Japan Drive Route Guide

On this day, you will stay in Niigata(新潟) city, which is the prefectural capital of Niigata prefecture. Many inns are concentrated in the following two areas. [1] Around Niigata Station [2] Furumachi(古町) located 1.5km northwest of Niigata Station, westside of Bandai Bridge(萬代橋) Most of the accommodations in this city are not Japanese style Ryokans but western-style hotels. As many restaurants are open till midnight, it is recommended to book your hotels with breakfast only or without meals. Please note that few inns have their own parking lots, and in addition to the accommodation fee, the parking lot fee will be charged separately or you will be instructed to park in a public parking lot. If you want to stay at a more luxurious inn or enjoy a hot spring, we recommend the "Yahiko Onsen" area. It is also convenient to visit Mt.Yahiko and Yahiko Shrine. It takes about 40km and 50 minutes to reach Niigata City.

On this day, you will stay in Nagano city(長野). Most of the accommodations are concentrated around Nagano Station. Most of the accommodations in this city are not Japanese style Ryokans but western-style hotels. As many restaurants are open till midnight, it is recommended to book your hotels with breakfast only or without meals. We also recommend staying at a temple called "Shukubo" around Zenkoji, a symbol of Nagano City. This is basically a plan with two meals per night for shōjin dishes (vegetarian dishes that do not use meat or fish). Some shukubo offer to morning ceremony called "Oasaji" or some activities such as copying sutras(Shakyo). Please note that few inns in Nagano have their own parking lots, and in addition to the accommodation fee, the parking lot fee will be charged separately or you will be instructed to park in a public parking lot. For those who want to stay at an inn with a hot spring, we also recommend the "Myoko" area, which is also famous as a snow resort. It is about 32km from Nagano City and about 45 minutes by car. "

On this day, you will stay at either Yuzawa(湯沢) or Minakami Onsen(水上温泉). Two cities are about 30 km away and take 30min by expressway E17(Kanetsu). Please note that if you try to drive a normal road (National Route 17) instead of the expressway E17, it is about 50km and takes more than an hour and a half. Yuzawa is on the north side and Minakami Onsen is on the south side. Both are nationally famous for snow resort with Onsen and there are both Japanese style Ryokan and western-style hotels. [Yuzawa] Yuzawa has various style accommodations from 3-5 stars. If you stay at 4-5 star luxury accommodations, it is recommended to book with a plan with dinner and breakfast. There are some Izakaya style restaurant on the west side of EchigoYuzawa station, so if you want to stay reasonable inn, it is recommended to book the inn around the station without dinner. [Minakami Onsen] Most of the accommodations in Minakami Onsen are 4-5 star Ryokans with hot springs. They will provide Onsen and nice Japanese Kaiseki style dinners. Restaurants and shops in the city close evening and you must book a plan with dinner and breakfast. Unlike Yuzawa, the inns in Minakami are widely dispersed and there are no restaurants or shops around, so be sure to make a reservation with a plan that includes dinner and breakfast. Most inns have official free parking.