Loading...

Jan 5, 2018

Best onsen town near Tokyo with a lot of snow

Looking for recommendations for a nice onsen town / resort near Tokyo where I can see plenty of snow. Planning to go in February. It would be an overnight stay. Also, if the town has a bit of atmosphere and places to eat other than the hotel / ryokan, that would be even better. Cheers! Maybe around 3 hrs one-way (without flying) would be the maximum travel time in this case.

LivingRecommendationsLocations
0 9
Report as spam
KamaT

KamaT

Long-term foreign resident of Japan, moving deeper into Chiba for a slower life and lifestyle.

Follow

9 Answers

  • genkidesu

    genkidesu

    on Jan 5

    I'd probably have to represent for the local 'hood here in Niigata and say that Yuzawa has some hot springs - and I don't know if you're a skiier/boarder but you've got the ski resorts like Gala Yuzawa right there too (https://gala.co.jp/winter/english/). You definitely won't be short of snow! Plus proximity wise to Tokyo it's about 75 minutes from Tokyo Station to Echigo Yuzawa Station on the shinkansen so it's an easy weekend trip. This accommodation place is a little out of Yuzawa but is on my Japan bucket list - http://en.satoyama-jujo.com/ it looks gorgeous, and it's in the heart of snow country as well. That place though won't have as much nightlife, Yuzawa is your better bet for things to do in the town.

    0
  • edthethe

    edthethe

    on Jan 6

    Gunma is full of hot spring towns. Numata, oze, kusatsu(very famous), minakami. Take your pick. Look any of them up on wikitravel. https://wikitravel.org/en/Kusatsu There is also hakone to the south of Tokyo, but I don't think you'll get snow.

    0
  • JapanRamen

    JapanRamen

    on Jan 7

    My first onsen and ryokan experience was at 新潟 越後湯沢. It was famous for a novel about a Snow Country, with many traditional onsen here and there. The snow was great and it's even close to a ski resort. It's accessible by shinkansen too! Hope you have a great trip :D

    0
  • BigfamJapan

    BigfamJapan

    on Jan 8

    I'll add my vote to somewhere in Gunma. Good choices in that prefecture. I personally like Minakami for its convenience and it ticks everything on your list. Enjoy!

    0
  • YokoLostinJapan

    YokoLostinJapan

    on Jan 11

    I liked our stay at Shibu Onsen (Nagano Pref.) - we stayed at a hostel-like Ryokan called Koishiya (http://yadoroku.jp/koishiya/en/). They don't have their own onsen, but you can use the public one close by and even use a private one for small money. On day-time you also can visit the famous snow monkey of Yudanaka not so far away.

    0
  • helloalissa

    helloalissa

    on Jan 11

    I've only been during fall, but I believe Nikko in Tochigi gets snow during winter. There are some onsen near the lake in addition to the waterfall & all the historical temples and shrines. It's within a couple hours of Tokyo and possible to go by public transportation if you don't want to brave mountain driving in the snow.

    0
  • KamaT

    KamaT

    on Jan 17

    Thanks for all the suggestions. Duly noted for the future. Already been top Kusatsu (in winter) and loved it. Would go again but variety is the spice of life, and all that. Looked into Ikaho Onsen (kind of en route to Kusatsu) but wasn't sure we could get loads of snow there. As it is, we've gone for Shibu Onsen in Nagano. Looks like it gets plenty of snow and also offers the potential for a bit of stroll around without being restricted to the ryokan. Will report back!

    0
  • genkidesu

    genkidesu

    on Mar 22

    Wanted to add to this that some of our friends this winter went to Aizuwakamatsu and it was gorgeous from their pictures. We get enough snow here in Niigata for the winter months but it might be worth a look for anyone who wants a winter break next year. The tourism site for the local area is here: http://samurai-city.jp/en/

    1
  • cheeseris

    cheeseris

    on Jul 25

    Niigata, Gunma and Tochigi have good onsen spots that get snow.

    0

Awaiting More Answers

6 Answers

Japan features that would be a bug in your country? And the opposite?

What features in Japan's culture would be considered a bug in your home country? Or the other way around - an aspect of daily life in your home country that wouldn't fly here in Japan? I've got one. In Japan, many sliding doors in industrial and institutional buildings are designed to make noise. The rattle indicates comings and goings. I worked in institutional buildings in Canada with silent doors and soft closing mechanisms.

TonetoEdo

TonetoEdo

on Sep 7

7 Answers

What unusual items do you have in your emergency bag?

In honor of Disaster Prevention Day and further to the preparedness articles I just wrote, I am curious: what item/s do you have in your emergency bag aka disaster preparedness kit, that might not be common nationwide?

BigfamJapan

BigfamJapan

on Sep 1

7 Answers

Reflections on our home countries after living in Japan

I think one thing living in Japan has given me is an appreciation of things my country does really well, and things it doesn't do so well in comparison to here. For instance, I think Australia is great with annual leave entitlements. You get four weeks automatically (some workplaces offer even more!) and there's not any guilt associated with taking it. Something we don't do so well is public transport. I know that Australia is a massive country, but there has been talk of creating a high speed rail option from Melbourne to Sydney for ages, and nothing has ever come of it. It's basically an 8 hour drive or flying. Also, inner city trains are regularly not on time. What are the things you think your home country does better or worse than Japan?

genkidesu

genkidesu

on Aug 26

6 Answers

Hair Color Treatments for Greying Hair

For those of you who have colored grey hair, I'm curious about the hair color treatments available in most drugstores. They seem simpler to use than box dyes. It's been many years since I've colored my hair. It's a chestnut brown and my grey is more silver. I don't hate it but the grey is dry and making me feel like I look older than I am. I'm especially interested in the natural brands that are non-permanent. For example Rishiri Kombu sounds like a decent option. Looking forward to your recommendations and experience.

helloalissa

helloalissa

on Aug 3