Online Hostel Bookings Hostels and inexpensive ryokan from $10 per night!

Car Rentals Compact cars from around 4,000 Yen/day!

Related Pages

Travel Sightseeing Niigata Prefecture Sports Skiing and Snowboarding Hot Springs

Related Questions

Going to Yuzawa Kogen  2 reactions, last updated 22 days ago

Japan Sightseeing Guide

Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Hakodate Furano Abashiri Noboribetsu Niseko Lake Toya Daisetsuzan Shiretoko Rishiri Rebun Akan Tohoku Sendai Matsushima Hiraizumi Akita Kakunodate Nyuto Onsen Aomori Hirosaki Lake Towada Shimokita Hanto Dewa Sanzan Aizu Kanto Tokyo Yokohama Kamakura Nikko Kinugawa Hakone Kawagoe Kusatsu Ikaho Minakami Narita Chubu Nagoya Inuyama Mt.Fuji Fujigoko Izu Peninsula Nagano Matsumoto Kamikochi Kiso Valley Hakuba Yudanaka Sado Island Takayama Shirakawa-go Gujo Gero Onsen Kanazawa Kansai Kyoto Osaka Nara Kobe Himeji Kinosaki Mount Koya Kumano Yoshino Amanohashidate Hikone Iga Ueno Ise Shima Chugoku Hiroshima Miyajima Onomichi Okayama Kurashiki Matsue Iwami Ginzan Iwakuni Yamaguchi Hagi Shikoku Takamatsu Kotohira Naoshima Matsuyama Uchiko Kochi Tokushima Naruto Kyushu Fukuoka Dazaifu Nagasaki Kumamoto Mount Aso Minamata Beppu Miyazaki Takachiho Kagoshima Kirishima Yakushima Okinawa Honto Miyako Yaeyama

Survey

How would you rate your experiences staying at Japanese hotels/ryokan? Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad Never stayed at one see results Other Surveys: Budget for ryokan stay Next trip to Japan Improvements to Tourism Financial Crisis Ski Destination Preferred way to stay at a ryokan Purpose of visit Most popular region Have you recently entered Japan?

japan-guide.com newsletter

Keeping you up to date on Japan travel and living related issues and site updates. Click here to subscribe!

Home - Travel - Sightseeing Guide - Chubu
Yuzawa Travel Guide	# 78   of 113 destinations in our travel guide

