Myoko Kogen Village Information

Akakura Onsen is the hub of the Myoko Kogen area. It has the highest concentration of restaurants and bars, a great selection of souvenir shops, a number of hotels and it’s right at the base of the Akakura Kanko and Akakura Onsen ski areas.

  • Village Map
  • Eating out
  • Bars
  • Onsens
  • Local specialities

Click on the map below for a larger, interactive version.

Hover over places on the map to see a pop-up short description of restaurants, bars, ski facilities and town amenities.

Eating out in Myoko Kogen

There lots of great restaurants tucked away in the village of Akakura Onsen, serving everything from Ramen noodles and Curry to Donburi and set meal feasts.

The list below covers a few of my favourites – see the “Village Map” tab for their locations.

Chia Ramen

Chia Ramen

Serving Ramen noodle soups, beer and sake, Chia is the perfect place to refuel after a hard day of riding or have a late night feast on your way home from one of the Izakaya bars. Open from 5:00 pm until 12:00 midnight.

Yasuragitei

Yasuragitei

Serving a wide variety of Japanese dishes in a traditional atmosphere, Yasuragitei is open from 11:00am to 2:00pm for lunch and 5:00pm to midnight for dinner. The staff reccomend the “Kara-age teishoku” (fried chicken set meal) and their “gyoza” (Chinese style dumplings) and there is an English menu available.

Gelato Okura

Gelato Okura

This place is part souvenir shop and part take away – they have a nice selection of hand made beanies, gloves and jewelry and also sell Japanese style crepes and hand made ice cream. Satisfy the crafty types and the sweet-tooths in one fell swoop!

Pomodoro

Italian restaurant serving pizza and pasta from 11:00am to 2:00pm for lunch and 5:00pm to 11:00pm for dinner. An English menu is available.

Indian Curry Shop

A variety of Indian style curries are available, with set meals from 1000 yen. Open for lunch and dinner.

Shibata

Open nightly for dinner, Shibata serves a great selection of traditional Japanese options including set meals and “Donburi” (dishes served on top of a bowl of rice). They also have a delicious baby bamboo shoot soup! An English menu is available.

Udon no fu

Serving Udon noodles in a great traditional Japanese atmosphere this little restaurant in the basement under Pomodoro is one of Akakura Onsen’s hidden treasures. Check out the “Ika-sumi alps Udon” (Squid ink Udon) for something really special and different!

Hunter

This establishment combines a restaurant and a Karaoke bar – the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with western and Japanese options available. They have a delicous “Miso Nabe” (miso flavored hot pot) which is a great meal to share with friends. At night, the karaoke bar down stairs kicks into gear so you can belt out all your favorite classics over a few drinks and some great bar food.

Bars

Myoko Kogen is not really a ‘party town’ so if you are looking for rowdy nights with plenty of lubrication you are probably better off heading to Hakuba or Niseko (you’ll find heaps of friends there to run amok with!). That said, there are couple of Izakaya (Japanese traditional bars) in Akakura Onsen that serve delicious local sake and shochu as well as amazing food.

Food is always ordered with drinks in Japanese bars. Not only does it help to counter the effects of the booze but Japanese bar food really is something that has to be tried to be believed!

Shinsetsu-ya

Shinsetsu-ya, Akakura Onsen

A homely style bar located right next to the Kumado lifts, Shinsetsu-ya serves a variety of drinks and delicious innovative bar foods including fried chicken with a tomato and coriander salsa topping. There is a great sound system and some great interior design ideas, and the owner Ken will always go out of his way to make sure everyone is comfortable, watered and has something tasty to snack on. If you’re ever stuck for ideas, just order “iro-iro” (roughly translates to ‘various things’) and enjoy the delights of the day!

Izakaya Hoheto

Izakaya Hoheto

Serving a large selection of Izakaya style bar foods such as fried chicken, pickles and grilled fish as well as beer, sake, shochu and soft drinks, Hoheto is a great example of Japanese style night time relaxation.

Izakaya Kei

Izakaya Kei

This little Izakaya serves beer, sake and shochu as well as mixed drinks. There is also a really interesting menu of fusion foods to snack on while you are having a few quiet drinks.

Delica

Delica bar and karaoke

Delica is a popular bar amongst the traveling foreigners in Akakura. They serve a wide range of drinks and have karaoke for the want-to-be popstars out there.

Hunter Karaoke

See the description in the restaurants section.

Hunter karaoke bar
Hunter karaoke bar

Unlike Nozawa Onsen, Akakura Onsen doesn’t have free public onsen in the village (that’s really something unique to Nozawa). There are, however, onsen in most of the hotels that can be used by the general public for a small fee, including some really fantastic indoor and outdoor baths. There is also the ‘Landmark’ Onsen complex in Ikenotaira, featuring indoor and outdoor baths, relaxation areas and there are massage services available as well.

Hotel Mumon also has a fantastic in-house onsen that is available 24 hours a day for guest use.

Local Specialities

Sake

Just as Nagano prefecture has it’s famous Sake, so does Niigata. As with wine, there is a lot of personal preference as to which type of Sake people prefer, and again similar to wine, the character of the Sake varies with region.

Niigata prefecture is famed for the quality of the ‘Koshihikari’ rice grown here, and as such the Sake is also highly prized. For most westerners, it’s hard to know what they’re talking about with the different characteristics of different brews so I think that the best idea is to try a few out and compare them to find what kind of Sake tickles your fancy!

There is also beer brewed in Ikenotaira – ‘Myoko Beer’ make a pilsner and a dark ale which are both quite tasty, and you can visit the brewery where they also have an all-you-can-eat ‘Jingis-kan’ (Mongolian lamb bbq) to help balance out the liquor!

Hangoroshi Kimchi

This local variation on the popular Korean pickled cabbage dish is made with Nozawa-na instead of cabbage and packs quite a spicy punch. The name translates literally to “Half-Kill Kimchi”….. enough said?

Soba noodles

Soba is a local dish of handmade buckwheat noodles. It is popular throughout Nagano and Niigata.

Onsen manju

Manju is a sweet treat – almost like a cake – filled with anko (sweet red beans) or roasted chestnuts. They are served hot, steamed in bamboo containers, or cold with Japanese green tea in hotels.