ACCESS

For Visitors Arriving by Airplane　

Flights to Niigata Airport are available from domestic cities including Sapporo, Hanamaki, Nagoya, Itami, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Okinawa. From Niigata Station, take the Joetsu Shinkansen bound for Tokyo and get off at Urasa Station (about 40 minutes).

For Visitors Arriving by Car (From the Metropolitan Area)

• From Tokyo: Nerima IC → Muikamachi IC (approx. 2 hours 30 minutes)

• From Niigata: Niigata IC → Muikamachi IC (approx. 1 hour 20 minutes)

For Visitors Arriving by Train (Shinkansen)

• From Tokyo:

  • Tokyo → Echigo Yuzawa (Shinkansen) — 30 minutes

  • Echigo Yuzawa → Muikamachi (Joetsu Line) — 20 minutes

• From Niigata:

  • Niigata → Urasa (Shinkansen) — 45 minutes

  • Urasa → Muikamachi (Joetsu Line) — 12 minutes

For Visitors Arriving by Bus

　The easiest stops to get to are Nagaoka (then train for 1 hour) or Muikamachi IC (then bus for 10 minutes or walk for 30 minutes).

 The JR EAST PASS (Nagano, Niigata area) is a special discounted pass available only to customers visiting Japan (with a short-term visa no longer than 90 days) and holding a non-Japanese passport. It allows unlimited rides on all JR East train lines in the JR EAST PASS (Nagano, Niigata area) designated area for 5 or 10 days.

Start with a trip from Narita Airport or Haneda Airport to Tokyo, for example, then ride around, and maybe hop aboard the Shinkansen or a limited express to Nagano or Niigata. In addition to JR East lines, the JR EAST PASS (Nagano, Niigata area) allows rides on some non-JR trains in the Izu and Nikko areas. While in Japan, take advantage of this great offer to see a lot more for a lot less.

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass_n/index.html