Echigo Yuzawa
JR Station and Hotel (Arrival and Accommodation)
When the kids were younger, we used to take short trips to Japan, spending a few days in Tokyo before hopping on the shinkansen to Echigo Yuzawa for some skiing. We’re definitely not pro skiers — it was really just for the kids to play in the snow. The getaway was so convenient: only about 80 minutes by train from Tokyo, and suddenly you’re in a cosy little town in Niigata, surrounded by mountains.
Fast forward to this summer: with the kids done with uni and about to start full-time work, we thought it’d be nice to return together one more time. Echigo Yuzawa holds so many memories for us, and stepping out of the station brought them all flooding back. We used to wheel our luggage across the road to the Yuzawa Grand Hotel — our go-to ryokan with an onsen we’ve come to love. This time, we hired a car from Tokyo so we could explore the little town more fully. We were pleasantly surprised to find the ryokan newly renovated: everything looked fresh and updated, yet it still retained the same rustic charm we remembered.
The fun actually starts at Echigo Yuzawa Station itself! There’s a sake museum where you can sample Niigata’s famous brews (the region is known for having some of the best rice in Japan, which makes the sake exceptional), plus plenty of local snacks and goodies to try. Echigo Yuzawa may be small, but it’s warm, cosy, and always welcoming.
English (US)