The area surrounding Naeba Ski Resort has fresh and verdant greenery in the spring and summer, beautiful foliage in autumn, and plains of silvery white in the winter. It’s especially popular for its snow activities, offering smooth, pillowy surfaces dusted with powder snow. From beginners to pro athletes, Naeba is a ski resort for everyone!

What’s more, in the summer, the colossal Fuji Rock Festival is held, welcoming a variety of world-renowned artists. This area’s open atmosphere also makes it a popular spot among foreign visitors.

Naeba Prince Hotel is an excellent ski-in, ski-out lodging connected to the Naeba Ski Resort. Having the slopes right before you makes it easy to enjoy skiing into the night! During the winter seasons, the hotel has skis and snowboards available to rent.

Also inside are a range of shops, including drug stores and sporting goods stores. This ensures that guests have everything they need to enjoy winter activities!

There’s an indoor bath for overnight guests known as Naeba no Yu as well as a day-use open-air bath called Hiuchi no Yu. Filled with minerals such as sodium and potassium, the natural neutral hypotonic spring is said to alleviate muscle pain, arthritis, and fatigue.

Another perk attracting foreign guests is the winter snowscapes from Hiuchi no Yu! When booking a room facing the slopes, you’ll be able to enjoy a beautiful view of the entire resort.

A family of foreign guests commented, “The view from the hotel and the facilities offered were absolutely amazing,” and “Everything you need can be found at the hotel.”

Here you can also find many foreign-guest-friendly services! This includes a multilingual guide when checking in by phone or internet, as well as modifying meals to accommodate guests’ religious beliefs or dietary restrictions.

Yukisasa Hot Spring is about a 20-minute walk or three-minute car ride from Naeba Ski Resort.

It’s a day-use hot spring facility offering open-air baths, indoor baths, and relaxation spaces. Here you’ll find free-flowing water that’s 100% from a spring source.

The turbid hot spring is so brown that your towel just might change color when steeped inside.

The reddish-brown coloring is due to the iron in the water oxidizing once exposed to air. As it’s exceptionally minerally rich, it’s recommended to keep bathing times short.

While warming your entire body, this special hot spring is said to alleviate neuralgia, muscle pains, and joint pains.

Yukisasa also has a relaxation space where you can unwind completely! It’s the perfect place to rest after bathing in the hot springs. Furthermore, the facility offers overnight stays! Packages don’t come with meals, so please feel free to contact Yukisasa if you have any questions or concerns.

Comments from foreign guests include: “Bathing in a turbid hot spring was a very unique experience,” and “I was able to relax in a spacious bath completely.” Guests who stayed in the winter also added, “Bathing in the hot spring while watching the snow fall was a lot of fun.”

The facility has free Wi-Fi, so guests traveling from abroad can also spend their time comfortably.

Okuyuzawa Kaikae Onsen is a remodeled old Japanese-style house turned hot spring inn. It’s situated in a national park with an altitude of 700 meters and spanning around 3 hectares (a little over 7 acres).

Additionally, this facility is effortless to access: only about a 15-minute drive from either Naeba Ski Resort or Echigo-Yuzawa Station.

Also nearby is Kagura Ski Resort, a top-class ski resort popular among overseas tourists for its excellent snow coverage and quality. This is the perfect accommodation choice for those who want to enjoy multiple ski resorts at once!

Holding a history of over 700 years, Kaikae Onsen is said to have opened during the Kamakura period (1185 - 1333).

It’s famous for being one of Japan’s only three “eye hot springs.”

Bathing here has been rumored to treat cataracts, conjugate eye deviation, and dry eye syndrome.

Kaikae eye drops were even sold to the general public until early in the Showa era (1926 - 1989). Since the water’s temperature is at a pleasingly warm 37℃, guests are able to take long baths.

The closer the water is to body temperature, the less toll it has physically. We recommend bathing for 20 to 30 minutes to feel the spring’s rejuvenating powers.

