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has anyone tried the JR ski deal? something about going from Tokyo to Gala Yuzawa return on shinkansen plus rental and ski lift passes?

My japanese is literally non-existent, so I was wondering if anyone knows what's the real case and how it works, prices, etc?

Cheers!

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Judita - me and various friends have done the JR day trip thing from Tokyo lots of times over the past few seasons and it is well worth doing if you cannot stay overnight in Yuzawa.

 

The best thing to do is go to Tokyo station to 'View Plaza' the JR East Travel Shop (on the Yaesu side of the station) and ask there - I have always done it in Japanese but I'd be very surprised if someone there doesn't have sufficient English to handle a basic transaction. Explain what you want and what time you want to catch trains there and back and they'll sort you out.

 

I don't know the exact price for Gala Yuzawa but it is likely to be very similar to the price for Kagura and Naeba, which are also day-ticket options from the nearby Echigo-Yuzawa station. The Kagura price is JPY 11,300 per head at the weekend. This includes:

 

Return shinkansen ticket Tokyo - Echigo Yuzawa - Tokyo

One day lift pass for the selected resort

 

I think they also give you a discount ticket for rental of gear when you collect your lift pass - and in my friends' experience they usually have a reasonable range of boot sizes etc.

 

The only things that you pay for are your bus or taxi to the resort (though for Gala Yuzawa this doesn't apply as you literally walk straight into the lift station from the railway station) and your lunch and rental costs for whatever you require.

 

Thoroughly recommended - though make sure you get up early enough to make it worthwhile. 0700 hrs train is usually early enough to get a full day.

 

Enjoy!

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I did the JR train deal about 8 times last year - didnt go to Gala - been before though - you can go to better resorts on a similar deal (Kagura etc.). Ive had problems buying shinkansen tickets on machines (in English), for example, on more than one occasion the machine spat out the shinkansen and normal ticket for the outgoing, but only the shinkansen ticket for return (you need both), and one time I went to Nagano, my return ticket had expired, despite putting all the right dates into the machine - as I said, it was all in english. I recommend buying the ticket from the counter.

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Rob - do you mean at Yuzawa, or somewhere else? The answer is to try a backpacker-type place where you can get a bed to sleep in as long as you don't mind sharing a room with others. They are usually cheap and friendly if you just need a place to lay your head.

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OK then - same advice applies wherever you go. There's plentiful accomodation in Hakuba including various backpacker type places, about the Yuzawa area I don't know so well, but the accomodation guides - see above - on SJ will certainly help you. They are especially thorough for the Yuzawa / Naeba area because SJ are based up there.

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I think the special ski deals arent available in enlish on the machines, but just for buying the shinkansen tickets - Ill be going to the counter from now on.

I havent stayed in Yuzawa, but Ive stayed in the backpackers in Hakuba and they're very cheap and freindly - Im doing this in Hakuba for the NY hols. I also stayed by myself in a pension (maybe "Pebo"? in hakuba), though not right at peak season - again, this was cheap cos they included lift pass, hire (didnt have my own stuff back then) and absolutely delicious breakfast and dinner - the guy even drove me to the ski-jo and back everyday. I think I got this as a kind of package at HIS - probably as cheap as the backpackers when you factor in all the extra stuff - dont know if you could do that alone at peak season though.

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