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冬
Ski season
WinterDec–Mar
Now at the resorts · Jōetsu Kokusai from 12 December
Jōetsu Kokusai opens on 12 December 2026 and skis to 4 April, with night skiing from 19 December to 22 March; Maiko is planned for 19 December to 28 March, with weekend night skiing from 2 January to 13 March.
春 夏 秋 冬
Checked 4 Nov 20268 min read
Season 2026-27 (planned)
Jōetsu Kokusai 12 December 2026 to 4 April 2027; Maiko 19 December to 28 March
Maiko
260 to 920 m, 26 courses, 9 chairs and a six-seat gondola; longest run 6 km; weekend night skiing
Jōetsu Kokusai
200 to 1,017 m, 22 courses, 19 lifts; longest run 6 km; night skiing 17:00 to 21:00
Adult day ticket
¥7,300 at Maiko; ¥5,800 at Jōetsu Kokusai
Rail pass
JR East Pass or JR Pass; the Hokuriku Arch Pass does not reach it
From Tokyo
1h 07m to Echigo-Yuzawa, then a 20 minute free shuttle (Maiko) or a 15 minute local train (Jōetsu Kokusai)
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See the JR East Pass ↗ Find a hire car ↗ Rail passes

Dates are the planned dates; openings depend on snow.

In brief

Maiko Snow Resort (舞子スノーリゾート) and Jōetsu Kokusai (上越国際スキー場) are neighbours in Minamiuonuma, a few minutes apart off the same Kan-Etsu Expressway exit. From Tokyo it is the Jōetsu Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa (1h 07m, ¥6,900), then a free shuttle to Maiko or a local train to Jōetsu Kokusai. A day ticket is ¥7,300 at Maiko and ¥5,800 at Jōetsu Kokusai, against ¥11,800 for Naeba and Kagura. The Hokuriku Arch Pass does not reach it; the JR East Pass and the JR Pass do.

Two big hills, two prices

Maiko is the gentle one: 26 courses, a six-seat gondola, a longest run of 6 km and about 40% of the terrain for beginners, right beside the expressway. Jōetsu Kokusai is the cheap one: 22 courses and 19 lifts up to 1,017 m, snowboarding allowed everywhere, night skiing every evening until 21:00, and a station of its own at the foot of the slopes. Jōetsu Kokusai is in Shiozawa, Minamiuonuma, and not in Jōetsu city on the Hokuriku side.

Like the rest of the Yuzawa valley it is a Tokyo ski trip first, and not a neighbour of Hokuriku: from Kanazawa you ride the Kagayaki to Omiya or Tokyo and change, so it fits best as a bolt-on to a longer trip (see below). Below: how to compare the two, the train, shuttle and car, the lift tickets, the mountains, and where to stay.

Compare

Maiko and Jōetsu Kokusai side by side

Dates are the planned 2026-27 dates; tickets are the listed 2026-27 prices.

AreaStation to slopeCourses / liftsAdult day ticketSeason (planned)NightBest for
Maiko Snow Resort 舞子スノーリゾートFree shuttle from Echigo-Yuzawa, about 20 min26 / 10 incl. 6-seat gondola¥7,30019 Dec to 28 MarWeekends, 2 Jan to 13 MarGentle runs, beginners and families
Jōetsu Kokusai 上越国際Local train from Echigo-Yuzawa, about 15 min, to the base22 / 19¥5,80012 Dec to 4 AprEvery evening, 17:00 to 21:00The lowest price, evening skiing, the longest season
Getting there

By Shinkansen and shuttle or train, or by car

Both are a short hop from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, and a minute or so from the Shiozawa-Ishiuchi exit by car.

No car needed
電

By Shinkansen, then shuttle or train

Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa · 1h 07m · ¥6,900

Jōetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa takes 1h 07m on the fastest train (Toki 303; weekend Toki 67 takes 1h 13m), with 38 trains a day. From Ueno it is 1h 01m (¥6,690) and from Omiya 42m (¥6,360). The first train leaves Tokyo at 06:08, and the last Tokyo-bound train leaves Echigo-Yuzawa at 22:25.

To Maiko: a free shuttle bus runs from the wide-area car park by the east exit and takes about 20 minutes. The 2026-27 timetable is posted nearer the season, so check the time of your last bus back.

