GETTING HERE – VERY CLOSE TO AWESOME POWDER
Only 250 km from Tokyo! Aizu is the closest powder area from Tokyo and you can get to the wonderful powder no matter which transport you use.
There are two options for getting to Aizu.
– Direct bus from Haneda Airport
– Train including the shinkansen (bullet train) which runs at a maximum speed of 300km/h
You can learn how to take the bus and transfer the train here.
GETTING HERE BY DIRECT BUS
Haneda airport is only 15 km away from the center of Tokyo. There is a direct bus from Haneda airport to Aizu according to the early morning arrival flights.
You don’t have to carry heavy ski bags all the way if you take this bus.
The bus is equipped with free Wi-Fi as well as the toilet to make your journey more fun and relaxing.
Bus Stop
Timetable
To AIZU
To Tokyo Haneda Airport
Ticket price
It’s only 5 minutes walk to the bus stop from the arrival hall. It’s easy to get there!
If you have time until the bus depart, you can go to convenience store to buy some snacks. You will have 2 short breaks on the way to Aizu as well.
GETTING HERE BY TRAIN
If you cannot take the bus above or arrive at Narita Airport, you can take the train.
The fastest way from Narita is taking Narita Express (hereinafter referred to as N’EX) and shinkansen. It takes 1 hour from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station is huge and has lots of lines, so even Japanese have difficulty in transferring.
The photos below show you how to transfer to the shinkansen.
N’EX arrives platform on the forth basement floor. You need to head to the Tohoku Shinkansen platform from there. A lot of shinkansen to the various destinations departs from Tokyo station. Make sure to follow the green signs of shinkansen transfer. Green shinkansen mark stands for ‘Tohoku Shinkansen’. PLEASE DO NOT follow orange ones as they will take you to the train to different direction.
After buying the ticket, check the platform with the electronic bulletin board. The name of the shinkansen to Koriyama where is the gateway to Aizu is Tohoku Shinkansen ‘Yamabiko.’ It is displayed in green on the board.
Some trains don’t stop at Koriyama, so make sure to take ‘Yamabiko’.
The train comes 10 minutes before the departing time. We recommend that you go to under the number plate of the car indicated on your ticket before the train comes.
There are two types of shinkansen tickets, Reserved seat ticket and Non-reserved seat ticket. Your seat is reserved if you have Reserved Seat Ticket. However, if you missed the train, you need to pay to reserve your seat for a new train or take non-reserved seat. Non-reserved seats are in the car 1, 2 and 3 on the rear side in the direction of travel which is located on the edge of the platform away from stairs and escalators.
Again, the Tohoku Shinkansen name displayed on the train is written in English, so please make sure to check whether it is “Yamabiko” before boarding.
Koriyama is about 1.5 hours and it is the fourth stop from Tokyo Station.
After getting off at Koriyama, take the local train Banetsu-Sai Line. You can find that line very easily by following the signs. You may have to wait more than 30 minutes as it runs every one hour.
Get off at Inawashiro where is about 45 minutes away from Koriyama.
Shuttle bus to the hotels are running from Inawashiro.