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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.
