With a rich and interesting history, Yuzawa Town, in the southern part of Niigata Prefecture and on the border with Gunma Prefecture, is surrounded by stunning natural scenery.  The town (full name Echigo Yuzawa) is home to not only some of the more beautiful mountains and scenery of Japan, but also an abundance of beautiful flowers and plants in the summer seasons.  As a professional photographer, I have spend years capturing the beauty of Yuzawa and its wildlife, and present a selection of my work on this site.

Yuzawa is perhaps best known for its popular ski and snowboard season, when up to three meters of snow lines the roadsides and hundreds of thousands of eager skiers and snowboarders descend onto the small town.   The town of Yuzawa has 19 ski hills, the most famous being Naeba Ski Resort.  Until the ski industry appeared, the onsen hot springs were the main tourist attraction of Yuzawa town, with an 800 year history.  They are still very popular and highly recommended.

Yuzawa is just an 80 minute train ride from Tokyo Station (using the Joetsu Shinkansen "bullet" train), and so easily accessible for a day trip.

If you have any questions about Yuzawa or my work, then please feel free to contact me at any time by sending in an email to the following address:

masaakit@utsukushiiyuzawa.com

Thank you very much for visiting this site and enjoy "Utsukushii Yuzawa"!

Masaaki Takahashi
June 2001