Japan · Niigata

Yuzawa Nakazato Ski Resort

湯沢中里スキーリゾート

Off season

Official site Lift tickets (official) Last season (2025/26) adult day ticket ¥6,400 regular price · this season's price not yet published (as of 19 Oct)

Snow and slopes at Yuzawa Nakazato Ski Resort — Photo: くろふね / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

No snow yet. Not open yet for 2026/27. We have not yet found an official opening date. Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear once snow is on the ground or forecast.

Typical snowfall

712cm

A weather-model figure, worked out the same way for every ski area, and lower than what actually falls. Use it to compare ski areas, not against the resort’s own totals. How we measure →

Elevation: 464–698 m
Across: 1.7 km

A passage from the platform at Echigo-Nakazato Station leads straight into the ski centre. Carriages from a train that once ran in service now sit on the snow as the Blue Train Nakazato, a free rest area. Several runs are left ungroomed, with tree-skiing areas spread between them. Sources: yuzawa-nakazato.com (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)

How much snow it gets

Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.

Seasonal snowfall

712cm

per season

Worst of 12 winters

328cm

The middle winter of the 12: 712 cm. The best: 921 cm.

World rank

of 3,069 worldwide

Rank in country

of 397 in Japan

Elevation rank

259

Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 519 m, 247 m below the national median.

Quality rank

227

of 397 in Japan

Temp when snowing

−1.0°C

Japanese median: −3.6°C

Rain days

27%

Japanese median: 16%

Days over 5 cm

44%

Japanese median: 15%

Wind when snowing

17km/h

Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops

Dryness 21

Frequency 100

Freedom from rain 35

Calm when snowing (model grid) 98

The tick marks the median across every Japanese ski area we measure. All four bars run the same way — longer is better.

The quality score leaves out how much snow falls (it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind).

Compared with what is nearby

Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.

Ski area	Distance	Seasonal snowfall	World rank
Nakazato Snow Wood Ski Area	0.9 km	712 cmsame grid cell	6
Yuzawa Park Ski Resort	1.5 km	712 cmsame grid cell	6
Iwappara	3.7 km	712 cmsame grid cell	6
Kandatsu Kogen Ski Resort	4.1 km	618 cm	36
NASPA Ski Garden	4.6 km	618 cm	36

Compare side by side with Nakazato Snow Wood Ski Area and Yuzawa Park Ski Resort →

Runs and lifts

Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.

Marked runs

Run length

6.4km

Lifts

Vertical

233m

Top 698 m · base 464 m

Run map

EasyIntermediate Lift

North is up. Runs are coloured by difficulty; black lines are lifts.

Slope shape, difficulty and lift types

The shape of the mountain

Longest run on the map1.3 km

Steepest pitch22°measured over at least 30 m

Average gradient of the runs9.2°

Which way the slopes face

North 18%

East 9%

South 5%

West 68%

Only 27% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is west (68%).

By difficulty

Easy 8 · 5.1 km

Intermediate 3 · 1.3 km

Lift types

Chairlift7
Magic carpet3

See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗

Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.

When it falls, and how winters differ

Month by month

The most snow falls in January. March brings 41% of January’s snowfall. That is a steeper fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%): the snow here is concentrated early in the season. For skiing, though, the amount matters more than the share: March brings 102 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.

194cm

Dec

249cm

Jan

168cm

Feb

102cm

Mar

Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 712 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 328 cm; the biggest was 2021/22 with 921 cm (2.8 times as much).

543

328

913

767

782

599

698

921

725

661

919

686

14/1515/1616/1717/1818/1919/2020/2121/2222/2323/2424/2525/26

Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.

How these figures are made

Live cameras

This ski area does not put a camera on its own slopes. The nearest live view is the road below.

Roads nearby国道17号 ↗From the resort: 5.2 kmOperated by: 北陸地方整備局長岡国道事務所 Roads nearby国道17号 ↗From the resort: 16.2 kmOperated by: 関東地方整備局高崎河川国道事務所

Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.

Echigo-Yuzawa webcams & snow report — all 17 ski areas →

Videos

Videos remain the copyright of whoever filmed them. JAPANSNOWLINE stores no video and plays everything through the standard YouTube player.

What was actually measured nearby

Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 湯沢 weather station — 5.2 km from this ski area, 285 m below its mid-slope.

Three-season average	810 cm
2023/24	619 cm
2024/25	1080 cm
2025/26	732 cm

The figure calculated on this page is 755 cm.

A weather station is not a ski slope. We picked one at a similar elevation, but it stands in a valley or a village. More snow falls on the mountain above it. We have not tried to guess how much more.

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency historical records

Hot springs nearby, as analysed

5 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 61.5 °C).

Show the sources

Source	Distance	Temperature	pH	Type
松川松川	1.6 km	25.8℃ lukewarm	—	—
佐工不動産佐工不動産	1.6 km	35.2℃ warm	8.8 alkaline	alkaline simple
岩原岩原	2.1 km	55.7℃ hot	—	simple
神立高原ゴールデンスパ	4 km	43.1℃ hot	8 mildly alkaline	—
湯沢第3配湯所混湯	4.9 km	61.5℃ hot	8.3 mildly alkaline	simple

These are analyses of hot spring sources, not a list of baths you can visit. They date from 1910 to 2005, many from decades ago, so today’s temperature and chemistry may differ. Names are as recorded in Japanese. Temperature and pH bands follow Japan’s standard for analysing hot springs.

