Ishuichi Accommodation
Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort has various ski in ski out accommodation options including hotels and inexpensive Japanese pensions and lodges. There are 3 base areas at Ishiuchi. The Main Chuo/Centre base features the gondola and is ideal for beginners and families. The southern Hatsukaishi base is reasonable for beginners. The north (kita) aka Kanko base can work for beginners, yet is better suited to intermediates plus.
There is no nightlife at Ishiuchi and you’ll want to have dinner at your accommodation unless you have a car.
Iwappara Accommodation
Joetsu Accommodation
Staying at Joetsu Kokusai is ideal if you think you’ll spend most of your time skiing or snowboarding at the
Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort. Or if you have a car, Joetsu (which is only 14km north of Yuzawa) could be used as a base to also explore the other Yuzawa ski resorts.
Joetsu Kokusai is a very large ski resort by Japanese standards and is ideal for families (who don’t need group lessons in English), beginners and intermediates.
The main accommodation is the massive
Hotel Green Plaza Joetsu which provides ski-in ski-out convenience, western or western-Japanese combination rooms, and lots of facilities. Staying at the hotel is very resorty, but if you love modern Japanese resort culture and buffets then you’ll be in heaven.
For those on more of a budget, there are some pensions in the village at the base.
Maiko Accommodation
At the base of the Maiko Ski Resort is the Maiko Kogen Hotel, and there are a few other Maiko accommodation options nearby.
Another option is to book the Maiko Kogen Hotel via Rakuten Travel.
Minamiuonuma
Minamiuonuma is the city to the north of Yuzawa. Whilst called a "city", think of it more as a district and don't have images of bustling main streets where you'll find rows of restaurants and shops. It's mostly spread out and somewhat rural, and obviously includes lots of well known ski resorts. Muikamachi is a town within the Minamiuonuma district which includes Muikamachi Onsen. Note that Ishiuchi, Maiko and Joetsu all sit within the district of Minamiuonuma.
Yuzawa Accommodation
Yuzawa accommodation ranges from traditional Japanese ryokan with onsen in the centre of town, to full scale ski-in ski-out resort hotels at some of the ski resorts nearby. There are also lots of simple pensions scattered around the region. If you’ll spend most of your time skiing at nearby Naeba and Kagura, you may wish to consider a stay in
Naeba accommodation.
Tokyo-ites turn up to Yuzawa en-masse on the weekends, and Saturday night premiums are charged at most of the Yuzawa hotels, and availability can be scarce. Yet if you plan to stay in Yuzawa the other 6 nights of the week, some great value Yuzawa accommodation deals can be found.
Another option for booking a Yuzawa hotel is to use
Rakuten Travel.
See the
Japanese accommodation page regarding what to expect with respect to lodging typically found at the Japan ski areas.
Central Yuzawa Hotels
Staying in a central Yuzawa hotel or ryokan provides the distinct advantage of being close to the Echigo Yuzawa train station, which is the hub of bus transport to the ski resorts. If you want to sample multiple ski resorts, this is the best area to stay. This area also has a very high concentration of restaurants so it’s nice to be able to wander the streets and explore the many cute restaurants and bars. Most of the central Yuzawa hotels are on the west side of the train line.