JR East has an annual winter campaign called “JR SKISKI,” well known for its catchy phrase “It’s all because of the snow.” and its yearly attention to who plays the heroine. Have you, dear readers, ever used this campaign’s offer?
▲Actress Hiyori Sakurada was chosen as the heroine for the 2023-2024 season
Although the author has been involved in winter sports since childhood, JR SKISKI products have never been used before. In recent years, due to conflicting schedules with friends, visits to ski resorts have been scarce. Finally, this season a ski resort visit seemed possible, and while researching various travel products, it was discovered how incredibly good value the JR SKISKI Dynamic Rail Pack is.
Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station Round Trip for 2,700 Yen?
▲View Travel’s JR SKISKI special feature page
When talking about JR SKISKI, the Gala Yuzawa Ski Resort in Yuzawa Town, Niigata, comes to mind. Its direct connection to the Gala Yuzawa Station of the Joetsu Shinkansen and being a JR East-associated ski resort are its main selling points. A round-trip Shinkansen ticket and a one-day lift ticket set cost 10,100 yen (weekdays only). Including a rental set fee (6,500 yen for one day), one can go on a round trip ski day trip to Niigata for just 16,600 yen.
Normally, the fare between Tokyo and Gala Yuzawa Station is 6,690 yen one way (using unreserved seats), totaling 13,380 yen for a round trip. Simply making the round trip pays off the cost. Even with the “Omaeni Tokuda Ne” (30% off) offer, the round trip costs 9,800 yen, giving the JR SKISKI product the upper hand when considering the lift ticket price.
Even more affordable is the Kandatsu Snow Resort, also in Yuzawa Town. A round trip Shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station and a one-day lift ticket set start at just 8,400 yen (weekdays only). The normal price for a one-day lift ticket at the same resort is 5,700 yen, making the Shinkansen effectively 2,700 yen. The usual round trip for the same segment costs 12,520 yen. It’s a mystery how such pricing was determined. Plans with a rental set are also available for a budget-friendly 11,500 yen.
Furthermore, this product can be purchased up until the day itself (plans with a rental set are available until 11:40 PM the day before departure). It allows for spontaneous decisions like “I got a day off tomorrow, let’s go” or “The weather is bad today, let’s cancel after all.”
So, I decided to use this product for a trip to Kandatsu Snow Resort in mid-February on a weekday.
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
