Spring has truly arrived in Yuzawa.
NASPA Ski Garden is now closed (with a planned re-opening on 24th December 2021) and we look forward to some a warm and comfortable - and beautiful - spring season.
The website has been updated with information on NASPA Camp Garden and activities for the Green Season. Check out the individual pages for more information:
It is already March with some fine weather in the region, and it looks like it is going to be a relatively warm month.
NASPA Ski Garden will be open until Sunday 28th March, as originally planned.
Some further adjustments have been made to various operation times, as noted below.
Note that the ski lifts will be opening at a special early time of 8:30am this weekend (6th-7th March).
We hope to welcome you in this last month of the snow season.
NASPA Ski Garden
| Normal | Adjusted times | |
| Information Counter | [1] 8：15am - 5：00pm | 8:45am - 4:15pm |
| [2] 8：15am - 4：50pm | 8:45am - 3:30pm | |
| Operating lifts | 5 lifts |
Until 28th March: Saturdays & Sundays - all lifts operating Weekdays - Number 2 and 3 lifts not operating |
| Lift operating times | 8：30am - 5：00pm |
9:00am - 4:00pm (latest) * 8:30am - 4:00pm on 6th & 7th March |
| Ski courses | 8 courses |
Until 28th March: Saturdays & Sundays - all courses open Weekdays - all courses apart from C open |
| Kids Garden | 9：30am - 4：00pm | Unchanged |
| Activity Garden | 9:00am - 4：30pm | Unchanged |
| Mogul course | 8：30am - 5：00pm | Open until 3:00pm |
| Rental Shop | 8：00am - 5：15pm |
Until 28th March: 8:30am - 4:15pm |
| Gelesupo | 12：00pm - 8：00pm |
12:00pm - 6:00pm [Monday-Friday] 11:00am - 7:00pm [Saturdays and Sundays] |
| Spur | 8：30am - 4：30pm |
9:00am until 4:00pm Only open on Saturdays and Sundays |
| Free Rest Room | 8：30am - 5：00pm | 9:00am until 4:00pm |
| Cafeteria Aurora |
11:00am - 3:00pm （last order 2:30pm） |
Open every day |
| Garden Resthouse |
11:00am - 3:00pm （last order 2:30pm） |
Only open on Saturdays and Sundays Drink menu only |
| Snow Rancho Dining | 11：00am - 4：00pm (3：30pm last order) |
11:00am until 3:00pm (last order 2:00pm) Only open on Saturdays and Sundays |
| Day onsen | 8：00am - 5：00pm | 8:45am until 4:00pm |
After another generous helping of fresh snowfall over the last few days, sunny skies and mild temperatures are currently forecast for the weekend of Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th February 2021.
All lifts and courses are scheduled to be open. It should be a fun weekend - we hope to see some of you on the slopes.
Please do wear a face mask or face covering as we all work to get through this period!
NASPA Ski Garden in early February 2021
We enjoyed some beautiful blue skies yesterday morning as you can see on this photo. This season we have received a large amount of snow in December and January. Lets hope that regular snowfall continues through this month and into March.
NASPA Ski Garden is open every day. When you arrive there is a simple temperature check, and we ask that face coverings be worn as we all try to help with the coronavirus sitatuation. Currently all courses at the ski area are available on weekends and all courses apart from C are open on weekdays.
If you are able to visit, we look forward to welcoming you with friendly faces! If you are unfortunately not able to visit us right now, we are looking forward to the day when we will see you again.
NASPA Ski Garden is now open for the 2020-2021 season!
On this first morning, three lifts and all courses apart from C are open with plenty of snow to enjoy.
After a week of heavy snowfall, NASPA Ski Garden opens for the 2020-2021 season on Thursday 24th December.
As of 23rd December an impressive snow depth of 245cm is reported by the ski area staff on the ski slopes as they prepare them for opening.
It is a very good start to the season in terms of snowfall.
We realise that some people who wanted to be here this season are not going to be able to visit. We are sorry that we aren’t going to be able to meet you.
We ask guests that are able to come to wear face masks and respect social distancing as we all work to keep coronavirus under control.