To Jōetsu Kokusai: change to the Jōetsu Line for a local ride of about 15 minutes to Jōetsu Kokusai Ski Resort Mae station (上越国際スキー場前), which stands in front of the base. In the ski season some trains stop there especially, and the service is not frequent, so check the local timetable before you plan the day.

From Kanazawa: there is no through train. Kagayaki to Omiya takes 2h 03m (¥13,950) or to Tokyo 2h 26m (¥14,600), then change to the Jōetsu Shinkansen.

Passes: the JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigata area) and the JR Pass cover the Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa. The Hokuriku Arch Pass does not reach this line. For one ski trip, ordinary tickets cost less than any pass.

See the JR East Pass ↗See the JR Pass ↗Compare rail passes
車

By car

Shiozawa-Ishiuchi IC on the Kan-Etsu Expressway

From central Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa it is about 191 km, roughly 2h 47m with no traffic, and Shiozawa-Ishiuchi is the next exit after Yuzawa IC. Maiko is 1 minute from the exit and Jōetsu Kokusai 7 minutes away on Route 17.

Parking at Maiko (1,300 spaces) is free on weekdays and Sundays and ¥1,000 per car on Saturdays, from 29 December to 3 January, and on 10 January and 21 March. Jōetsu Kokusai has about 3,000 spaces: the annex lot is free on weekdays and ¥1,000 at weekends, on holidays and at New Year, and the other lots are free.

Winter tyres are needed. Ask for them when you book the hire car, and collect it at Echigo-Yuzawa Station if you come by train. Licence rules are in our car-hire notes.

Find a hire car ↗
Lift tickets

Lift ticket prices (雪票)

In yen, tax included. Maiko's are the 2026-27 list; Jōetsu Kokusai's one-day row is the 2026-27 list and the rest are last season's.

Maiko Snow Resort

TicketAdultJunior high / high schoolElementary
1 day¥7,300¥6,300¥3,600
5 hours¥6,800¥5,800¥3,400
Night¥2,300¥1,800¥1,200

Pre-schoolers ski free, up to two per paying adult. The adult one-day ticket was ¥7,000 last winter. An early-bird season pass, on sale until 30 September, was ¥45,000 against ¥53,000 normally. Prices can change in season.

Jōetsu Kokusai

TicketAdultChild (3 to elementary)Over 60
1 day, listed for 2026-27¥5,800¥3,800¥4,600
1 day, plain ticket, 2025-26¥5,500¥3,500¥4,300
Afternoon and night, 2025-26¥4,500¥2,800¥3,500
Night only, 2025-26¥1,500¥1,000¥1,000
2 days, with night, 2025-26¥9,200¥6,000¥7,200

The Kids Paradise play area is ¥500. Only the one-day price is posted for 2026-27 so far; the other rows are last season's and the 2026-27 list follows before the season. Prices can change in season.

Rental and lessons

Rental, per dayAdultChild
Maiko: ski or snowboard set¥5,800¥5,000 (junior high / high school), ¥3,500 (elementary)
Jōetsu Kokusai: ski set, 2026-27 (hotel guests)¥6,500¥3,500
Jōetsu Kokusai: snowboard set, 2026-27 (hotel guests)¥6,000¥3,500
Jōetsu Kokusai: snowwear, 2025-26¥5,000¥3,500

Maiko rents sets at the Day Ski Center and its base hotel, with no hats, gloves or goggles. Jōetsu Kokusai runs ski and snowboard schools for adults and children. Chinese-language lessons are listed at Maiko by the JSKI school: see our lessons table for what the school says about languages.

On the mountain

Maiko and Jōetsu Kokusai

Maiko has 26 courses and Jōetsu Kokusai 22, each with a longest run of 6 km.

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Maiko Snow Resort舞子スノーリゾート

Free shuttle from Echigo-Yuzawa, about 20 min · 19 Dec to 28 Mar

A broad, gentle mountain right beside the expressway: 26 courses (some ungroomed) served by nine chairs and a six-seat gondola, between a 260 m base and a 920 m top, over 115 hectares. The longest run is 6 km, the steepest pitch 32 degrees, and the split is about 40% beginner, 40% intermediate and 20% advanced, so most of it is friendly to a first or second week on snow.

