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Naeba resort snow
Lat Long: 36.79° N 138.78° E
Ski Japan - Niigata

Naeba Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Naeba Ski Resort

Naeba Ratings

Overall: 4.3. Based on 13 votes and 3 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 2.8

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Naeba is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.2

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Naeba has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.5

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 5.0

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 4.0

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Naeba

Public Transport: 4.5

  • There are no buses or taxis to Naeba
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.0

  • No places to stay in/near Naeba
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 4.0

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 4.5

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Naeba

Ski in/Ski out: 5.0

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 5.0

  • There are no child care facilities at Naeba
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 2.8

  • Naeba relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 5.0

  • There are no snow groomers at Naeba
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Naeba are groomed daily

Shelter: 5.0

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Naeba is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 5.0

  • If snow conditions are poor at Naeba, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 5.0

  • Naeba usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 5.0

  • The staff at Naeba are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Naeba are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.0

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 5.0

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 5.0

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 5.0

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 5.0

  • No intermediate terrain at Naeba
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 2.8

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 4.0

  • Not even a kicker at Naeba
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.0

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Naeba
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.0

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Naeba has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 5.0

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 5.0

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 2.5

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 3.0

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 5.0

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 5.0

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 5.0

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 5.0

  • Overall, Naeba is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 5.0

  • Overall, Naeba is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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February 19, 2015
Sootee from Ski Japan - Nagano Japan - Nagano
Naeba, on its own, is not a large resort but having Kagura and Tashiro on the same ticket makes for a good variety of runs. Snow cover, as usual, is excellent here as you'd expect and it always seems to snow without fail. Downside though is it often white outs and is windy (which will cut off the top area for access). Blue sky days are great until the weather closes in turning the front areas mushy and snow to icy/crusty danger, being so low in altitude like most Japanese resorts are. Mind you this was in mid Feb when the temp is also warming up. There are enough challenging runs for all levels and plenty of powder stashes after a good dumping. Lift queues..what lift queues? The Prince Hotel provides excellent ski in/ski out access and facilities.
February 27, 2009
Daz from Ski Japan - Nagano Japan - Nagano
As I've said on my Kagura report, Naeba conrtibutes to a large area considering the Tashiro-Kagura-Mitsumata + Naeba ticket. I've recently revisited Naeba, and although the snow isn't the same this year (like most of Honshu) I was still impressed. This resort has some nice runs; I like the Challenge Course as it's a natural half-pipe and I can develop my park skills whilst riding the mountain. I didn't have the chance to check out the BC or SC as the snow wasn't really good enough, but Naeba is still a fun resort to visit, often having great conditions late into the season and if not then Kagura is just around the corner
January 03, 2006
DeMarkus from Ski USA - California USA - California
I've been snowboarding in Japan for a couple of years now, and Naeba is one of the better resorts on Honshu. It's not as easy to get to as GALA, but it's one station before GALA and there's always a bus to take you to the mountain. Basically, it's cool. If you feel like waking up and just heading to the mountain for a day of snowboarding or skiing (if you still do that), you won't waste your money.