When it comes to YPT Japan we generally like to get off of the beaten track to find gems. This involves research, which is not always successful, such as visiting Yuzawa Town.
Not a bad place by any stretch and indeed a great place to catch some snow. It is also extremely touristy and one might say very Chinese.
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What the Yuzawa Town?
Yuzawa sits in Niigata Prefecture and exists largely because Tokyo wants somewhere easy to ski. Around 80 minutes from the capital by shinkansen, it is essentially a purpose built snow hub with a railway spine running through it. Historically this was an onsen area, a mountain retreat where people came to soak in hot springs and escape the city. Then skiing took off, the bubble years arrived and hotels went up fast.
Today the town feels less like an organic Japanese settlement and more like a resort complex with a municipal office. In winter it fills with domestic tourists and large numbers of Chinese visitors. Mandarin is everywhere, group tours are common and menus are adapted accordingly. I’m not saying it makes it bad, but well it doe snot make it very Japanese to be fair.
What is there to do in Yuzawa
The headline attraction is skiing. The most famous slope is Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort, which is directly connected to the bullet train station. You can literally step off the train, rent gear and be on a lift within an hour. There are other nearby ski areas, plenty of rental shops and ski schools catering heavily to overseas visitors.
If you are not into skiing, there are onsen baths around town and sake tasting inside the station complex. Shops sell rice crackers and local produce, largely aimed at tourists heading back to Tokyo. There is also a cat cafe, which seems permanently popular with people wanting something cute between ski sessions. Beyond that, options are limited. This is a snow town first and everything else second.
Eating and drinking in Yuzawa
Food and drink in Yuzawa revolves around volume and practicality. Restaurants cluster near the station and along the main street. You will find ramen, yakiniku, hot pot and izakaya style places that are designed to turn over tables quickly during peak ski season.
Because the town is so tourist focused, and because a large chunk of visitors are Chinese tour groups, many restaurants are geared toward that market. Big tables, set menus, multilingual signage. During busy periods getting a table can be difficult. Even 7-11 gets so ram packed its hard to get served. So, yeah not a foodie destination at all, in fact you might struggle to eat.
Hotels in Yuzawa
Hotels in Yuzawa reflect exactly what the town is. A ski resort built around a train station. Step off the shinkansen and within minutes you are dragging your bag through covered walkways into a concrete hotel block that could be anywhere in northern Asia.
There are traditional ryokan options with tatami floors and onsen baths, but most accommodation is large scale, functional and designed for volume. Rooms are simple. Clean, warm, small. No frills. Many operate on half board systems with set dinner times and breakfast halls that feel more canteen than boutique retreat.
Value can be decent outside peak season, but during ski months prices rise fast and availability disappears. The overall feel is efficient and organised rather than charming. It does the job. You sleep, you ski, you leave.
Conclusion
So, while Yuzawa is not likely to make our Extremes of Japan Tour, nor likely to be visited again by me, it is a place that very much does a job, if said job being that you just really fancy some snow.
Not an unpleasant place, but there really are better places that you can see and visit in the Empire.
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