SKI TRIPS WITH KIDS- LESS THAN 90 MINS FROM TOKYO
A Guest Post by Carmen Roberts
Is it possible to go skiing for a day from Tokyo?
Yes, most definitely.
Even if you don’t ski, and simply want to experience snow, go sledding and make a snowman, it’s all do-able in a day trip from the capital city of Tokyo.
This is exactly how my family got started on our ski adventures. We loved it so much, we skied almost every weekend in the winters during our eight years living in Japan.
This guest blog post was written by Carmen Roberts, a BBC Travel Show presenter and travel journalist.
Carmen has her own international travel blog full of tips for savvy travellers called Carmen Roberts Travels.
You can also follow Carmen on instagram here.
Carmen lived in Tokyo for eight years and reported from all corners of the country for the BBC.
Together with her family, Carmen rented an apartment in Yuzawa, skiing almost every weekend during their winters in Japan. She has three children, an 11-year old snowboarding aficionado daughter and 9-year old twin daredevils, who all learnt to ski at Ishiuchi.
Carmen was, previously, next door neighbours with Jo, from The Tokyo Chapter – sharing a literal apartment wall and with children who were firm friends.
GENERAL TIPS BEFORE YOU PLAN YOUR DAY TRIP FROM TOKYO FOR SKIING AS A FAMILY
*Generally speaking, week day prices for lift passes are cheaper than at weekends at most resorts.
*Keep in mind Japanese school holidays and Japanese public holidays, as these resorts close to Tokyo will be extra crowded.
*Also try and avoid Chinese New Year, as resorts can get extremely busy with Chinese visitors.
*Be sure to ask about daily specials at the ticket office, often there’s a ‘ladies day’ where women ski for half price, or children ski free.
*If you are going to ski for just the day, make sure you double check the time for the last train!
GALA YUZAWA WITH KIDS
The easiest way to get to the snow from Tokyo is on the Joetsu Shinkansen. It leaves from Tokyo station and takes you directly to the Gala Ski Resort in roughly 70 minutes.
The station is practically inside the resort, so it’s super easy.
Take the lift or escalators from the platform and you will find yourself at the entrance ready to buy your ski pass and pick up your rented skis or snowboard.
Be sure to book your rental gear in advance when visiting Gala Yuzawa, as it can get busy.
There are two ways you can do this. First is the regular ‘book and pay online in advance’ method – you can rent anything from skis, poles, boots and snowboards to jackets and ski trousers. Booking and paying in
advance can reduce your wait time on the day. But for an extra booking fee of Y1000, you can book a ‘pick up box’ – and all your gear will be waiting for you to simply pick up on the day. This new system is proving popular, and boxes are limited, so be sure to book this well in advance, as it will mean virtually no waiting time once you arrive.
If you’ve never skied or snowboarded before, my advice is to book a lesson at Gala Yuzawa. There’s a whole host of multi-lingual instructors available for private or group lessons and for my money, it’s
a good way to get an expert to show you the mountain.
If you have young children and simply want to experience snow, then this is possible too at Gala Yuzawa. You can rent a sled at the ‘Cheers’ shop at the top of the gondola, and head to
Yukiasobi Park also known as the ‘snow enjoyment area’ just to the right of the first lift station. There’s an observation deck too or you can sit inside the main restaurant and gaze
out the giant windows and people watch.
YUZAWA KOGEN WITH KIDS
If you’re a beginner or simply want to take the kids to play in the snow, then Yuzawa Kogen might just be the ticket.
This tiny resort is the closest to the main train station, Echigo Yuzawa in Niigata prefecture – this area is often referred to as ‘snow country’.
To get to Yuzawa Kogen, jump on the Joetsu line from Tokyo station and you can be at Echigo Yuzawa in about 70-80 minutes. There’s a shuttle bus or taxis outside the station that will take you a few minutes
down the road to Yuzawa Kogen. In my mind, I think it’s walk-able, but probably not advisable in the snow with children and bags.
Yuzawa Kogen itself is a tiny resort with only a few lifts but if you’re an intermediate skier then, for an extra fee, you can buy a three mountain pass and make use of Yuzawa Kogen’s connections to Gala Yuzawa and Ishiuchi Maruyama ski resorts via a ropeway. The ropeway or cable car, only runs every 20 minutes and stops around 4pm (or earlier if there is adverse weather conditions). Make sure you don’t get stuck at the wrong resort.
But if you have small children, then Yuzawa Kogen might be a better option than Gala, its popular and crowded neighbour. The lower part of the Yuzawa Kogen Ski Resort is known as Nunoba or the Yuzawa Onsen Snow Play Park, and it has two very gentle beginner slopes, great for novice skiers and boarders. The beginner zone next to the Yuzawa Kogen Ropeway, the Family Course, is for skiers only.
There are two play areas for children at Yuzawa Kogen, one at the base and a proper playground at the top of the gondola. My children loved this playground, with its slides and climbing frames – great in winter and summer. There’s also an observation deck and a fabulous Italian restaurant ‘Ristorante Pizzeria Alpina’ -it gets busy, so put your name down for a lunch spot when you arrive.
ISHIUCHI MARUYAMA WITH KIDS
Although Ishuichi Mauyama is connected to Gala, it couldn’t be more different and has a more relaxed vibe.
Ishiuchi is where we spent most of our time skiing in Japan. It’s an easy two and a half hour drive from Tokyo, or 70-80 minutes on the Joetsu Shinkansen to Echigo Yuzawa station.
