Travel to Naeba with ski insurance from Essential Travel

Lying on the Gunma border, Naeba ski resort is one of Japan’s largest ski destinations and has been the venue for numerous World Cup events. Known as the St Moritz of the East, the resort is also home to the largest ski resort hotel in the world. Naeba is a very busy and popular ski resort with dozens of slopes and excellent facilities, while its close proximity with Tokyo is also an advantage.

Naeba ski resort has all of the expected amenities of a resort of this size and stature, with childcare services, lots of shops and rental booths, ski and snowboard schools and a bustling atmosphere.

There are more than 50 slopes and plenty of off-piste sliding at Naeba ski resort. The slopes rise to heights approaching 6,000 feet, with a vertical of almost 3,000 feet, while 26 chairlifts and three cable cars have the capacity to lift around 50,000 people per hour. The longest run at Naeba is over two miles and there is a terrain park with a halfpipe that will please snowboarders.

Naeba boasts the seven-building Prince Hotel, which is the largest ski resort hotel in the world, while the resort also offers other ski-in, ski-out hotels. The Prince Hotel is expensive, but there are alternative lodgings in the village. Naeba also boasts about 50 restaurants, nine of which are on the slopes, and the many bars and nightclubs here add to the vibrant après-ski atmosphere.

Together with Naeba ski resort, nearby Asagai, Tasherio and Mitsumata are all skiable on one ticket, with Asagai boasting one of Japan’s small number of super pipes and an excellent terrain park. All of these resorts are connected by gondolas. For relaxation, Naeba also has several hot springs to while away the hours.

Naeba’s ski season extends from early December to early April and offers cheaper rates in the week and perfect snow conditions in February. Naeba ski resort is accessible by direct bullet train from Tokyo to the town of Yuzawa, from where buses run to the resort.

Skiing in Naeba

Naeba is one of Japan’s largest ski resorts, featuring a very good spread of slopes suitable for all levels of ability, night skiing, a terrain park with a halfpipe and plenty of powder. This resort is busy, with its popularity partly to do with its accessibility from Tokyo by train and bus in about 2 hours.

Of Naeba’s 53 slopes, 30 per cent are suitable for beginners, 40 per cent for intermediates and 30 per cent are aimed at more experienced sliders. Easier runs can be skied on at the bottom of the resort, while the harder runs are located nearer to the top of the mountain, with the longest run being over two miles. Twenty-six ski lifts provide slope access at Naeba at a capacity of 50,000 people per hour.

Apart from the snowboard park with its rails, jumps and halfpipe, additional winter activities at Naeba ski resort include snowshoeing, hiking and ski touring and there is a swimming pool that is open year round as well as a sports centre. Fifty restaurants, bars and a nightclub offer après-ski.

There is plentiful choice of accommodation at Naeba ski resort, with the expensive, slope-side Prince Hotel offering 4,000 rooms, together with additional beds at pensions and inns in the village. Facilities and services at Naeba ski resort are comprehensive and include ski and snowboard schools, rentals, shops and childcare.

The ski season at Naeba ski resort runs from December to April and you will find the best ski conditions in January and February. The bullet train runs direct to Yuzawa from Tokyo throughout the day. Yuzawa is the nearest town to Naeba ski resort and is only a 15-minute bus ride away.

Transportation to Naeba

Located about 120 miles northwest of Tokyo in the south of Niigata prefecture and on the border with Gunma, Naeba ski resort is easily accessible from Tokyo by train and car. The journey by car is mainly by expressway, but many people choose to make use of the bullet train and connecting bus service as the most practical travel option for reaching the resort.

The Kanetsu expressway connects to Yuzawa from Tokyo, from where Naeba ski resort is well signposted. The journey time is about 2 to 3 hours. If you are driving from Osaka, take the Chuo and Nagano expressways as far as Matsumoto, from where routes 143 and 144 join with the Kanetsu expressway for Yuzawa.

Trains run direct to Yuzawa along the Joetsu line in less than 80 minutes. Regular and shuttle buses then carry on to Naeba ski resort, with a journey time of about 15 to 30 minutes. You can also get to Naeba ski resort via train and bus from Osaka, but this is a much longer journey.

International visitors will most likely fly into Tokyo’s Narita International Airport for access to Naeba ski resort from where train and bus connections to the central bus and train stations in Tokyo are frequent and fast. If you are driving from Narita Airport, route 51 heads towards Tokyo, while route 16 ring road meets up with the Kanetsu expressway.

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