By Matt Klampert
The Snow Country, despite its serene natural setting, is located only 70 minutes from Tokyo. Once you arrive at the Echigo-Yuzawa bullet train station, there is plenty to see and do within convenient walking distance, including on the “Onsen Street” located right outside of the west exit of the station. Here you will find a great variety of shopping, eateries, accommodation, and more!
Your first stop in Yuzawa should be the Snow Country Tourism Center located directly outside the west exit. This is your one-stop shop for all your tourism needs in not only Yuzawa, but the entire YUKIGUNI region. The building includes a coworking and conference space and a room to store luggage and rent equipment. It is also where you can receive travel brochures and maps, including the one pictured below:
As you can see, there are plenty of dining options here, starting at the shop next door! Kakashimai is one of the newest eating options in Yuzawa, and serve delicious handmade rice balls packed with local ingredients, which you can enjoy in the shop, or pack them up for take-away. Take note of the outdoor footbath right across the street, which is open 24 hours a day!
Options for eating along the Onsen Street range from casual family style restaurants and izakaya to a variety of specialty shops. There are long established eateries serving typical Japanese fare, such as the restaurants Yasuyoshi, Hifumi, and Kamakura. Farther down the street, Shinbashi serves handmade soba noodles and is known for their hegi soba, a specialty of the town of Yuzawa. They also serve delicious tempura and herring, which has traditionally been eaten in this region. Click HERE to learn more about Yuzawa soba! Ninjin-tei specializes in tonkatsu (pork cutlet) and routinely has lines down the street during the busy winter season. Benichou are known for sushi and chirashi donburi rice bowls, and during peak seasons routinely have to turn people away during their busy lunch hour! In most of these shops, reservations are recommended when attending with large groups.
There is also a smaller, but equally delicious selection of international cuisine. Baan Thai serve delicious and authentic Thai food that you can order mild or spicy. “The Spot” café are known to be especially vegetarian friendly, a rarity in the Japanese countryside. The best Halal option is probably Hibiki, which serve grilled mutton dishes known in Japanese as “Gingiskan.” On the other side of the Onsen Street you can find Hinoya, who have eclectic Western-inspired cuisine.
For those with a sweet tooth, Chalo Coffee is famous in town for their sections of delicious coffee blends paired with fresh cheesecake. The ground floor of the ECO-LODGE Isen also has a trendy café known for delicious sweets. At Tonoya and Okumanya you can buy Yuzawa’s specialty sasadango and Komako mochi. Click HERE for more information on local snacks around YUKIGUNI.
Speaking of Isen, many of the local accommodation also offer delicious traditional meals. There are approximately 16 different ryokan style inns on Yuzawa’s Onsen Street alone! Click HERE to learn about some of them, including their premier ECO-LODGES.
Food and shopping is not all there is to Yuzawa’s Onsen Street! The onsen street is also the home of the newly-renovated Yukignunikan Museum, which contains many exhibits about the history of Snow Country, how people lived here, and also the story of Nobel-prize winning author Yasunari Kawabata, whose novel Snow Country gave the region its name.
In the winter time, the most popular destination is Yuzawa Kogen, where you can go by cable car to see the beautiful scenery, ski, and play in the snow. This ropeway in particular is notable as the biggest in Japan, and can be ridden by 160 people at one time! In the fall, the mountains around Yuzawa Kogen are a perfect spot to see the fall colors.
Last but not least, you can enjoy many hot springs around Yuzawa Onsen! There are two foot baths along the Onsen Street, and the hot springs at accommodation such as the Inamoto Ryokan and Toei Hotel are open to general audiences. There are plenty of other onsen around Yuzawa and YUKIGUNI, click HERE to learn more.