Skiing runs 8:30 to 16:45 on weekdays and from 8:00 at weekends and on holidays. Night skiing is at weekends only: Saturdays 15:30 to 20:00 and Sundays 15:30 to 19:00 from 2 January to 13 March, and over New Year from 29 December to 1 January. Parking is free on weekdays and Sundays.

Courses
26
Top
920 m
Longest run
6 km
Night
weekends
02

Jōetsu Kokusai上越国際スキー場

Jōetsu Line to the base station, about 15 min · 12 Dec to 4 Apr

An older, larger ski area with a station of its own, Jōetsu Kokusai Ski Resort Mae, in front of the base. 22 courses and 19 lifts (13 pair, 3 triple, 3 quad) climb from 200 m to 1,017 m, a vertical of about 817 m, with a longest run of 6 km and a split of about 30% beginner, 50% intermediate and 20% advanced. Snowboarding is allowed on every course.

The season is planned for 12 December 2026 to 4 April 2027, and the hill skis from 8:00 to 21:00 with night skiing from 17:00 to 21:00 between 19 December and 22 March. The listed adult day ticket is ¥5,800, the lowest of the big Yuzawa-side mountains. By car it is 7 minutes from Shiozawa-Ishiuchi IC with about 3,000 spaces.

Courses
22
Top
1,017 m
Lifts
19
Night
17:00 to 21:00

The beginner, intermediate and advanced shares come from the Niigata ski calendar and are a rough guide.

Where to stay

At the resort, in the Ishiuchi valley, or in Echigo-Yuzawa

Twelve stays in three places. Check rates shows tonight's price for your dates.

How to choose: sleep beside Jōetsu Kokusai for the night skiing and the lifts at the door; in the Ishiuchi valley, a few minutes by car from Maiko, for a quiet onsen ryokan or a lodge; and in Echigo-Yuzawa if you want the station, its restaurants and the shuttle to Maiko each morning. Maiko has no bookable stay at its own base, so the valley and the station are the practical bases for that hill.

At Jōetsu Kokusai

At the resort · hotel

Hotel Green Plaza Joetsu

Kabanosawa, Shiozawa · beside the resort

The hotel beside the Jōetsu Kokusai base, with free parking, a taxi and shuttle service and luggage storage. Scored 7.1 on Agoda from 269 reviews.

Check rates ↗

In the Ishiuchi valley, near Maiko

Ishiuchi valley · hotel

Ishiuchi BASE

About 2.5 km from Maiko

A hotel in the Ishiuchi valley that guests have reviewed more than almost any stay near the lifts. Scored 7.4 on Agoda from 392 reviews.

Check rates ↗

In Echigo-Yuzawa, 20 minutes by shuttle or 15 by train

Onsen ryokan

Yukemuri-no-Yado Yuki-no-Hana

Echigo-Yuzawa

A Kyoritsu Resort onsen ryokan with more reviews than any other stay near the Yuzawa lifts. Scored 9.3 on Agoda from 2,035 reviews.

Check rates ↗
Station ryokan

HATAGO Isen

HATAGO井仙 · by Echigo-Yuzawa Station

A stylish inn by the station, with free-flowing spring water that has had water and heat added. Scored 9.3 on Agoda from 562 reviews.

Check rates ↗
Snow Country inn

Yukiguni-no-yado Takahan

雪国の宿 高半 · Echigo-Yuzawa

The inn where Kawabata Yasunari wrote Snow Country, with his room kept on site. Its own Yumoto source runs free-flowing at about 43°C.

Check rates ↗
Resort hotel

NASPA New Otani

NASPAニューオータニ · Echigo-Yuzawa

A big ski resort hotel with a hall of spring baths, beside its own slopes. Scored 8.9 on Agoda from 2,151 reviews.

Check rates ↗

Eleven more stays around Echigo-Yuzawa · Stays at Ishiuchi Maruyama · Echigo-Yuzawa in the Niigata guide

Eat and off the slopes

After the lifts

The hills have little of their own after dark, so the station town does the eating, and the evenings go to the snow.

