7-Day Nagano Snow Tow Logistics

This page is dedicated to where to meet, what flights to book, what to bring, and details about money on the 7-day Nagano Snow Tow.

1. How to Get to Nagano Station

This tour starts from Nagano Station at 4pm on day 1. You will need to arrange and pay for your own transportation to Nagano Station.

Getting to Nagano Station from Narita Airport: We recommend two options, bullet train (9,430 Yen) or shuttle service (10,900 Yen). The shuttle service is the most simple and you won't have to worry about lugging your bags around, but you'll miss the charm of riding on Japan's famous Shinkansen (bullet train). More details below:

Option #1 - By Shuttle: Chuo Taxi offers shuttle services from Tokyo's Narita and Haneda Airports. Visit their website to book online. Choose your arriving airport, then "Nagano Prefecture>Nagano-Shi" to make your booking. For an extra 2,000 Yen the driver will also meet you with a sign at you arrivals gate. Their pickup locations at Narita Airport can be found here.

Option #2 - By Train: Taking the train to Nagano Station involves one transfer. Take the Keisei Sky Access Line to Ueno Station and transfer to the Shinkansen headed for Nagano. Note that trains leave at least hourly, so you won't need to make reservations ahead of time. Just get your ticket when you land and catch the next available train. To see the train schedule click here and adjust your departure time to find the right train based on you flight's arrival (to be safe it will take 1.5 hours from when your plane lands to the station platform)

The map to the left shows the route you should take from Narita Airport to Nagano Station. Click "More options" on the map to adjust the departure time based on you arriving flight.

*If you are arriving at Narita on Day 1 but won't be able to make it to Nagano Station by 4:00 PM, you can still join the tour by taking Chuo Taxi directly to our lodging in Echoland. Click here to make a reservation on their website.

2. Meet at Nagano Station at 4PM

We'll meet just outside of the Nagano Station's Shinkansen gates, outside Beck's Coffee Shop at 4 PM.

From here we'll get our bags together, hop in our trusty Adventure Van and make our way to Hakuba.

The pictures to the left show where the meeting point is located within the station and what it looks like from the outside.

*Arriving late?: If you are coming from the airport or Tokyo area but won't be able to make it to Nagano Station by 4:00 PM, you can still join our trip by taking Chuo Taxi directly to our lodging in Echoland and arriving later. Click here to make a reservation on their website.

3. What flights to book

Coming to Japan:

You will need to book your international flights to/from Tokyo. You need to be at Nagano Station at the meeting point by 4 PM. For most people coming from Europe or North America, this will probably mean arriving the day before our tour starts. You can make a bee line to Nagano and book a hotel to get some rest before a week of wild skiing or stay in Tokyo and explore its nightlife and head to Nagano the following morning.

Alternatively, if you'll be arriving in Tokyo's Narita Airport on Day 1 of our tour but won't be able to make it to Nagano Station by 4 PM, you can take the Chuo Taxi option (outlined above) directly to our lodging in Hakuba.

Leaving Japan:

On the last day you can either transfer back to Tokyo in the morning, or ski all day and transfer back to Tokyo in the evening.

Option 1: Early Drop-off
Best for catching a mid day flight on day 7

If you need to make it back to Narita Airport in time for your flight home, we can drop you off at Iiyama Station, which is on the same Shinkansen (bullet train) line that you will take if you travel by train to meet us at Nagano Station on Day 1. Boarding the 8:39am departing Shinkansen will allow you to arrive at Narita at 11:23am. No reservations are required for the train.

Alternatively, you can also make reservations with Chuo Taxi Service from our lodging in Nozawa Onsen to Narita Airport. They'll pick you up at anytime you'd like and shuttle you to the airport for 12,900 Yen. Click here to make reservations online.

Option 2: Ski all day, then evening drop-off
Best for catching a late night flight or spending the night in Tokyo

Not leaving the country on Day 7 but still want another day of epic pow? Ski Japan's largest ski area, Shiga Kogen. We'll set you up with an all-mountain pass, covering 19 interconnected resorts and let you loose to find your powderfull zone. After a full day of skiing we'll drop you off where we started, at Nagano Station by 6pm. From here you can head back to Tokyo (the fastest route will get you to Tokyo Station by 7:45, no reservations necessary) or keep skiing!

4. What to bring

Ski Gear

Ski/Snowboard
Ski bag/ Snowboard bag
Boots, poles
Shovel, beacon, probe if going off-piste (mandatory for joining guided off-piste tours)
Goggles, gloves, helmet
Ski jacket, ski pants
Long Johns top and bottom
Ski socks
Toe warmers (if you struggle with cold feet these are life changing)
Mid-layer insulation (fleece, etc)

General Gear

A day pack. Very useful to bring a change of clothes when we stop by a Onsen Hot Springs on our way back from a day of skiing.
Winter coat. In the ski towns, you can expect temperatures of -10c with high humidity
Pants/trousers, T-shirts
Insulating fleece-type layers
Underwear, toiletries, socks, sunglasses
Call your bank before you leave and make sure they know you're going to be purchasing items in Japan using your debit/credit card abroad
Money (more on this below)

4. Money

The currency in Japan is the Japanese Yen which is denoted by "JPY" or as "¥".

Credit Cards

First, you should know that Japan doesn't really like credit cards. While they are getting to be more accepted, you should only count on your credit card for 20% of your transactions. The rest of the time you'll be dependent on cash.

Getting Cash in Japan

As a tourist, there are two main ways of getting cash in Japan: 1) bring your home currency with you and exchange it at the currency exchange window, or 2) use ATM's within Japan to withdraw your funds.

Currency exchange window. You can exchange your home currency into JPY after arriving in Japan. This is a very simple option as there is no bank to get in the way and decline your currency conversion. The simplicity has a price though because the exchange window doesn't give you the most advantageous rate.

Withdraw funds from ATM's. You should be able to withdraw funds from any Seven Eleven ATM in Japan. The conversion rate is great but sometimes banks have issues with Japanese ATM's which can cause them to block your transactions. Be sure to check with your bank before coming to see if they have a ATM withdrawal fee or currency conversion fee. If they do, it may be cheaper to just convert cash at a currency exchange window.

The best idea is to show up in Japan with a few hundred dollars of your own currency, convert it in to JPY, then use ATM's after that. Be sure to call your bank and let them know you'll be making withdrawals from Japanese ATM's so they don't block your account!

What you can expect to spend

Looking at the What's Included page is a good starting point to get an idea of what you'll need to spend money on. Other then that, the amount of money you spend in Japan largely depends on your preferences. Do you want to eat sushi every day? Are you going for the most expensive sake? Will you be buying lots of souvenirs or electronics?

Below is a cost estimate based on how much is spent daily on each item. Prices are in JPY. Over the 7-day trip, you can expect to spend ¥46,400 on the low end or ¥91,700 on the high end. Keep in mind that results will vary depending on your personal spending.

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