Sushi Making and Sake Tasting Tour

Fancy a day off from the slopes? Or have someone in your party who doesn't ski or snowboard and is looking for something interesting to do in Yuzawa? We have just the thing for you...

This is a tour that should appeal to everyone with a love of Japanese cuisine.

Introducing the Sushi Making and Sake Tasting Tour.

One of Yuzawa's top sushi chefs will teach you how to handcraft sushi, after which you will be able to eat the fruits of your labor.

It is then off to Yuzawa's famous Shirataki Brewery to learn all about how they produce such a delicious easy-drinking tipple. Of course no brewery tour is complete without tasting the finished product.

A true gourmet experience!

Restaurants in Yuzawa

We would recommend that everybody experience a dinner in a ryokan. The multi-course banquets that are served for the evening meals are seriously impressive. The flavors are out of this world (even if you might not be 100% sure what you are eating!) and the presentation is so good you might not want to disturb it.

For other dining choices, people staying in Yuzawa have plenty of options. There are restaurants all over the place serving a wide variety of styles of cuisine. No matter what you are in the mood for, there is a good chance someone somewhere has it on the menu.

We have put together a list of some of our favorites and are happy to make recommendations (or bookings) if you require.

Food and Drinks in Yuzawa

Rice Harvesting - Guest Post by Pelle Blomster

Rice plays a major role in these parts and many of the autumn festivals coincide with the rice harvest. Over in Nakazato you can experience rice harvesting by hand and some friends of our went along to see what it was like. Here is the report from Pelle and Emilia.

Rice harvesting in Echigo-Nakazato.

Each season brings different experiences in the Snow Country. Winter brings abundant snowfall excellent for all kinds of winter sports. Spring is beautiful with its cherry blossoms and wild rivers. In summer there are many festivals and the lush mountainous nature to explore. Autumn is great for trekking among the changing colors of the trees. Autumn is also the time for harvesting the famous Niigata Koshihikari rice.

Through Hop Step Japan we had the opportunity to try traditional rice harvesting on our latest trip to Snow Country. On a beautiful, sunny autumn day we hopped on our bikes and set out for Nakazato and the rice harvesting experience. We were excited to try harvesting one of the culinary gems of Niigata, Koshihikari rice, but also a bit nervous due to our lack of Japanese language skills. As I turns out it was a wonderful day, and the helpful staff made sure we knew what to do by giving a demonstration. So with about 100 other eager participants we soon got to work cutting down a whole field of rice. People of all ages made an effort together, and little kids enthusiastically carried around bundles of rice bigger than themselves. The only time work was halted was when a frog was found in the rice field. After a while and many pictures everybody got back to work. The kids got to take turns riding the harvesting machine and looked very happy. It was amazing how quickly you can harvest a rice field by hand when working together side by side.

It was a fun way to feel a connection to the community and the area, were rice fields stretch out as far as the eye can see. After harvesting we all posed for photographs and were rewarded with one kg of premium koshihikari rice and a bathing ticket to try a local onsen. The friendly organizers reminded us to stop by the harvest festival held near the Nakazato station the next day, and we promised to do so.

After the harvesting we rode our bikes to the trendy 3-ji café in front of the Nakazato station for lunch, and had some delicious curry with homegrown vegetables. We highly recommend trying out the local specialities of the snow country area for a taste of the real, friendly, rural Japan.

Pop in and say "Hi"

Everything is clicking into winter mode and everywhere is getting busier as the snow arrives. It is great to see the town come alive again and getting ready for the New Year influx of skiers and snowboarders. We get a good view over everything that is going from our vantage point next to 7-11 on the main onsen street outside the West Exit side of the station. [Turn right onto the main road and we are the first building on the right hand side after the convenience store; up the stairs to the first floor, door on the right.]


Our door is always open during business hours so feel free to drop in. If you have questions, need some local area information or would like to sort out your discount Super Pass, ski/snowboard lesson or rental package, we are always happy to help.

We've got free wireless and can probably rustle up a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate...

Wintery Weekend

Wow! What a weekend for snow.

At this time of year resorts are looking at the skies and praying for snow so that they can get the lifts running and people on the slopes. Some years the snow comes early, some years it comes later. It always comes though. This weekend it came in fine style. About 20 cms on Friday night, so we awoke to that white glow outside on Saturday morning. Saturday night it really came down with probably around 80 cms in the center of town by Sunday morning. And more snow through Sunday too.

Great news for the resorts, and anyone coming for a mid-December break to the snow. It is supposed to be a bit warmer this week but the forecasts are saying snow for next weekend. Bring it on.

The front of Inamoto this morning looking very wintery (apart from the beautiful blue skies...)

Snow Activities

Skiing and snowboarding are obviously popular pastimes in the mountains but they are not the only ways to have fun in the snow. There are a whole other host of activities to enjoy, and often no special skills or experience are needed.

Many resorts have sledging areas where you can enjoy sliding down a small slope, and children's play areas are also common in resorts.

Snowshoeing is a great way to experience the quiet beauty of nature in the Japanese mountains.

If you are looking for a bit more speed for your on-snow time then we might just have the perfect tour for you -

Head up to Naeba to enjoy a combination of Snowmobiling and Snowtubing.

Guaranteed fun that will put a big smile on your face!

Winter is on the way

There is a dusting of white on top of the local peaks this morning and temperatures are noticeably colder. The forecast for Kagura says there is snow on the way. Take a look at the row in red below the map! If that materializes it will be great news for all the ski resorts in the area.

Taken from 6 Day Kagura Forecast from SnowForecast.com

Kagura opened on schedule on November 22nd 2014 after a good early snowfall. It has been warmish since then with the snow getting a bit of a pounding from all those people keen to get back on snow.

This top up will be welcome news and will hopefully help the other resorts get a decent base for their planned opening dates.