#Published

For decades, Japan Rail (JR) have been running a campaign called JR SKI SKI. The whole premise is to get you to go to the snow via Shinkansen. From Tokyo station, there’s a 1.5 hour train that can get you to Echigo Yuzawa, one of the many ski resort hotspots. One most convenient one being Gala Yuzawa which has their own dedicated station that only opens in the winter months, with a gondola inside the train station!

The first time I tried to go to the snow via Shinkansen, I was nearly the only person who was carrying my board bag. Shinkansen don’t have that much room for bags, so it’s actually a hassle. So little room that in 2020, JR started asking you to reserve space and charge you extra for bringing big bags into the train. If you’re bringing your bag, you are obviously doing it wrong.

The Japanese way is to send your bags to the ski resort or hotels through Takyubin (宅急便) by Yamato Delivery (the logo is a black cat carrying a cat.) You can do it from your home, your local 7-11 or even from the airport. You only need to send it 2 days before to guarantee it will be there at the destination waiting for you (it’ll likely get their overnight, but they like to under promise). Pick them up when you arrive at the ski resort or hotel. If you get them directly from the resort, they’ll have a changing area for you to use too. Once you’re done, you just send it back home the same way you did. All of this only costs you about 2000 yen (USD $20) one-way.

So if you ever come with your boards (or just big bags), and planning to take a train from the airport, don’t bring your bags with you on the train, send the bags from the JAL ABC or Yamato counters.