Naeba Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture is one of the largest and the most easily accessed ski areas from Tokyo. You can be on the slopes from Tokyo Station in under two hours. Yuzawa is known for deep powder and a long season, with some of its resorts open from mid November to late May. There are approximately twenty resorts in and around Yuzawa, varying in size from one to over thirty lifts. While some are near the town center, others are more remote, but they are all accessible by public transportation. A few resorts team up to offer combination lift tickets that give you access to all of the participating resorts. They are typically connected to each other so that you can ski or snowboard between them. Yuzawa is also known for its onsen (hot springs), with baths located at the ski resorts, hotels, public bath houses and shinkansen stations, including a sake bath as well as a sake museum at the Echigo-Yuzawa Station. Gala Yuzawa, Ishiuchi Maruyama, Yuzawa Kogen Group: A special combination ticket for all three resorts is available. It costs 4900 yen and can be bought at any of the three resorts' ticket counters. Gala Yuzawa Description Just 90 minutes from Tokyo Station, Gala Yuzawa is the easiest resort in Yuzawa to access by train. The gondola to the mountain leaves directly from the shinkansen station, but be sure to check the wind conditions before you leave as the gondola does not operate when it is windy. There is no night skiing, but a "Sunset ticket", good between 3 and 5, is offered (2000 yen). Season Early December to early May Lifts 11 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 4300 yen Rentals ski 3000 yen half day 8-1, 12-5 3200 yen board 3000 yen nighter N/A N/A clothes 2000 yen Access bus/train Joetsu Shinkansen to Gala Yuzawa Station car Three kilometers from Yuzawa Interchange Ishiuchi Maruyama Description Ishiuchi Maruyama is one of the oldest establishments in the Yuzawa area and is known to have great powder. The resort is fairly large and offers some really long runs. Season Mid December to early April Lifts 19 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 4200 yen Rentals ski 2500 yen half day 8-1, 12-5 3200 yen board 2500 yen nighter 5-9 2000 yen clothes 2500 yen Access bus/train Three mins walk from Ishiuchi Station or ten mins by free shuttle from Echigo-Yuzawa Station car Four kilometers from Shiozawa Ishiuchi Interchange Yuzawa Kogen Description Yuzawa Kogen is located near the Yuzawa Interchange and Echigo-Yuzawa Station. Season Mid December to early April Lifts 8 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 4000 yen Rentals ski 2500 yen half day 8-1, 12-5 3000 yen board 2500 yen nighter 5-9 1500 yen clothes 2000 yen Access bus/train Two mins by free shuttle bus from Echigo-Yuzawa Station car Two kilometers from Yuzawa Interchange Naeba, Kagura Group: A combination ticket for Naeba and Kagura costs 5000 yen. All tickets sold in Naeba are combination tickets, while a Kagura-only ticket costs 4000 yen. Naeba Description Naeba is operated by Prince Hotels and is very popular even though it is the most remote of the major Yuzawa resorts. It has a large number of lifts, with multiple lifts serving each run. The slopes are generally steep, and can become quite crowded on weekends. Naeba is connected to neighboring Kagura via the Dragondola, the world's longest gondola. Season Mid November to early May Lifts 30 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 5000 yen Rentals ski 4300 yen half day 4 hr block 3500 yen board 4300 yen nighter 4-9 2000 yen clothes 2700 yen Access bus/train 50 mins by bus from Echigo-Yuzawa Station car 21 kilometers from Yuzawa Interchange Kagura Description Known for having good powder and long runs, Kagura is reached by either the Kagura/Mitsumata or Tashiro gondolas. It is also connected to Naeba via the Dragondola. Kagura has the longest season of the Yuzawa resorts thanks to its location high up in the mountains. Night skiing is not offered. Season Late November to late May Lifts 26 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 4000 yen Rentals ski 3800 yen half day 8-1, 12-5 3000 yen board 3800 yen nighter N/A N/A clothes 1700 yen Access bus/train 25 mins by bus (300 yen) from Echigo-Yuzawa Station. car Eight Kilometers from Yuzawa Interchange. Unaffiliated Resorts: Iwappara Description Iwappara is located near the center of Yuzawa Town. The main area of Iwappara is extremely wide, well groomed and an excellent place for beginners. Be aware that there are no half day tickets available. Season Mid December to mid April Lifts 11 Lifts Tickets full day 7-6 4500 yen Rentals ski 3800 yen half day N/A N/A board 3800 yen nighter 5-8:30 2000 yen clothes 1200 yen Access bus/train 10 mins by bus (200 yen) from Echigo Yuzawa Station or a 15 min walk from Iwappara Skijo-mae Station. car Three kilometers from Yuzawa Interchange Joetsu Kokusai Description Joetsu Kokusai is one of Japan's largest resorts, spanning a number of mountains and valleys. It offers long runs and lots of powder. Joetsu Kokusai is about ten kilometers north of central Yuzawa. Season Mid December to early April Lifts 25 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 4000 yen Rentals ski 5000 yen half day 8-1, 12-5 3000 yen board 4000 yen nighter 5-9 1500 yen clothes 4000 yen Access bus/train 25 minutes by shuttle bus from Echigo-Yuzawa Station or a few steps from Joetsu Kokusai Skijo-mae Station. car Six kilometers from Shiozawa Ishiuchi Interchange. Maiko Korakuen Description Maiko Korakuen is a large park located near the Shiozawa Ishiuchi Interchange, about six kilometers north of central Yuzawa. This resort also has some of the best rental prices in the area. Season Mid December to early April Lifts 13 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 4200 yen Rentals ski 2000 yen half day 8-1, 12-5 3500 yen board 2000 yen nighter 5-9 1800 yen clothes 1500 yen Access bus/train 30 mins by bus from Echigo-Yuzawa Station (300 yen). car One kilometer from Shiozawa Ishiuchi Interchange Yuzawa Nakazato Description Yuzawa Nakazato has its own train station on the local JR Joetsu Line. This resort offers a large kids snow play area and snowmobile rides. Season Late December to early April Lifts 10 Lifts Tickets full day 8-5 3500 yen Rentals ski 3500 yen half day 8-1, 12-5 2500 yen board 3500 yen nighter 5-9 1500 yen clothes 3500 yen Access bus/train 20 minutes by free shuttle bus from Echigo-Yuzawa Station or a few steps outside Echigo-Nakazato Station. car Five kilometers from Yuzawa Interchange.

How to get there

By train Echigo-Yuzawa Station can be reached from Tokyo Station in about 75 minutes by Toki trains or in about 90 minutes by Tanigawa trains along the Joetsu Shinkansen. The one way journey costs around 6000 yen and is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass and JR East Pass. During winter, most Tanigawa trains continue to Gala Yuzawa Station. A discounted round trip ticket, the "Joetsu Ski Round Trip Ticket" is offered by JR for access to Yuzawa from greater Tokyo during the ski season. JR and travel agencies also sell a range of discount travel plans that combine a round trip to Yuzawa with lift passes and/or accommodation. By car Yuzawa is located along the Kanetsu Expressway, which connects Tokyo with Niigata. The drive from Tokyo to Yuzawa IC takes about two hours and costs 4600 yen in expressway tolls (one way in case of a regular car). Winter tires are required when there is snow.

Travel Community

Popularity of Yuzawa: Users who have been to Yuzawa: 41 Most visited: Ranked 78th out of 113 destinations Have you been to Yuzawa? No - I have not been there yetYes - no ratingYes - highly recommendedYes - recommendedYes - mildly interestingYes - nothing specialYes - not recommended Ratings for Yuzawa: japan-guide.com Rating:   outstanding   User Rating (by 16 users): 85/100   recommended User Feedback We strive to keep japan-guide.com up-to-date and accurate, and are always looking for ways to improve the user experience. If you have any updates, suggestions, corrections or opinions, please let us know:

English Links

Snow Japan The best resource on snow sports in Japan. Yuzawa Town Tourist Association Official English website. Kagura Resort Official English website. Naeba Resort Official English website. Joetsu Kokusai Resort (pdf) English pdf pamphlet of Joetsu Kokusai Resort.

Japanese Links

Gala Yuzawa Resort Official website. Iwappara Winter Resort Official website. Ishiuchi Maruyama Resort Official website. Maiko Korakuen Resort Official website. Yuzawa Kogen Resort Official website. Yuzawa Nakazato Resort Official website.