Chateau Shiozawa is located in the western region of Minamiuonuma city in Niigata Prefecture. There are two separate base areas at Chateau Shiozawa - Ipponsugi and Yoshizato. Ipponsugi is to the south but both can be accessed from the central Shiozawa town area. The two are connected by the top course and lift of the resort. It is a popular ski hill for school and college ski lesson trips.
Minamiuonuma city and neighbouring Yuzawa town - located just over 200km to the north north-west of the Tokyo region in Niigata Prefecture - are together home to over 20 individual ski and snowboard resorts, including some of the most well-known ski resorts in Japan. With easy and quick access by both train and road and a wide choice in a relatively compact area, this region is one of the most popular ski destinations in Japan. The region usually enjoys very heavy and consistent snowfall each winter and with Yuzawa town also being the inspiration and setting of the famous Nobel prize-winning novel Yukiguni (Snow Country), it can certainly lay claim to being the original 'Snow Country'.
Niigata Prefecture is located in the central region of Honshu to the north of Tokyo and has a 250km long coastline facing the Sea of Japan. Convenient transportation links make Niigata very easy to get to from Tokyo and other surrounding regions. Most of the larger ski and snowboard resorts in Niigata Prefecture are concentrated in the southern regions around Yuzawa town, Minamiuonuma city and Myoko city.
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Chateau Shiozawa. There are a number of independent ski and snowboard schools that cover the Yuzawa area and offer lessons in English - please check the Lessons in English section for current listings on SnowJapan.
Equipment Rental
Ski Rental:
Available
Snowboard Rental:
Available
Ski and snowboard equipment rental is available.
Children's facilities
There is a 'Chibbiko Gelende' play area at the base of the Yoshizato area - free entry.
Park information
There are no special snow park facilities.
Chateau Shiozawa Season & Opening Times
Typical season is from Late December until Early April
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
Daytime
Weekends and holidays
Normally open from 8:30am until 5:00pm
Weekdays
Normally open from 8:30am until 5:00pm
'Nighta' (night skiing)
Weekends and holidays
Sometimes
Weekdays
No
Opening information
Chateau Shiozawa is open from 8:30am until 5:00pm.
Nighta is on a few selected days of the season each year (usually Saturdays and holidays).
Chateau Shiozawa Lift Ticket Charges
Adults
Child
4 years to Elementary School age
Senior
60 years & over
1 Day
3,500 yen
2,600 yen
Half Day
2,600 yen
1,800 yen
2 Days
5,500 yen
4,000 yen
Nighta
1,000 yen
700 yen
1 Lift Coupon
300 yen
300 yen
7 Lift Coupons
2,000 yen
2,000 yen
Adult & Child (1 day)
5,500 yen
Adult & Child (half day)
4,000 yen
Getting to Chateau Shiozawa
By public transport
Train
16.4km from Echigo Yuzawa Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen line
3.2km from Shiozawa Station on the Joetsu Line
3.2km from Shiozawa Station on the Hokuhoku Line
Information
There are two bases to Chateau Shiozawa - Ipponsugi and Yoshizato - and they join up at the top of the hill. The Ipponsugi base is just over 3km from Shiozawa Station while the Yoshizato base is slightly nearer. Local trains run between Echigo Yuzawa Station and Shiozawa Station on the Joetsu line and the journey takes about 18 minutes. Echigo Yuzawa Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen line in neighbouring Yuzawa town is about 16.5km from Chateau Shiozawa.
A shuttle bus is available from the East Exit of Echigo Yuzawa Station in the winter months.
A taxi journey from Echigo Yuzawa Station costs around 5,000 yen - better to get a taxi from Shiozawa Station on the local Joetsu line.
By Car
9.6km from the Shiozawa Ishiuchi IC on the Kanetsu Expressway
9.6km from the Muikamachi IC on the Kanetsu Expressway
17.2km from the Yuzawa IC on the Kanetsu Expressway
Nearest national route: Route 17 (3.1km away)
Direction
Chateau Shiozawa is located almost half way between the Shiozawa Ishiuchi IC and the Muikamachi IC exits of the Kanetsu Expressway, both are about 9.5km away from the Ipponsugi base. From the Shiozawa Ishiuchi IC turn right onto Prefecture Road 28 for about 1km until reaching the traffic lights on Route 17. Turn right onto Route 17 for about 6.5km. Turn left onto Prefecture Road 82 for about 1km, go under the Kanetsu Expressway road and then turn left at the signposts to continue on up to the resort.
The 2018-2019 winter season is approaching! Hurray!
At the time of writing more than 60% of the ski hills in Japan have still not updated their own information for the upcoming season. We are continuing to manually update the information on these ski resort pages of SnowJapan but for the moment things are unavoidably a mix of old and new. In most cases ski resorts open and close around the same dates each season, so even if the planned season dates shown on this page are still from the 2017-2018 season, that is usually a good indication of what to expect this time round.
For more details and explanations about the information presented on this page,
please read this.
It is very important to us that the information presented on SnowJapan is correct and up-to-date. Checks and updates are made throughout the year. If you find information that you feel needs checking and updating, please let us know by contacting us. We appreciate your support.
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