Snow Explorers

Hardly anyone stayed for the night session. To be fair it had been snowing heavily non stop for the whole day. Everyone is probably resting up for tomorrow. Last runs for the season so I was going to make the most of it.

The Zashiki lounge is a free rest area where you can chill. Next door is the Gala no Yu with indoor and outdoor onsen and childrens pool.

The slick looking Gravity Yuzawa shop had gear from Goldwin, Northface, Anon and Smith. A lot of the goods were discounted. They had their own branded tee shirts which would make good souvenirs.

The landscape in Yuzawa is stunning.

Niigata specialty tare katsudon, which is deep fried pork cutlets dipped in a special sauce. Not a fan. Not sure why you would want to have soggy katsu.

Ishiuchi has 18 restaurants scattered throughout the resort. Pretty cool how there are yakiniku, ramen restaurants and izakayas mid-mountain.

Night skiing at Ishiuchi was awesome. This was one of the biggest days in Yuzawa. Whiteout conditions late afternoon, but when the lights finally flickered on you could see the the slope properly. Night ski is also included in your ticket. Well worth sticking it out in the freezing cold.

Naspa has a fully kitted out tuning / waxing station. 2 Toki benches, Toki wax iron, brushes and wax.

Ishiuchi's Sunrise Express speeds you up to the Veranda in 7 minutes. It can handle both 6 seater hooded chairs and 10 seater bubbles with heating and leather seats. Luxurious.

The Naspa Blue and Orange shuttle buses run from Naspa Ski Garden to Ishiuchi Maruyama, stopping at the train station, Yuzawa Kogen and Gala Yuzawa ski resorts. No luggage space on the bottom so you have to take everything onboard. They are free to get on but the bus gets packed real fast.

Ishiuchi's Base Station has a couple of performance skis and boards for rental from Atomic, Ogasaka, Vector Glide, Faction and Jones.

Yuzawa Nakazato has 2 distinct mountains. The left mountain is for learners with gentle greens and reds. The right mountain has steeper, un-groomed runs. The resort has also opened up the areas in between as off piste runs for advanced riders. On powder days this area would be a freerider's dream.

These defunct blue train carriages are a feature of Nakazato. They are used by ski schools and groups for meeting places and shelter from the cold. Saw people just chilling in there with a beer and snacks.

The Volcom shop at Nakazato had a sick looking mini skateboard ramp. it's free to use, but you do have sign a consent form.

The Volcom shop had the best range of outerwear, goggles and accessories for snowboarders.

The signature pizza at Paolino. The cheese was super tasty and the woodfired base was perfect. Make sure you order a glass of wine as each pizza is hand made by the main guy, so it can take a while for it to be ready.

Surprised to see what looks like a sister shop of Iwappara's legendary La Locandra Del Pittore pizza restaurant here in Nakazato. Will definitely have to have lunch there.

The famous Bakudan "Big Bomb" onigiri from Ponshukan. Ponshukan's signature huge onigiri is made with local Uonuma Koshihikari rice. This is one is made with the recommended spicy cod roe filling. It comes with a cup of miso soup making it a meal in itself.

At the back of the museum, you can find charts of the all-time and monthly top sellers and list of recommended sake.

I do enjoy my sake and the museum makes it try Niigata's best offerings. There are 100 types of sake on offer, but they only allow you to buy coins for 3-4 cups a time to keep the crowd moving. Worth visiting several times.

Ishin's recommended curry pork tsukemen was very good. Be prepared to wait as there is always a line.

Nakazato ski resort is directly attached to the Echigo Nakazato train station on the JR Joetsu line. You could take the train from Echigo Yuzawa, but the times are infrequent.

Apart from being a tuning shop, there is a bar at the back which must be the hangout for local horse racing punters. Patrons placing bets as they sip on whiskeys.

They have powder snowboards for rental.

Majestic has a small range of bindings from Salomon, Flux and Union.

When you are in a rush, pick up your liquid wax and wax cleaners from the Anytime Wax vending machine at Xraeb. Each product is rated for temperature suitability, glide performance, durability and ease of use.

Xraeb's performance turning centre looks pretty serious. You can get your ski boots professionally fitted here by one of the expert staff.

Whole section devoted to powder skis from Armada, Line, Vector Glide, Salomon, Atomic, Kastle and Fischer.

Great range of powder snowboards at Xraeb from international and Japanese brands like Jones, Burton, Vector Glide, Salomon HPS.

Shop Naspa has a whole section dedicated to Kasumi Echigo Yuzawa. the local Onsen Musume. These are characters promoting onsens to the younger generation.

There is a Moment Skis pop up store on Ekimae dori near the Echigo Yuzawa station

The view from the junior suite. Definitely the biggest room I have stayed in, in Japan. Shame they don't let you fit a family in here as there is more than enough space.

The shop has a small section of helmets, goggles, gloves, socks and face masks.

The beer, wine and sake fridge at Shop Naspa. Reasonale selection and prices.

Ishiuchi is the end of the line for the Blue and Orange shuttle buses which take you to local resorts around Yuzawa.

The shrimp curry which is a favourite of the President of the Iwate Kogen Ski Association. Though tasty I reckon it needs a couple more shrimp to make it a meal.

Iwate Kogen's slick modern gondolas are one of the longest in Tohoku, taking you rapidly up 2.6 km to the top of the mountain. Passengers sit facing outwards so you can enjoy the breath-taking views of the mountain ranges and Morioka city.

You can catch the free shuttle bus to Iwate Kogen Snowpark from the Morioka station bus terminal. Journey takes about 50mins and you need to book a slot the day before. Its a small bus so all gear needs to be carried on board.

The recommended beef stewed in dark beer. You get a choice of 2 types of beef. I chose the Iwate shorthorn cattle, a local breed whose meat is leaner and harder to find on menus. This was cooked to perfection.

There is a selection of beer tasting menus. I went for the 3 dark beers which included the award winning Schwarz, milk coffee stout and coffee stout.

Baeren's main restaurant is located on the basement level and has a full selection of their brews on tap and a gourmet menu.

Iwate Kogen's beginner courses are ideally suited for beginners. The St Moritz course is wide and open, super mellow with different trails to keep things interesting. Kids can't get lost here. The chair lift is so low even the little ones could get on it without a problem.

There is a large walk up sledding zone to keep kids entertained just outside the resort center.

Another great combo. Baeren's chocolate milk stout and fried chicken. Perfect snack after returning from the slopes.

The Bismarck pizza from the Piric ctan cafe. It is topped with an onsen egg. Reminded me of the Aussie pizza.

The Oni burger from Soft Burger. Was trying to work out what was "demon" about this burger and realised "oni" meant fried onions. 🤦‍♂️

Geto's mountain information boards are updated by ski patrollers throughout the day. You can check it to see which tree runs are open or closed, how much fresh snow each course has and the state of grooming for each course.

Fantastic view from the Summit! The short hike up is worth it for a photo even if you are not dropping in.