Gala Yuzawa: Taste of the Alps

One hour Shinkansen bullet train ride from Tokyo Station will take you to the marvelous ski resort of Gala Yuzawa. The Gala Yuzawa Shinkansen Station is integrally built on the resort. Thus, no hassle for another complex transportation service of Japan. They promote it as the only kind in the world. Be ready to witness one of the most stunning view of lifetime.

My decision to go here was actually coming from the realization that I had book the flight for the Japan trip too early that I missed the peak of cherry blossom season. So after looking for alternative destination for the trip to be more memorable and more photo-worthy, I voted the option to play ski (well, at the end we didn’t play one because #expensive). Should we didn’t go here, I’m so going to miss all of these.

After arriving at the Gala Yuzawa Station, we easily managed to go to the reservation desk because Japanese people is being so clear on the directions and this is applied throughout major cities across the country as if they had run through several robust scenarios for the tourist for not getting lost. If you had bought JR Pass beforehand it would be an upside on this resort because they offered special discount for the snow-playing packages: Sledding or Skiing. That also included the one-day Gondola tickets price.

This resort surely has become the place for ski enthusiast as the place is really huge and their staffs professionally helped me who knew nothing about snow stuffs at all. They provided form for us to fill for the size of boots and gloves. So yes, it is a NO USE to wear your pretty Adidas Ultra Boost or your brand new Onitsuka from Shibuya here. The snow is pretty slippery and (of course) cold thus you need special shoes for that.

To reach the place for the sledding or skiing, we had to ride Gondola that will take you high up to the snow mountain, and the view from the gondola is extravagant! (new desktop wallpaper detected)

Last year, I also got the chance to visit a similar ski resort in Hafelekarspitze Innsbruck, Austria. They basically offered the same service of ski equipment rental, gondola service, and some other things. But in my opinion, Gala Yuzawa has the upper hand on the service and overall resort facility, plus if I have to be honest the view is more stunning here.

For snow-amateur like me who are not so willing to pay for ski and maybe not that good either with that too, sledding is the best option. The resort provided a sledding cart that we can rent. How to play? Super easy. you just needed to use this elevator to go to these small hills and sled down with the sledding cart. It was fun! Though I need several trial to master the art of sledding.

Gala Yuzawa offers a not-so-expensive price to experience snow (if you choose the option for not skiing), and the resort area has complete facility too. I had a really fun day there and urge you to put this resort on your list should you are planning to visit Japan. Also check their website regularly, because the resort will only be open on the winter season.

-R