How to get there
Where is Kagura?
The
Kagura Ski Resort is located near Yuzawa in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan. Kagura Ski Resort is made up of three ski areas - Kagura, Mitsumata and Tashiro, with the latter two accessible from villages via ropeway (cable car). Both villages are located on route 17 not far from the Kanetsu Expressway. The Mitsumata village is the closest to Yuzawa, and a further 7km south is the Tashiro ropeway station.
Kagura Ski Resort is located next to the
Naeba ski resort and is interconnected via a long gondola.
Kagura is about 175km northwest from Tokyo. The travel time from Tokyo to Kagura via train and bus is only about 2 hours.
Flights
Many travellers use Tokyo Narita as the gateway airport for Kagura and Naeba, but Niigata airport which is located 150km north of Yuzawa is another option. Niigata airport receives many flights from other Japanese cities, and also Shanghai, Seoul and Russia.
To
search for flights with a range of different airlines, use one of our recommended flight aggregators.
Train to Echigo Yuzawa from Tokyo and Narita Airport
Narita Express (NEX) trains run at regular intervals from the Narita Airport railway terminals to Tokyo. The train trip takes about one hour.
From Tokyo take the Joetsu Shinkansen (bullet train) to Echigo-Yuzawa Station. The trip takes between 70 and 90 minutes. You can check
Hyperdia for schedules – enter the station as “Echigo-Yuzawa” not “Yuzawa”.
Many international visitors purchase a JR East pass to cover the fares for the NEX and the Shinkansen. A JR East 4 day pass provides 4 days of train travel over a one month period. You need to purchase a voucher for the pass before you arrive in Japan and then exchange it for the rail pass at the train station. See our
Japan railways page for tips on using the trains in Japan or to purchase the voucher.
Train from Niigata Airport to Echigo Yuzawa
From the Niigata airport take the airport bus to Niigata train station, a trip that takes about 25 minutes. Take the bullet train from Niigata station to Echigo Yuzawa Station which takes approximately 45 minutes.
Bus from Echigo Yuzawa to Kagura (Mitsumata and Tashiro)
A reasonably regular shuttle bus runs from the west exit of the Echigo-Yuzawa train station in front of the Hatago Isen Café. In the main part of the season there are three morning schedules on weekdays (8:20am, 9:40am and 11am) and six schedules on weekends, and various schedules to get back to Yuzawa. From the Echigo-Yuzawa train station the bus only take 25 minutes to get to Mitsumata and a further 15 minutes to travel to Tashiro Station. The fare is ¥300 for adults and ¥150 for children (2011 rates).
Echigo-Yuzawa Station
It’s worth checking out the train station if you’ve got the time. The station is a treasure chest of food shops and it has a market place with great souvenirs, food tasting, and lots of sake stalls where you can try before you buy. A popular spot to visit is the sake tasting shop. They have oodles of different sake and for ¥500 you get tokens for five tastes. The shop also has a salt tasting area.
Getting Between Kagura and Naeba Ski Resort
Even for beginner skiers it’s possible to get between
Kagura and
Naeba via the Dragondola, a long gondola that takes about 20 minutes between the Tashiro ski area of Kagura and Naeba. On a quiet day they might not run the gondola at full speed so it might take a little longer. The Dragondola is only open between 9am and 3:30pm.
The other option is to catch a shuttle bus between the ski areas. There’s a free shuttle bus (for those with Mt Naeba combined lift tickets) that runs between the Naeba Prince Hotel and Tashiro station (takes 20 minutes) and Mitsumata station (a further 20 minutes). For those without a combined lift ticket the cost is ¥300 for an adult and ¥150 per child (2011 rates).
Other Ski Resorts Nearby
There are lots of ski resorts near Yuzawa. In addition to
Naeba and Naeba Asagai, other nearby resorts include Gala Yuzawa and Naspa Ski Garden.
Kagura is not far from
Shiga Kogen (near Nagano) as the crow flies but it’s a long way by road.