Yuzawa

Situated in Southern Niigata on the border with Nagano, Yuzawa is known for insane levels of snow that will excite even the most seasoned powder sliders. This is the YukiGuni - Snow Country of the award winning Japanese novel of the same name. An onsen town nestled deep within a white landscape of the Echigo mountains. Yuzawa is easily accessible, only 75 minutes by Shinkansen from Tokyo. Despite its proximity to the mega city, Yuzawa has not succumbed to international pressures, maintaining much of her local culture. 

Skiing in Yuzawa

Yuzawa has 12 ski resorts, so there is definitely a run here waiting for you to carve it up. 
Three of the main resorts Gala Yuzawa, Yuzawa Kogen and Ishiuchi Maruyama are inter-connected and the Yuzawa Snow Link ticket lets you ski all of them for a grand total of 48 trails. Gala Yuzawa is conveniently a shinkansen station, making it the preferred resort for first timers and day trippers. Ishiuchi Maruyama is a large resort with great heritage having been in operation since 1949. It has great facilities and definitely worth visiting since it’s a short shuttle ride from town. Yuzawa Kogen is smaller and more suited to beginners and families.
Naeba is one of the largest ski areas in Japan. Operated by the Prince hotels group with a ski in ski out hotel at the base. It’s connected to neighbouring Kagura by the Dragondola - the longest gondola in the world. Kagura is a favourite destination of more advanced skiers looking to challenge its steeper, ungroomed trails and sweet sidecountry runs. The Kagura Powder Station is a base for backcountry skiers and where you can book tours and guides.
There are also smaller resorts like Nakazato, Muica, Naspa and Kandatsu which can be good for escaping the crowds.

Staying in Yuzawa

The town is centered around Echigo Yuzawa station where you will find the highest concentration of hotels and ryokans. Staying here is super convenient as the station is the hub for shuttle buses going to the various Yuzawa resorts. Yuzawa also has a number of ski in ski out hotels where you can stay right by the slopes. Naspa New Otani in town has it’s own small ski area. Further out, Prince Hotel Naeba is a large self contained hotel at the base of Naeba ski resort. If you are touring the Japanese ski fields, Naeba has an attached campervan park where you can stay with full access to hotel facilities. There are also small hotels and lodges in the Marunuma area.

Things to do in Yuzawa

The Echigo Yuzawa station has various shops and food stalls geared towards tourists. Since Niigata is home to most of of Japan’s craft sake breweries, make sure to sample the local sake, buy a few bottles and even try out the sake onsen.

Where to Eat in Yuzawa

In the town, there are lots of restaurants to try from ramen, sushi trains to izakayas. The resort restaurants are delicious and pretty good value was well, having to cater for a local crowd.