesn’t always operate) and 4 high speed quad chair lifts.

Naeba Snow

Naeba gets a respectable amount of snow. It is thought to be about 6 to 8 metres per season, however this is much less than neighbouring Kagura that steals a lot of the precipitation as storms roll in from the northwest. The slopes have a mostly east facing aspect, whilst the elevation (900 to 1,789 metres) is high relative to other Yuzawa ski areas.

Where is the Naeba Ski Resort?

Naeba is located about 23 km south of the town of Yuzawa in the Niigata Prefecture, 184km northwest of Tokyo.

The train ride from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa on the Joetsu-Shinkansen takes only 70 to 90 minutes, and from the train station there are buses to Naeba that take about 30 to 50 minutes.

The different areas of Mt Naeba are interconnected via the slopes, but also via a local shuttle bus system.

Naeba Accommodation

The Naeba Prince Hotel is located directly in front of the ski area so it offers the fabulous convenience of being ski-in ski-out. The hotel has 1,299 rooms in total and a large variety of room configurations. The Prince Hotel is like a mini city and features lots of restaurants and extensive facilities such as karaoke, equipment rental, various shops, an onsen, game centre, Mahjong room, and kids’ recreation room. With all that on offer you’ll never need to leave the hotel, except of course to go and rip up the slopes!

Other Naeba accommodation is located a little further away from the ski area and includes various hotels and cosy pensions. Some have been renovated, although many are very dated and hail from the bubble era.

You can search for and book Naeba accommodation here.

If you want to stay in Naeba and get first lifts at Kagura on a powder day, you’ll want to have access to a car.