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    Sake and soba. Ponshukan, the sake tasting hall inside Echigo-Yuzawa Station, and hegi soba, buckwheat noodles on a wooden tray, are the stops before the train home. See the Niigata sake notes.
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    Rice. The Uonuma area around Yuzawa grows the famous Koshihikari rice, so a plain bowl with the dinner is part of the trip. See the Niigata guide.
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    The bath. Echigo-Yuzawa Onsen is the reason to stay a night, and most of the ryokan above have their own baths. See the water at Echigo-Yuzawa Onsen.
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    A bigger or closer hill. Ishiuchi Maruyama and the other Yuzawa hills are a shuttle from the station, Naeba and Kagura are the big names, and GALA Yuzawa has its own platform.
  5. 05
    Back to Hokuriku. The Skiing in Hokuriku guide shows how to string Yuzawa, Myōkō and Nagano onto one trip, and our ski guides cover each resort.
FAQ

Maiko and Jōetsu Kokusai questions, answered

How much is a lift ticket at Maiko and Jōetsu Kokusai in 2026-27?

At Maiko Snow Resort an adult one-day ticket is ¥7,300 (up ¥300 on last winter), a 5-hour ticket ¥6,800 and a night ticket ¥2,300; junior high and high school pay ¥6,300 and elementary school children ¥3,600 for a day, and pre-schoolers ski free, up to two per paying adult. At Jōetsu Kokusai the listed adult one-day ticket is ¥5,800, with children from 3 to elementary school at ¥3,800 and over-60s at ¥4,600. Prices can change in season.

When do Maiko and Jōetsu Kokusai open in 2026-27?

Jōetsu Kokusai is planned for Saturday 12 December 2026 to Sunday 4 April 2027, with night skiing from 19 December to 22 March. Maiko is planned for Saturday 19 December 2026 to Sunday 28 March 2027. Dates are planned dates and the openings depend on snow.

Is there night skiing at Maiko and Jōetsu Kokusai?

Yes at both. Jōetsu Kokusai skis at night every evening from 17:00 to 21:00 between 19 December and 22 March. Maiko skis at night only at weekends, on Saturdays from 15:30 to 20:00 and Sundays from 15:30 to 19:00 between 2 January and 13 March, and from 29 December to 1 January.

How do I get to Maiko or Jōetsu Kokusai from Tokyo without a car?

Take the Jōetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa (1h 07m on the fastest train, ¥6,900). For Maiko, a free shuttle bus leaves the east exit car park and takes about 20 minutes; the 2026-27 timetable is posted nearer the season. For Jōetsu Kokusai, change to the Jōetsu Line for the local ride of about 15 minutes to Jōetsu Kokusai Ski Resort Mae station (上越国際スキー場前), which is in front of the base; check the local timetable for the train you want.

Does the Hokuriku Arch Pass cover Maiko and Jōetsu Kokusai?

No. Both are reached from Echigo-Yuzawa on the Jōetsu Shinkansen, and the Arch Pass covers the Hokuriku Shinkansen. The JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigata area) and the Japan Rail Pass cover the Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa. The Maiko shuttle is free, and the local Jōetsu Line is JR East, so the passes can cover it, but for one ski trip ordinary tickets usually cost less than any pass.

Which is better for beginners and families, Maiko or Jōetsu Kokusai?

Maiko, with about 40% of its 26 courses for beginners, a six-seat gondola and a children's area, is the easier choice for a first day; Jōetsu Kokusai has about 30% beginner and 50% intermediate courses, a Kids Paradise for ¥500 and ski and snowboard schools for adults and children. Maiko is the pick for gentle runs, Jōetsu Kokusai for the price and the evenings.

Can I take a lesson in Chinese?

A Chinese-language ski school, JSKI, lists Maiko among its venues, so you can ask for a Chinese-speaking instructor there. Confirm the language and the date when you book, since a school does not guarantee an instructor for every day. Our lessons table has the details.

Can I ski Maiko or Jōetsu Kokusai as a day trip from Tokyo?

Yes. The first Shinkansen leaves Tokyo at 06:08 and the last Tokyo-bound train leaves Echigo-Yuzawa at 22:25, so a full day works. Jōetsu Kokusai's night skiing ends at 21:00, which leaves a tight but possible connection by local train, so check the last Jōetsu Line train before you plan it. A night in the valley gives you two full days.

Continue exploring

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