Source: processed from the hot spring analysis data in the Geothermal Information Database (GRES-DB), Geological Survey of Japan, AIST

Worth seeing nearby

Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.

Show the list

Place	Type	Distance
Mount Tanigawa谷川岳	Mountain	10.6 km
Kiyotsu Gorge清津峡	Nature	11.1 km
Mount Makihata巻機山	Mountain	12.2 km
Tanigawadake Ropeway谷川岳ロープウェイ	Nature	12.7 km
Doai Station土合駅	Landmark	13.4 km
Yagisawa Dam矢木沢ダム	Nature	17.9 km

Chosen from the places most read about on Wikipedia, favouring those with an English article. Based on the Japanese Wikipedia lists of sights in each prefecture, as compiled in travel-log-data (CC BY-SA 4.0). English names from Wikidata (CC0). The content of this section is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Map

The weather map, and where it sits among nearby ski areas.

Official piste map ↗

Getting there

By train: Echigo-Nakazato Station (JR Joetsu Line): the station is linked directly to the ski centre by a platform passageway
By car: about 10 minutes (about 5 km) from Yuzawa IC (Kan-Etsu Expressway)
Winter roads: In winter, approach via Prefectural Roads 540 and 361 (other roads are closed in winter); studless tyres or snow chains are required

Source: yuzawa-nakazato.com · checked 1 Nov 2026. Shuttle days and times change with the season; check the official site before you go.

Get directions ↗ Open in Google Maps ↗

Going with children

Kids’ area: Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Childcare: Not checked
Parking: Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Rental: Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)

Checked on the official site (26 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →

Places to stay nearbyPR

Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.

53 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 12 with a listed price.

Property (links to Rakuten Travel)	Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.)	Rating	Distance	Getting there
湯沢玉城屋	¥9,900	4.60／5 79 reviews	0.7 km	新幹線-越後湯沢駅より車8分上越線-越後中里駅前徒歩0分車-湯沢ICより7分
ファミリーハウスしらゆき	¥9,900	4.82／5 134 reviews	0.7 km	JR上越線越後中里駅1分。関越自動車道湯沢IC。越後湯沢駅西口「エンゼル案内所」中里スノーリゾート行の無料シャトルバス。
エンゼルグランディア越後中里(越後湯沢)	¥4,070	4.30／5 4916 reviews	1.0 km	【車】関越自動車道越後湯沢ICより10分(5km)【新幹線】JR越後湯沢駅西口徒歩2分の案内所から無料送迎バスで約15分
ゆとりろ越後湯沢	¥4,400	3.96／5 50 reviews	1.5 km	JR上越新幹線・上越線・信越本線「越後湯沢」駅より車で約10分/越後湯沢駅からの無料送迎あり※要予約
湯沢パークホテル	¥7,300	4.33／5 251 reviews	1.6 km	鉄道:上越新幹線越後湯沢駅東口よりタクシー又は送迎バスで約10分/車:関越自動車道湯沢ICより約3km・6分
えびすや(えびすや旅館)	¥9,900	4.43／5 57 reviews	1.8 km	JR上越新幹線越後湯沢駅より無料送迎(約7分)/関越道湯沢ICより約6分
ペンションさんらいず	¥10,000	4.55／5 47 reviews	1.8 km	上越新幹線越後湯沢駅下車送迎10分/湯沢ICより5km 車で約10分
越後湯沢温泉温泉民宿浦子の湯高野屋	¥4,500	4.43／5 221 reviews	2.1 km	上越新幹線越後湯沢駅下車タクシー8分、関越自動車道湯沢IC→2km 5分
越後湯沢温泉ホテル湯沢湯沢でんき屋	¥5,500	4.75／5 389 reviews	2.4 km	湯沢I.Cから車で約5分越後湯沢駅より無料送迎あり(8:30~18:00まで)到着後要電話
湯沢温泉(自家源泉) HOTELシャーレゆざわ銀水	¥5,000	4.14／5 339 reviews	2.7 km	関越道湯沢ICから1.5km。JR越後湯沢から2.5km、送迎有り。
ロッヂ添路	¥3,500	4.23／5 83 reviews	2.9 km	越後湯沢駅から車で15分

Pick dates and guests to check rooms on Rakuten Travel

Prices are the lowest Rakuten Travel lists; a property name, or “Pick dates and guests” above, shows prices and rooms for your dates.

Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese. · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)

Places to stay on the map

2 places within 12 km of the slopes, as mapped on OpenStreetMap, many of them small inns and pensions. Many are not on booking sites — open the name for the website or the map.

Nearest: 0.9 km

Show the nearest places

Nearest first

中屋 0.9 km

Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap

Other booking sites: Booking.com ↗ · Agoda ↗ · Rakuten Travelad ↗

“ad” marks links that pay us a commission if you book. Links without it are not affiliated.

Guides that cover Yuzawa Nakazato Ski Resort

Where the snow falls · 2 Nov 2026

Hidden Ski Resorts in Japan by Train: 13 You Can Reach Without a Car (2026/27)

13 little-known Japanese ski resorts you can reach by train. Five are a walk from the station, four of them in Japan's top 30 for snowfall. The best snow is a bus ride away.

Read the guide → All guides →