ANA Crowne Plaza Resort Appi Kogen delivers a classic, ski‑in/ski‑out mountain resort experience in the heart of APPI, pairing slope‑side convenience with big‑resort facilities, generous hot springs and a broad spread of dining and play options. It is not the newest or glossiest hotel on the mountain, but for families, groups and skiers who value…
Beaux Séjour at Naeba Prince Hotel delivers a surprisingly polished, gently old‑world French dining experience at the base of one of Japan’s classic ski mountains, with a New Year’s menu that leans into nostalgia, craft and alpine comfort in equal measure.
AMBIENCE >
Tucked inside the sprawling Naeba Prince Hotel complex, Beaux Séjour feels like…
Sobadokoro Shinbashi in Yuzawa delivers the kind of quietly confident, deeply local experience that turns a simple bowl of soba into a small ritual—rooted in snow country traditions, polished enough to feel special, but never overworked. A few minutes’ walk from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, it is the sort of place you start recommending to friends long…
Naeba Prince Hotel is a sprawling, slightly surreal ski-in/ski-out classic: aging concrete, endless corridors and a surprisingly polished Club Floor experience that finally gives Naeba a more premium edge and a way to escape the hordes.
GETTING THERE >
Naeba sits in the mountains of Niigata, about 40 minutes by shuttle from Echigo-Yuzawa Station…
Set against Akiu’s pine-lined hills and onsen steam, Great Dane Brewing brings Midwestern brewpub heart to one of Tohoku’s most storied hot spring valleys—a Wisconsin-born, Sendai-brewed outpost where craft beer, wide-open views and a low-key road-trip energy converge. It feels less like a side-trip from the city and more like a base camp for slow…
Powder, Altitude, and the Endless Adventure of Shiga Kogen
There’s a special sense of anticipation as you wind your way up into the Shiga Highlands—a feeling sharpened with every turn, the landscape shifting from pine-lined valleys to the broad, powder-laden slopes of Shiga Kogen. Set within Nagano’s Joshinetsu National Park, Shiga Kogen is not just…
Madarao isn’t just a powder hound’s secret stash—in recent years, this mid-sized Nagano resort has stepped confidently into the limelight, drawing freestyle fans, families, and adventurers hunting for bottomless snow, wild terrain, and a refreshingly relaxed atmosphere where “no lift lines” is more than marketing hype. Madarao reminds me of skiing in Australia in…
Powder, Luxury, and Adventure on Japan’s Snowiest Slopes
There’s a certain thrill to arriving at Lotte Arai Resort—a sense that you’ve come to a place where the mountains still call the shots. Set on the flanks of Mt. Okenashi in Niigata Prefecture, just under two hours from Tokyo by bullet train, Arai is a rarity…
In the beautiful back streets of Gion where the traditional ‘Matcha’ tea houses hide away there are some amazing restaurants hidden behind the sliding doors and ‘Noren’ doorway curtains.
One of these outstanding restaurants is Sushi Masumoto which is a set Omakase course sushi restaurant preparing perfect individual morsels for 12 diners (eight at the…
Ramen. You love it, or you don’t. Hot, spicy, full of flavour. The best ramen is something of a work of art (see the quote below from the incredible 1985 movie Tampopo).
Sugari has something of a following in a classic Matcha house, hidden on a narrow lane off a side street,…
