The lodge at dusk in falling snow, dark timber cladding with every window lit.

Jōetsu, Niigata

A whole house in snow country, for your group.

Rice fields on one side, cedar forest on the other. Myoko's ski resorts are 10 to 30 minutes away.

Check availability See the house
The stay

A house for groups, in snow country.

Hibiki Lodge is on the outskirts of Jōetsu, 10 to 30 minutes by car from the main Myoko slopes.

The house looks out over rice paddy fields to the mountains. Guests tell us the view is the first thing they notice.

You have the whole house, with room for a large group and a quiet place to retreat when you want one.

Sleeps
14
To the slopes
10-30 min
From Tokyo
3-3.5 hr
To the forest
1 min

A house with a view.

The whole house is yours, with room for a large group to spread out.

The long dining table set for a group, snow visible through the balcony doors.
A tatami room seen through open sliding doors, futon laid out beneath a window onto the mountains.
A small table by the window, low winter sun across the floorboards and snow-covered fields beyond.

The view.

The house is on the outskirts, with the mountains in the distance and rice paddy fields around it in summer.

The rooms upstairs.

Upstairs are the small rooms. They feel warm and close, and they suit friends and families alike.

Big snow, small crowds.

Myoko is several resorts, not one, and each makes a different day out. All of them are under thirty minutes from the house.

An onsen visit after skiing costs ¥800. Snow country is easier to reach than most people expect.

Timed from the door
  • Ikenotaira Families and beginners 20 min
  • Suginohara One of Japan's longest runs 26 min
Under thirty minutes
  • Akakura Onsen Beginners, closest to town under 30
  • Akakura Kanko Steeper, and the views under 30
  • Lotte Arai Powder under 30
  • Seki Onsen Quiet, local under 30

The house all year round.

Most people come for the snow. Spring, summer and autumn are worth the trip too.

The dark timber and white plaster of Takada Castle keep against a clear spring sky.

Cherry blossom in Niigata can last close to a month. Most of Japan gets about a week.

Cool air off the Sea of Japan slows the bloom down. Niigata stretches 250 kilometres from the coast to the mountains, so the blossom opens at the coast first and moves inland over several weeks. Takada Castle is thirty minutes away and counts as one of Japan's three great places to see blossom at night. Four thousand trees are lit up and reflected in the moat.

Nearby

People ask what there is to do out here.

Quite a lot.

On foot
  • The forest next door 1 min
  • そば処 一郷庵 7 min Soba, down the road
Also in range
  • Snow monkeys at Jigokudani
  • Naena Falls
  • Zenkō-ji
  • Kamakura snow huts
  • Snowshoe and snowmobile tours
By car
  • Michi-no-Eki Arai 10 min 道の駅. Fish market, bakery, tonjiru
  • Narus supermarket 18 min Also the hardware shop and the drugstore
  • Takada Castle 30 min Cherry blossom at night
  • St. Cousair 35 min A winery on the hill, and a chapel in the vines
  • Togakushi Shrine under 1 hr Five shrines, cedars over 400 years old

Michi-no-Eki are roadside stations. There are over 1,200 across Japan, and each is meant to show travellers what its region is like. Most visitors drive straight past. The one in Arai is where the locals go.

Getting here

  1. 01 Tokyo airport to Tokyo Station 25-55 min
  2. 02 Shinkansen to Jōetsu-Myoko 2 hr
  3. 03 Drive to Hibiki Lodge 20 min
  4. Total from Tokyo 3-3.5 hr
Map of Niigata prefecture with Jōetsu marked on the coast below the Myoko mountains.

Driving the whole way takes four to five hours. The countryside makes it worth doing once.

Rental cars are at Jōetsu-Myoko Station. A car makes the resorts, the onsen and the supermarket much easier. Some guests send their luggage and ski bags ahead and take the train with nothing to carry.

Search Hibiki Lodge on Google Maps and it will bring you to the door.

Four friends from Malaysia.

We met through travel and snow.

Rural Japan got to us. Life here is built around the community and the seasons. So we bought a house in Jōetsu and started restoring it.

Andre, Caryl, Sylvia and Julien.

The four owners of Hibiki Lodge standing in the upstairs room, snow through the window behind them.
The four of us, upstairs, first winter.
Hikkoshi aisatsu

The first thing we did after arriving was go door to door with small gifts for the neighbours. It's an ordinary custom here, especially in the countryside, where knowing your neighbours is part of the day. We wrapped ours in batik from home.

On not speaking the language.

We went to the soba shop down the road to introduce ourselves. Nobody there speaks English and we don't speak Japanese. Everyone warned us about this, and it has been the easy part. The soba owner lights up when we finally get across what we mean. A neighbour checks in on us. We ran a two-hour meeting with our architect, plans and all, entirely through a phone. If the language has kept you from coming, don't let it.

We finally painted the house.

This deep blue is called kachi-iro. For eight hundred years it has stood for strength and staying power. Samurai wore it under their armour for luck. It's also the blue behind Samurai Blue, Japan's football colour.

It stands out against Myoko's snow, and a dark colour holds up through the seasons better than a pale one.

#202e4e The same blue runs through everything else here.
Availability

Come and stay.

We take one group at a time, so the whole house is yours.

Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will write back.

Please give us a first name to reply to.

Please give us a last name.

Please check the email address.

Choose your country, then the number without the leading zero.

Please give a country code and a number between 6 and 15 digits.

Infants do not count towards the fourteen beds.

Please give at least one adult.

Arrive and leave. We take one group at a time.

Please give an arrival date and a leaving date that follows it.

Are you flexible on dates? Optional

Skiers, small children, dietary needs, arrival time.

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Your details are sent to Cloud 9 Property Management, who handle bookings for Hibiki Lodge.

Before you write.

How do I get there?

Three to three and a half hours from Tokyo: train to Tokyo Station, shinkansen to Jōetsu-Myoko, twenty minutes by car. Four to five hours if you drive the whole way.

Do I need a car?

It helps a lot. Rentals are at Jōetsu-Myoko Station, and a car makes the resorts, the onsen and the supermarket much easier.

Is there anything to do nearby?

A forest is a one-minute walk away and a soba shop is seven. Within the hour you can reach six ski areas, several onsen, a winery, a shrine and a castle.

We do not speak Japanese. Is that a problem?

We don't either. A phone and some patience have been enough so far, and we can help you too.

Can we book just a room?

No. The house goes to one group at a time.