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 working styles becoming more diverse, many people now work without being tied to a specific location.
For us ski enthusiasts, the ideal life would be to be as close to the snowy mountains as possible and be able to immerse ourselves in skiing whenever we want.
There are many places across the country that could fulfill this wish, but the Minamiuonuma City and Yuzawa Town area in southern Niigata Prefecture is easily accessible from the Kanto region and receives consistent snowfall, making it one of the perfect places to realize this ideal lifestyle.

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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 the life in Minamiuonuma City, where I could balance skiing and work, based in Ishiuchi Maruyama. While I was there, I wanted to stay at a place that was unique to Ishiuchi Maruyama! This time, 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

The " Ishiuchi Ski Center ," which will be your base, is located in a place that can only be reached by taking a lift (or gondola). Access is either by taking the Sunrise Express from the central entrance and skiing down a bit, or by taking the sightseeing lifts No. 1 and No. 2 from the north entrance and skiing down a bit. It is literally in the middle of the ski resort.

You have to be careful because once the ski resort closes for the day, there's no way to access it, and you can't even go to a convenience store at night.
However, the feeling of having the ski resort all to yourself late at night, and the beautiful night views, more than make up for it.
For ski lovers, the biggest advantage is the dream location where the slopes are right outside. It's located halfway up the mountain, so you can ski without even taking a lift. Therefore, you're guaranteed to get the first tracks in the morning.
It's easy to follow your dream routine of skiing first thing in the morning, doing desk work during the day, and then skiing again at night. You can concentrate on your work, then head out to ski for a break. With zero travel time from the hotel to the slopes (it's practically just a few seconds walking down the stairs at the entrance), you can switch between work and relaxation, creating an extremely 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 slope with a maximum gradient of 30 degrees is perfect for carving

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

After skiing down the Daimaruyama slopes three or four times, we headed to the summit slopes. This is a superb spot with a panoramic view of the Uonuma Plain. A steep slope with a maximum gradient of 35 degrees continues for 900 meters, offering plenty of challenging runs.
Normally, Ishiuchi Maruyama receives consistent 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 where you can fully enjoy powder snow.

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..

For those who love both omurice and curry, the omurice curry was a dream come true, offering the best of both worlds. And all this for just 1300 yen!
Plus, a microwave is available, so if you're staying for an extended period and want to save on food costs, you can bring your own packed lunch or easily prepared meals.

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 from daytime skiing. The orange lights illuminate the slopes, making it easier to see the changes in the terrain. There are fewer people compared to daytime, making it easier to ski, and there are fewer waits for the lifts. Plus, the night view of Minamiuonuma city is beautiful.
You can ski with a sense of privacy, as if you have the slopes all to yourself. Being able to go skiing as soon as you see good conditions is a benefit of staying 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, making it ideal for short trial stays. Even if you have an urgent matter in Tokyo, you can make a 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 (Organizer: Minamiuonuma City)
Minamiuonuma City will hold an online seminar on telework and workation from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Friday, January 19th, 2024. Participants in the online seminar will be entered into a lottery to participate in on-site exchange events on January 27th-28th (Saturday-Sunday) and February 3rd-4th (Saturday-Sunday), where they can enjoy backcountry tours. The February 3rd-4th event is particularly designed as a parent-child experience, allowing you to participate in the backcountry tour while leaving your children with someone, or for your children to participate with you. Further details will be explained during the online seminar. To register, please use the Google Form below.

Photo and text by Daigo Onozuka