Echigo-Yuzawa

The setting of Kawabata Yasunari’s Snow Country: a ski-and-onsen town right on the Shinkansen line, surrounded by slopes like Naeba and GALA Yuzawa, plus Kiyotsu Gorge and a rich sake culture.

Echigo-Yuzawa lies in Yuzawa Town, Minamiuonuma District, Niigata Prefecture, at the northern foot of the Tanigawa mountains on the Gunma–Niigata border. It is the setting of the famous opening line of Kawabata Yasunari’s novel Snow Country: “The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country.” Echigo-Yuzawa Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen is as little as about 75 minutes from Tokyo Station. Winters bring deep snow, and Yuzawa and its surroundings pack in more than ten ski resorts, making it Tokyoites’ top choice for a ski day trip. The area breaks down into four parts: the station and onsen town (sake tasting at Ponshukan, the Yukiguni-kan museum, the Takahan Ryokan’s “Kasumi no Ma” room, and town-run public baths); the ski resorts (GALA Yuzawa with its own Shinkansen station; Ishiuchi Maruyama, Maiko, Iwappara and Yuzawa Kogen around the station; Naeba and Kagura to the south, linked by the Dragondola); the gorges and forests nearby (the Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel, Lake Daigenta and the Bijin-bayashi beech forest in Tokamachi); and the sake culture of Minamiuonuma (the Hakkaisan Ropeway and Hakkai Brewery’s Uonuma no Sato). Seasonally, skiing runs from December to April (until May at Kagura), the FUJI ROCK Festival is held at Naeba in late July, mid-October to early November is autumn-foliage season for the Dragondola, Kiyotsu Gorge and Lake Daigenta, and the cool highlands make a pleasant summer escape. In winter GALA Yuzawa Station is open and the resorts run free shuttle buses; the rest of the year sights are spread out, so a rental car or private driver is recommended, with 2–3 days to spare. Niigata is famous for Koshihikari rice and sake, so try hegi soba (made with funori seaweed), Uonuma Koshihikari rice balls and local sake. Snow lies deep in winter, and drivers must use snow tires.

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