Niigata Prefecture and Yuzawa Ski Resorts
In early February, I travelled to Japan for the first time with time parameters of 25 days and spent 16 of them on skis. The rest of the time was spent riding the trains from southern Hokkaido to northern Kyushu with a Japan Railways pass. It was a great way to escape the upsettingly low snow level year in the pacific northwest.
This page will cover Tokyo and the ski days around Yuzawa on honshu.
Part 2 is the ski touring on Hokkaido: tba
Part 3 is riding the trains to across Honshu: tba
I was initially worried about the ease and possibility of lugging around ski bags through Japan's public transit networks. We stayed right beside Ueno station hub for easy access to the shinkasen bullet trains that serve northern Honshu.
The flight into HND airport was an experience in itself considering the storm that was currently dumping snow on the city. I remember looking out the window during the descent and immediately entering a black cloud then it looked like the overnight portion of our flight hours ago. Also when trudging through the city, thunder and snow were happening at the same time which you would is normal as both associated with bad weather but also something I have never experienced before. Apparently snow is a rare occurrence in Tokyo and many other flights were cancelled.
AB and I explored Tokyo while recovering from jet lag and visited the classic tourist sites. This was a smaller fishing market on the water near the well known Toyosu market which hosts the auctions every morning starting at 6AM.
High rise city skyline from outside the Imperial palace
Tokyo is a great city for even poor weather days. Guidebooks say the opportunities are endless and I found there was always efficient ways of getting around by subway and metro to stay dry. Our first Japanese ramen was much needed.
Bringing skis on the shinkasens turned out to be quick and easy despite some research I had done about certain jurisdictions requiring special seats for oversized baggage but as I found later this trip, it was not enforced and was never close to being an issue, even on full trains during rush hour. On top of that, the trains were always on time and comfortable. You reach speeds of 350 km/hour.
Another service I knew about and one that I would come to use later this trip was shipping the skis via Yamoto Transport. This is the best option if you can wait 24 hours for them to arrive. And unlike other places in the world, the courier is very reliable and cheap (24000 yen for a large ski bag anywhere in Japan). This is how many people get around for hands free travel. At some train stations later the day use lockers and temporary storage services all fill up quick.
Ishiuchi Maruyama
A quick bus ride away from Yuzawa station. I found it unclear which buses were free shuttles vs up to costs of 1000 yen but more important that you indeed catch one instead of trying to decipher if the bus is from the ski hill itself or the city. In many cases the city buses were all in Japanese while the resort buses had English text most of the time.
We met a guy on the bus who was a seasons pass holder who gave us a quick run down of the area. He was always helping people (even the locals) figure out how to get around!
Great first day on skis and intro to the ski culture in Japan!
Naeba Ski Resort is linked with the large prince hotel chain and tailors to a richer crowd. Also unlike the smaller resorts near Yuzawa, probably less popular for day trippers from Tokyo. We managed to get on a bus taking people to the hotel and do another resort day.
Lots of options both on and off piste as well as beginners and advanced alike
We spent most of the day riding powder lines off the upper chairlift. Japan is very organized and people generally obey signage and follow all the rules, etc. Sneaking under ropelines is far less common than in BC (but definately still a thing), and backcountry access is allowed with the use of gates.
Kagura was my favourite out of the 3 and has the best backcountry access. The upper lift that serves the main gate was closed later in the day. They only checked passes at the bottom ropeway station and they also sell passes for single ride options. Great budget ideas for touring access.
Also seems to cover a large area since you can ski on many different aspects.
The Tashiro Lake zone was scenic and had more traverses which tailors to beginners
Backcountry party getting their guide briefing for the day
Backcountry gate at the upper chairlift. We skied the most northern gully which is still in the resort boundary and would also serve as the ski out from the backcountry terrain to the northwest. Pictures at the bottom of chairlifts had previous avalanches that told you to avoid traversing across steep slopes.
I would definitely come back here for more touring days and there even is a lodge just steps away from the station which would avoid having to take the bus. There was even a dude boiling water and living out of his extended car in the parking lot.