Built in 1869, this facility lets you experience the charm of a long-established traditional hot spring inn. Meals served consist of Minamiuonuma’s Koshihikari rice alongside an array of seasonal ingredients.

Foreign guests couldn’t get enough of their stay, commenting: “A stay here gave me the best sleep I’ve had in months,” and “Mountain air, spring water, local ingredients, Japanese sake, and hot springs. This is the secret to Japanese people’s longevity.” Guests leave more than satisfied after enjoying the sensibilities of a long-established Japanese hot spring inn.

Multilingual support is available in all forms-allowing foreign guests who don’t know Japanese to enjoy their stay comfortably. With frequent guests from English-speaking countries, China and France, staff are used to accommodating international guests.

Located in the Echigo-Yuzawa area, about a 30-minute drive from Naeba Ski Resort lies Takahan. This inn is known for being the birthplace of the novel Snow Country, written by the modern Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata.

Tours are given of Kasumi no Ma, the room Kawabata stayed in while writing. Staff give lectures daily from 5:00 p.m., enabling you to dive deep into Yasunari Kawabata’s world.

In addition to this, there’s a daily screening of “Snow Country” on the facility’s big screen. This allows you to enjoy the film where the story was born! Furthermore, free shuttle buses run from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, so those arriving by bullet train can request a pick-up.

This hot spring is the same temperature as its spring source at a whopping 43.5℃! Baths are refilled every three hours-allowing guests to enjoy incredibly fresh spring waters.

Bathing here is said to treat chronic dermatitis, chronic gynecological conditions, and cuts. Please experience the healing effects of free-flowing hot spring waters straight from the source!

Moreover, both men’s and women’s bathing facilities come with a sauna! The men’s facility even has a cold bath that uses pure mountain water. Here guests can cool down with water from nature’s springs.

The inn has also received various comments from foreign guests, including: “The cozy but spacious guest rooms, as well as the free shuttle service going to the ski resort and station, were excellent! I would like to come back again in the winter!” and “Breakfast was a mix of Japanese and Western cuisine. I thought that the homemade tofu was especially tasty!”

Multilingual support is available in all forms, such as translations on the official website, phone inquiries, and online reservations.

When it comes to meals, the inn accommodates those with dietary restrictions due to religious beliefs, etc., so please feel free to ask about any changes you’d like to make!

Located about a 30-minute drive from Naeba Ski Resort-Shosenkaku Kagetsu is a ryokan inn with a modern Japanese atmosphere appealing to foreign guests. Upon arrival, staff will “welcome you home” with some Japanese confectionaries and green tea.

Here you can experience warm hospitality and cozy services around every corner! Guest rooms include spaces renovated in 2019, variously designed and spaced rooms attached with open-air baths, and traditional Japanese-style rooms.

Furthermore, there are three types of hot springs to enjoy! This includes the garden bath, Iroha no Yu; the Japanese cypress bath, Hoheto no Yu; and the private bath, Danran.

This hot spring facility is great for the whole family as babies are also allowed to bathe. It treats those with neuralgia, muscle pains, and joint pains. There’s even drinkable hot spring water said to have healing effects for those with chronic gastritis, chronic constipation, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Foreign guests raved about the uniqueness of staying at a traditional Japanese inn, with comments such as: “This is a beautiful Japanese inn with a great location, stunning interior, and two relaxing hot springs,” and “I was absolutely enchanted by the koi fish swimming in the pond.”

Multilingual services are available for information updates on the inn’s official website and social media accounts, as well as reservations made online or over the phone. Shosenkaku Kagetsu also accepts credit card payments. The inn even accommodates those with dietary restrictions due to religious beliefs, etc., so please feel free to make any inquiries!

This article introduced accommodation facilities around the Naeba Ski Resort where you can enjoy abundant nature! All facilities enable you to enjoy hot springs in a traditional Japanese atmosphere. Take a trip to the powder snow-famous area of Naeba to unwind in hot springs at luxurious hotels and inns!

Text by: Madoka Hasegawa
*The information in this article is from July 2022. For updated information, please refer to the official websites.