- 14 Mar 2002
- 21,057
- 18,914
Paris, Texas?
A taxi driver recently brought three Australian skiers to the tourist information centre at JR Yuzawa Station, a scene that was all too familiar to the staff. The family, dressed for the slopes, clearly intended to go to JR Echigo-Yuzawa Station in Niigata Prefecture, a popular destination for international skiers. The problem? These two stations are hundreds of kilometres apart – not a minor error. The staff member explained that the trip from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station takes at least four hours. Foreign tourists often leave Tokyo in the morning and arrive at JR Yuzawa Station around 3 p.m., mistakenly thinking they've reached their destination. This kind of mix-up occurs multiple times every month.
Once at Yuzawa Station, the only way to correct course and get to Echigo-Yuzawa Station is to backtrack by boarding the Akita Shinkansen Line for Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture and then transfer to the Joetsu Shinkansen Line.
A taxi driver recently brought three Australian skiers to the tourist information centre at JR Yuzawa Station, a scene that was all too familiar to the staff. The family, dressed for the slopes, clearly intended to go to JR Echigo-Yuzawa Station in Niigata Prefecture, a popular destination for international skiers. The problem? These two stations are hundreds of kilometres apart – not a minor error. The staff member explained that the trip from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station takes at least four hours. Foreign tourists often leave Tokyo in the morning and arrive at JR Yuzawa Station around 3 p.m., mistakenly thinking they've reached their destination. This kind of mix-up occurs multiple times every month.
Once at Yuzawa Station, the only way to correct course and get to Echigo-Yuzawa Station is to backtrack by boarding the Akita Shinkansen Line for Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture and then transfer to the Joetsu Shinkansen Line.