Over the last few days the Yuzawa area has enjoyed some heavy snowfalls and it is still falling.
In some places there is already nearly 2m of snow and well over 1m even at base. And… it is still snowing with more snow due over the next few days.
NASPA Ski Garden will open on 24th December and it looks like we will be able to open up fully from the start!
Independent daily snow reports from Yuzawa can be found here (SnowJapan.com).
We want all our guests to be able to visit NASPA to enjoy a comfortable and relaxing stay. It is of the utmost importance that our guests and staff are safe and secure. As such we are following various strict guidelines to ensure such safety.
We have prepared a page with more information regarding our covid-19 policy:
About the ‘Go To Travel’ campaign
Guests visiting NASPA New Otani are eligible to use the current ‘Go To Travel’ campaign. As of early August, much of the official information about the campaign is only available in Japanese which presents a few barriers for English speaking guests. Here we will explain what the campaign is and how you can take advantage of it for an upcoming visit to NASPA New Otani.
What is the ‘Go To Travel’ campaign?
The Go To Travel campaign is a Japanese government subsidy encouraging travel within Japan.
Until 31st August 2020, people can receive a 35 percent discount on travel expenses. From 1st September 2020, people will be able to receive the 35 percent discount as well as an extra 15 percent discount in the form of vouchers that can be used at their destination, making for a total 50 percent off the cost of their trip. The campaign is expected to run until 31st January (checkout: 1st February).
Who is the campaign for?
The ‘Go To Travel’ campaign is for people planning to travel domestically within Japan and it is geared towards travel products that include accommodation.
Non-Japanese people are eligible for the campaign, but currently official information is mostly only available in Japanese.
Please note that at the time of writing, unfortunately overseas tourists are not able to enter Japan due to coronavirus immigration restrictions. That means that currently only people in Japan will be able to use the campaign but hopefully that will change soon.
Examples of usage
The maximum subsidy will cover half of a person’s travel costs up to 20,000 yen per person per night. If a trip that includes travel, accommodation, and other expenses costs 40,000 yen per day, the government will cover a maximum of 20,000 yen.
Travel charges including travel expenses like transport tickets and accommodation make up 70% of the subsidy. So, 70% of the potential 20,000 yen per day (14,000 yen) must go towards those expenses. The remaining 30% (maximum 6,000 yen) will be awarded in the form of local coupons to be spent on other things such as souvenirs.
There is no limit to the number of times you can take advantage of the campaign - you can take as many subsidized trips as you like.
There is also no limit to the number of consecutive nights at the destination.
If you book accommodation and transport separately, then the half-price subsidy will only apply to the accommodation arrangements.
How to receive the discounts for a stay at NASPA New Otani
To take full advantage of the campaign offer, you need to make a booking on the official NASPA New Otani website and then register for the campaign on another website called staynavi:
https://staynavi.direct/campaign/gototravel/?facility_id=147258
VERY IMPORTANT!
• An accommodation booking via the English or Japanese version of the NASPA New Otani website is valid
• Registration on the above staynavi site is required for valid participation in the Go To Travel campaign.
• The staynavi site is currently only available in Japanese language. If you are unable to negotiate a Japanese language website, you will need to ask an acquaintance for assistance.
We hope that people will be able to use this campaign to visit NASPA New Otani for that well-earned break in the coming months.
If and when official information about the Go To Travel campaign becomes available in English or other languages, we will be sure to let you know.
NASPA New Otani is happy to proud to announce that it has been included in the Michelin Guide Niigata 2020 Special Edition.
The hotel has been included in the accommodation section of the new guide, and has been awarded a ‘Three Pavilions’ rating.
The printed guide book is now on sale.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has visited NASPA New Otani in the past, and we look forward to welcoming guests in the future months and years.
Below is a video clip showing the announcement of the award (at 18 minutes 50 seconds):
https://www.youtube.com/embed/XZBJBY7dXr8
(Link to youtube, opening in a new window)
![NASPA New Otani [Official Site]](http://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b43f7467c9327022d08f75c/1531181617705-VDKZ5E0EAQ0CJL5IZZBA/26-1jyejoc_638f.jpg?format=1500w)
