Balancing work and skiing! Living a daily life in Minamiuonuma City, Niigata Prefecture

2024/01/16

With remote work and working from home becoming commonplace and work styles becoming more diverse, many people now work without being limited to a specific location.
For those of us who love skiing, the ideal lifestyle would be to be as close to a snowy mountain as possible, so we could immerse ourselves in skiing whenever we wanted.
There are many places across the country where this wish can come true, but the Minamiuonuma City and Yuzawa Town area in the south of Niigata Prefecture is one of the perfect places to make this ideal lifestyle come true, as it is easily accessible from the Kanto region and receives constant snowfall.

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A hotel on the slopes overlooking the city

Minamiuonuma City and Yuzawa Town are home to over 15 ski resorts in the area alone, and the region receives up to 2 meters of snow every year. Yet, it boasts exceptional transportation convenience, being just 70 minutes by Shinkansen from Tokyo, or 2 hours by car on the expressway. With easy access by both road and Shinkansen, it's a luxurious environment where you can flexibly change your travel style depending on the time and amount of luggage you have

Located in Minamiuonuma City, Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort is about a 10-minute drive from JR Echigo-Yuzawa Station, which is the Shinkansen station. It is also easily accessible, being just 5 minutes from Shiozawa-Ishiuchi IC on the Kanetsu Expressway. The resort has a unique atmosphere, with many restaurants and lodges run by locals scattered throughout the slopes. With a wide variety of courses and night skiing available every day, this is a ski resort where you will never get bored, even if you ski all day

So, I decided to try out Minamiuonuma City's Ishiuchi Maruyama base to see just how good it is to balance work and skiing. I wanted to stay at a place that is unique to Ishiuchi Maruyama, so I chose a hotel on top of a mountain, located halfway up the ski resort

The hotel is located on the slopes, overlooking the town. Prices start from 13,000 yen per night, but there are plans that offer discounts for consecutive nights. There are also entertainment options such as a tent sauna and mahjong

Ishiuchi Ski Center of the resort, is located in a place that can only be reached by taking a lift (or gondola). To access it, take the Sunrise Express from the central entrance and ski down a little, or take the Tourist 1st and 2nd Lifts from the north entrance and ski down a little. It is literally located in the middle of the ski resort.

You have to be careful, because once the ski resort closes, you lose access, and you can't even go to a convenience store at night.
However, the charms of the resort, such as feeling like you have the ski resort all to yourself late at night and the beautiful night view, more than make up for this.
The first benefit for ski lovers is the dream location: the slopes are just a step away. Located halfway up the mountain, you can ski without even having to take the lift. This guarantees you first-track in the morning. The
coveted routine of skiing first thing in the morning, doing desk work during the day, and then skiing again at night is a breeze. After concentrating on work, you can take a break and head out to ski. Zero travel time from the hotel to the slopes (it only takes a few seconds to walk down the stairs at the entrance) means you can switch on and off, perfecting a super-efficient lifestyle.

High-speed Wi-Fi is available, so you can get work done. It's also nice that the rooms are equipped with a desk and chair. It's thoughtful of the inn to provide these two features in a private room. The slopes stretch out outside the window

A ski resort with a spectacular view from the summit and plenty of fun

Ishiuchi Maruyama is a large ski resort with a total of 23 courses and 14 lifts. The summit offers a spectacular view overlooking the Uonuma Plain, and a terrace called "The Veranda Ishiuchi Maruyama" was newly built two years ago so that people can enjoy the view even if they are not skiing

The Sunrise Express, where the latest lifts and gondolas are on the same overhead wire, is unique in the world to Ishiuchi Maruyama

My favorite routine when staying here is to start the morning by skiing down the lower parallel course from Ishiuchi Ski Center, where I'm staying. Once you leave the hotel, the run is about 1,000 meters long, which is just the right amount of warm-up for your legs. After that, I take the Sunrise Lift and the No. 3 Kanko High-Speed Lift to the Omaruyama slope. This is my favorite slope. The run isn't that long at 500 meters, but the well-packed slopes with a maximum gradient of 30 degrees are perfect for carving

This photo was taken after skiing a few runs on the Omaruyama slope. The carving turns felt great

After skiing down three or four slopes on Omaruyama, we headed to the summit slope. This is a great place to get a panoramic view of the Uonuma Plain. The steep slope, with a maximum gradient of 35 degrees, continues for 900m, making for a challenging skiing experience.
Ishiuchi Maruyama normally receives constant snowfall almost every day, even in early January. However, due to the effects of a record-breaking El Niño, we were not blessed with snowfall during our stay. When it snows, there are tree run courses and ungroomed slopes, allowing you to enjoy plenty of powder.

A mountaintop slope where you can do long runs. If it snows, you can also enjoy the powder on the sides. By the way, the top image of this article is the view from the summit lift overlooking the town at the foot of the mountain

After skiing for 2-3 hours in the morning, I go back to the hotel and do work

I was told that I could do my desk work in the restaurant on the first floor of Ishiuchi Ski Center, so I worked while drinking coffee, but I kept wondering what was going on behind me..

The omelette curry was my favorite meal, a two-for-one deal for lovers of omelette rice and curry. This portion is priced at 1,300 yen.
You can also use the microwave, so if you're staying for a long time and want to save on food costs, you can bring your own lunch or something easy to cook.

They also carry a wide variety of local sake and beer

I was so focused on my work that it was already 5pm before I knew it. The night ski lights were on outside the hotel. Ishiuchi Maruyama is also popular for its large night ski runs. Taking advantage of its convenient location, just a 0-minute walk from the slopes, I headed out for some night skiing

Night skiing offers a completely different atmosphere than daytime. The orange lights illuminate the slopes, making it easy to see the changes in the slopes. There are fewer people than during the day, making it easier to ski, and there are fewer waits for the lifts. The night view of Minamiuonuma city is also beautiful.
You can ski while enjoying the private feeling of having the slopes all to yourself. If you think the conditions are good, you can go skiing right away, which is something you can only do at a hotel on top of a mountain.

Ishiuchi Maruyama is famous for its vast night skiing area! Skiing while enjoying the night view of the Uonuma Plain has a different charm from daytime skiing

What I felt after my stay in Minamiuonuma was that if your accommodation has an environment where you can work remotely (a desk and Wi-Fi), you can still lead a normal life even while at the ski resort. It's relatively easy to do if you can work from anywhere and have some control over your own work. You can spend your time outside of work skiing, so your days are very fulfilling. Above all, I'm glad that I don't have to spend time commuting to the ski resort. After all, you want to work efficiently. Eliminating unproductive commuting time means you can focus more on work and hobbies, which is a great point

The Minamiuonuma area is close to the Kanto region, so it's a good place to try out a short stay. Even if you have an urgent matter in Tokyo, you can make the round trip in half a day.
We want this to be one of the options for each individual to achieve their ideal lifestyle.

Support is also available for those who want to work remotely or remotely

The 2nd Minamiuonuma City Telework/Workation Online Seminar (hosted by Minamiuonuma City)
will be held in Minamiuonuma City from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Friday, January 19, 2024. Those who attend the online seminar will be entered into a lottery to take part in an on-site networking event while enjoying a backcountry tour on January 27-28 (Saturday and Sunday) and February 3-4 (Saturday and Sunday). The on-site networking event on February 3-4 is a parent-child experience where you can leave your children with us and join in on the backcountry, or bring your children along. Details will be explained during the online seminar.
Applications can be made via the Google form below.
Click here to apply.

Photo and text by Daigo Onozuka