Joetsu
上越市37°09′ N 138°14′ ECityPop. 176,096Niigata
Joetsu suits travellers who want a castle town with a Shinkansen station as the gateway to Myoko, and its trade-off is a city base half an hour from the slopes.
Photo Josh Furr · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Who should base here
Stay in Joetsu for an early Shinkansen or the April cherry blossom at Takada, and ride the Myoko Haneuma Line up to the snow.
Joetsu is the coastal city at the foot of the Myoko highlands, with 176,096 people on 1 October 2026. Joetsu-Myoko Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen is where most Myoko trips begin, and the Myoko Haneuma Line climbs from there to Arai and Myoko-Kogen.
Takada is the old castle town inside the city. Matsudaira Tadateru, Tokugawa Ieyasu's sixth son, built Takada Castle as his seat, and about 4,000 cherry trees ring its moats in early April when the festival lights them at night.
Quick answers about Joetsuよくある質問
Is Joetsu a good place to stay?
Stay in Joetsu for an early Shinkansen or the April cherry blossom at Takada, and ride the Myoko Haneuma Line up to the snow.
Within 12 km
Places to eat and drink nearby食
Within 12 km
Culture and history nearby文化
In the journal
