Yuzawa is a popular resort town located in the southern part of Niigata Prefecture, about 200km to the north of Tokyo.
It takes only 77minutes to travel to the town by bullet train.
Nestled in the heart of the Japanese Alps, Yuzawa is surrounded by spectacular mountains – a great opportunity to escape city life and enjoy clean air, beautiful scenery, and great food.
Yuzawa is a four-season resort, offering a variety of activities for visitors throughout the year.
In particular, we recommend a visit to the summer and winter festivals held in August and March each year.
Amid fireworks and food stalls, the ‘mikoshi’ portable shrines are displayed and carried around the town in procession.
The winter festival also offers a variety of snow sculptures crafted by local people in various areas of the town.
One of the most amazing things about Yuzawa and the surrounding area is the huge amount of snowfall.
Snow clouds form over Siberia and pick up precipitation whilst traveling over the Sea of Japan.
The Yuzawa area is the first mountainous area over which these snow-clouds must pass.
The record 24 hour snowfall is 2.32 metres, which fell in one amazing day in 1986.
Given the huge amounts of snowfall and mountainous terrain, it was only natural that Yuzawa should become a mecca for skiing, snowboarding and winter sports.
The area has 20 ski resorts within 20 minutes of Eichigo Yuzawa train station, which allows for a huge variety of resorts. Back-country powder, friendly family resorts, terrain park jumps - Yuzawa offers it all.
But this area is not just about winter sports and snow.
Yuzawa has been an ‘onsen’ spa town for over 800 years, when the local natural volcanic mineral water source was first discovered.
Bathing has always been a central component of life in Japan – in Yuzawa, the experience has been elevated into an artform.
Yuzawa has dozens of onsen, providing an amazing bathing experience.
With its natural green environment, Yuzawa provides a welcome escape from the heat and stress of city life.
Whilst summers in Japan are hot all over the country, in Yuzawa the abundance of greenery and forests soak up this heat, allowing for cooler termperatures in the evening.
Yuzawa offers pursuits such as trekking, golf and fishing from Spring thru Autumn.
Yuzawa is the setting of one of the greatest music festivals in the world. Every July, The Fuji Rock Festival attracts over 100,000 festival-goers to see 100 bands in 4 main stages.
The event is held at Naeba Ski Resort.
90% of festival-goers stay in Yuzawa, and catch free shuttle buses to the event.
The huge amounts of snow in Yuzawa provide for exceptionally clean water.
Thanks to this, the "minami-uonuma" rice grown in the region is nationally reknowned as being the highest grade and tastiest rice in Japan.
Japanese visitors flock to Yuzawa to try the rice, but also other rice products such as 'senbei' rice crackers and 'sasadango' - mochi rice cakes mixed with yomugi herb and wrapped in sasa bamboo leaves [pictured].
Apart from rice, the pure clean water is put to good use in making some of the finest and most famous sake in the country.
'Jozen' is one of the most famous brands of sake in Japan, and is brewed at the Shirataki Brewery, just 500m from Echigo Yuzawa Train Station.
Yuzawa train station has a sake tasting area, where you can taste various brands.
The station also has an onsen bath with added sake - not for drinking, but said to improve the circulation!
Yuzawa town boasts a huge variety of hotels, restaurants, 'onsen' hot baths, and other facilities.
The town does everything it can to make your visit as enjoyable as possible: there is even a free foot onsen on the high street, so that passers-by can soak tired feet.
This guide from WeLoveSnow.com shows you where to find this, and other facilities: Yuzawa map