Naeba resort (Niigata Japan)

[jessica]

Hi everyone,

Two weeks ago I was at Naeba with some friends for a weekend of skiing. Naeba is so far the nicest resort I have been to in Niigata prefecture. Niigata is close to Tokyo, only about 80 minutes away by sinkansen (bullet train) so it is easy to take day trips there. But this weekend a larger group decided to go and we decided to go by bus and stay in a hotel for one night. The snow was amazing. It had snowed most of the week previously so there was quite a lot of fresh powder this weekend. There were some really nice steep runs and this wonderful powder valley that almost no one had skiied. My friend Andrew commented how that powder run reminded him completely of runs at Whistler. Not bad for a resort so close to Tokyo.

So far I have only skiied in the Niigata region. I have been to Gala Yuzawa twice, Kagura, and Naeba.

Here is a picture of me and my friends at the top of Naeba

I also uploaded a video on youtube of skiing on a slow run at Gala Yuzawa on youtube (from a previous trip).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PbEVPon-T4

I have some more videos to upload (and I need to learn how to use some editing software to trim these down).

jessica

 

[jessica]

In case anyone is interested here is the English page for the Naeba resort. Probably not worth a trip to Japan to go here, but if you are in Tokyo for something else, it might be worth a day trip or weekend.

 

[num]

Looks great! You can take the bullet train right by the the hill?

 

[jessica]

Looks great! You can take the bullet train right by the the hill?

Yeah, with Gala the bullet train(shinkansen) station is right at the resort. You get off the train and walk into the lobby of the resort where you get your lift pass, rent equipment, and use the locker room. Then you get on a gondola which takes you up to the base of the mountain. It is not very big but the snow is wonderful and the view is beautiful. And it is nice to get out of the city and play in the snow and have some big open space and fresh air.
Here is a picture from the gondola looking down at the trainstation/basestation.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jessica_fae/2260544478/

 

[jessica]

sorry I am confusing myself. With Naeba there is a short bus ride from the train station to the resort, but it is still very convenient.

Gala Yuzawa is the other resort I am mentioning here which is the one where the train station is right at the resort. Smaller but very convenient.

 

[ski now work later]

Thank you so much for posting your trip report Jessica. It's amazing to learn about ski resorts so far away. Skiing is a universal language enjoyed by many cultures. As the Russian plans for ski development unfold, I suspect that it will bring many of these cultures together!