Echigo Yuzawa

Revision as of 13:33, 18 April 2007

Yuzawa (湯沢) is a city is located in Japan. The city is in the Niigata Prefecture. The district is resides in is the Minamiuonuma District. Yuzawa is located 200 kilometers from Tokyo on the southern border of the Niigata Prefecture. The town as of 2003 is 8,963 spanned over 357 square kilometers. Today it is known as an Onsen Spring town because of its location new one of the hot springs.

The town’s economy flourishes and grows because of tourism. During the winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding bring people to the area. There are three other main industries that are affected by people the tourist industry bring in. The three most important industries in Yuzawa is Agricultural, mining/manufacturing and any type of utilities or service industry. In 2000 there were 4 times more people in the tertiary markets than in the primary markets.

It has also been the location of the Fuji Rock Festival since 1999.

The Yuzawa rope way is one of the largest rope ways in the world. The car can take up to 166 people from the town to Yuzawa Kogen and Alp no Sato. The ride takes less than 10 minutes and allows a beautiful view of the area. From this great view the Onsen Hot Springs can be seen. This natural hot springs was named 800 years ago and is a town and tourist favorite. This water is known for its healing properties.

History

This Onsen town was established over 800 years ago. The Onson Springs made it a perfect place for people trying to settle in this mountain region. The hot springs allowed the settlers to stay warm during the snow storms and helped bring people to the settlements. Long ago the springs gained their magic from folk lore being passed down from generation to generation.

50 years ago this town was known to get over 4 or 5 meters of snow. This was very difficult or the natives of this town to deal with. Often times they had to enter their houses through their 2nd or 3rd floors. Although the town still gets large amounts of snow, it is nothing compared to the past. This past history gave this town the name "snow country".

Points of Interest

Many natural occurrences make this town very interesting to the outside world. The snow resorts in Yuzawa are some of the famous in Japan. There are over 20 ski and snowboard resorts in this region. In the resorts activities such as fishing, paragliding, golf, tennis and canoeing are offered during the green season.

In summer, the Fuji Rock Festival - the annual three-day rock festival organized by Smash Japan - takes place in the Naeba Ski Resort.

The Yuzawa Museum is located on the main street and has many interesting facts about the area. The traditions and culture can be learned at this museum. The museum is located near the Yuzawa Kogen. If the museum is of interest, there are many temples throughout this region. One of the famous is the Untoan Temple.

The Kiyotsukyo is a natural canyon or gorge. People walk along this canyon through tunnels with open areas in the rock walls. There are many plants and wildlife to be viewed throughout the area. This area is visited during winter times and green times alike.

External Links

• Echigo Yuzawa Official Website (English)