From the station, it’s a short bus or taxi ride to the main Chuo base station.
This hub was recently re-vamped – with new shops, restaurants, an express gondola and chairlift with heated seats. This was big news when it first opened a few years ago!
Ishiuchi is where our love of skiing began. I booked a ski lesson for my then four year old daughter one Sunday, and we popped up for the day to see what it was like. After the lesson, we did a bit of sledding, made a snowman and met some friends for a late lunch. We were back in Tokyo in time for dinner.
For beginners, I’d suggest heading to the Hatsukaishi gondola entrance, as there’s a ‘bunny slope’ nearby for those starting to ski and an area for sledding. You can also access the resort through the Twin Towers apartment building, which also has a small ski rental shop at the entrance. You can collect your skis or board here as well as a rent jackets and trousers – then take the elevator to the 9th floor and you’ll be at the base of the beginners run.
Ishiuchi Ski Resort is doing a lot to attract non-skiers. From the Main (Chuo) Resort entrance you can jump on the Sunrise Express gondola and there’s a kids snow park at the top, complete with magic carpet. A little further along (you have to cross a busy ski run) there are a few cafes with cosy fires, an observation deck and heated dome tents where you can have lunch and enjoy the views. Pre-booking is a must at weekends and during the holiday season.
For the older kids, Ishiuchi has a great terrain park with jumps, rails and boxes as well as a half pipe. Night skiing is also an option here at the weekends.
Other resorts nearby:
NAEBA WITH KIDS
NAEBA – a short 5-10 min taxi ride from Echigo Yuzawa station. This is a purpose-built resort centred around the Naeba Prince Hotel, a concrete behemoth built during Japanese bubble era, in the late 1980s to early 90s. But if you’re a family with young children, then it’s a godsend, as all the facilities you’ll ever need are under one very large ‘roof’.
There’s a hotel with over 1000 rooms (that are slowly being updated), 20 restaurants, shops, ski rental, sauna and onsens. There’s even a mini fun park called Wakuwaku Family Snow Land, ideal for families who don’t ski – it’s an area for snow tubing, sledding and a whole host of other snow activities, it’ll keep the little ones entertained for hours.
Children under 12 ski for free at Naeba and there are kid specific ski areas.
The hotel offers ski and snowboard lessons, but English lessons come at a premium price because they are done on a private basis.
There’s also the Sherpa Adventure Centre located within the resort grounds – offering back country guided tours, snow shoeing as well as free style ski lessons.
Naeba is very popular with Japanese families because there are great facilities. But be warned, it can get very busy at weekends and during Japanese school holidays because it’s so conveniently located to Tokyo. Naeba ski resort connects to Kagura ski resort via a gondola, known as the Gragondola.
KAGURA WITH KIDS
Kagura is a 15-20 minute drive from Echigo Yuzawa station.
This is a larger resort and geared towards intermediate skiers.
It’s quite high, so the season is longer – generally from mid-December to April or even May. I’ve skied here at Easter. The views over Tashiro Lake’s azure blue waters are truly stunning (first photo)
Although Kagura is connected to Naeba ski resort, it couldn’t be more different. It’s nowhere near as family friendly and more geared towards families with older children. Having said that, the Snowman restaurant at the top of the main Mitsumata Ropeway has a soft play area and huge glass windows so you can watch out for your friends and family on the slopes. During the spring, Kagura has been known to bring out seesaws and activities for younger children, but this is season dependent. English isn’t as widely spoken here, but I seemed to manage buying tickets, lift passes and lunches with my very limited Japanese.
KARUIZAWA WITH KIDS
A little closer to Tokyo, is Karuizawa Ski Resort, also known as the Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort.
It’s an hour and 5 minutes on the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Karuizawa and the hotel will provide a free 20 minute shuttle bus to the resort.
But unlike, the Niigata based resorts mentioned above, Karuizawa mainly relies on man-made snow. This means the resort can open a bit earlier in November, but the ski area is small and because it’s within easy striking distance from Tokyo, it can get very busy.
The ski resort is attached to a shopping mall, so if you discover that skiing isn’t your thing, there’s an alternative activity nearby.
And as you might have guessed, this isn’t a cheap ski experience. For my money, it’s better to take the Shinkansen an extra 10 minutes and immerse yourself in real snow at a more authentic resort.
A SKI RESORT WITH KIDS THAT IS A LITTLE FURTHER AFIELD:
FUJIYAMA SNOW RESORT YETI WITH KIDS
This is a man-made snow resort near Mt Fuji, largely using snow canons to produce snow.
The resort opens as early as October, and can be reached on a high speed bus tour leaving Shinjuku Station. It takes just over two hours to get there, depending on traffic.
ABOUT ME: This guest blog post was written by Carmen Roberts, a BBC Travel Show presenter and travel journalist.
Carmen has her own international travel blog full of tips for savvy travellers called Carmen Roberts Travels.
You can also follow Carmen on instagram here.
Carmen lived in Tokyo for eight years and reported from all corners of the country for the BBC. Together with her family, Carmen rented an apartment in Yuzawa, skiing almost every weekend during their winters in Japan. She has three children, an 11-year old snowboarding aficionado daughter and 9-year old twin daredevils, who all learnt to ski at Ishiuchi. Carmen was also my old next-door neighbour in Tokyo, we literally shared an apartment wall, and our children were firm friends.
