Four-part concept collage: NINJA's restaurant and sake bottles at top left, onigiri at top right, an AI-generated illustration of four rental cars in the snow at bottom left, and luggage storage at bottom right

AI-generated illustration of four Mitsubishi rental cars parked side by side in the snow

Akakura Onsen · Myoko Kogen · Niigata

Your base in Myoko.

One small place in Akakura where you can eat well, pick up a car that handles the snow, and drop the bags you've been dragging around. Run by a local family. Everything in English.

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Rice balls & local sake4WD rental, all snow tiresStorage & airport delivery

English spoken, every day4.5★ from 23 Google reviewsFamily-run since 2023In Akakura, at the foot of the lifts

The Myoko problem

You've landed in Myoko. Now what?

Akakura is a wonderful place to ski and a hard place to be a visitor. Taxis rarely come. There's almost nowhere to rent a car. Your ski bag has to go somewhere while you ride, and somewhere else again before you fly home. And when you finally sit down to eat, the menu is in a language you can't read.

NINJA exists because our own guests kept asking. First it was dinner. Then "how do we get around?" Then "can you hold our bags?" So we said yes, three times.

The NINJA entrance with its yellow onigiri and sake signs

Three things, one door

Eat. Drive. Travel light.

You don't have to book three different companies, in three different places, in a language you don't speak. It all happens at one counter.

Eat

Rice balls, local sake, and somewhere warm

Freshly made onigiri, miso soup, small plates and one of the deepest sake selections in Myoko. Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan all possible with a little notice.

See the menu

Drive

A 4WD that's actually built for this snow

Four Mitsubishi models, all 4WD on snow tires. From the Delica D:5 to a compact eK X Space, with pickup and return right here.

See cars & pricing

Travel light

Leave the bags with us

Store your gear for a few hours or a few days — or send it straight to Narita, Haneda or Kansai so you can see Tokyo with empty hands before you fly.

See how it works

You'll be fine here

What nobody tells you: it's all in English.

The hardest part of traveling in rural Japan isn't the snow — it's not being able to ask. At NINJA you can ask. About the menu, about which sake to try, about whether that road is open, about where to find a physical therapist at 8pm. If we can't fix it ourselves, we usually know who can.

English menus, English paperwork, English on WhatsApp
We'll check ingredients with the kitchen — allergies, gluten, vegan
Directions, lift status, onsen tips, restaurant bookings elsewhere
Message us before you arrive; we'll have it ready

Book or askWe usually reply within a few hours.

Who this is for

If any of this is you, come and find us.

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Families with kids

Kids are welcome all evening. Child seats for rental cars are ¥1,100 each per day, and we’ll make room for your family at the table.

Groups, from 6 to 50

There's a long shared table in the middle of the room. Big group? Tell us in advance and we'll build the night around you.

Anyone eating gluten-free or plant-based

This is where most visitors to Japan struggle. Give us notice and we'll put together a proper meal, not a side salad.

First time in Japan

You don't need to know how anything works. Ask us. That's genuinely what we're here for.

Anyone chasing snow beyond Akakura

Nozawa, Lotte Arai, Nagano's temples and the snow monkeys are all a drive away. That's what the cars are for.

Heading to Tokyo before you fly home

Ship the ski bag to the airport, keep the day pack, and enjoy the last few days without wrestling luggage onto trains.

What people say

Mostly, they talk about the sake.

4.5 out of 5 across 23 Google reviews — from Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Cairns and beyond.

Read all reviews on Google

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The sake is where this place shines — if you are not sure, speak to the guy behind the bar. He was spot on with the recommendations. We came back.

Kalina C.Sydney, Australia · via Google

I'm gluten and dairy free and have eaten here twice without worrying. The food was delicious and the staff were kind about it.

Jo M.Auckland, New Zealand · via Google

Friendly, helpful staff who thankfully fit us in for dinner when most other places were full. Great range of craft beers and sake, and very reasonable prices.

Peter L.New South Wales, Australia · via Google

An amazing selection of craft beer and sake, set in a funky bar with a great vibe — loved the walls you can decorate with markers. Above all, the service was unforgettable.

Racine de la H.Sydney, Australia · via Google

Beyond the slopes

Myoko is bigger than the run you came for.

Snow monkeys bathing in a hot spring. A 55-meter waterfall frozen mid-air. A 400-year-old sake brewery. A cedar avenue leading to a shrine under two meters of snow. Most of it is under an hour away — and almost all of it is easier with a car.

See our Myoko guide

A snowboarder on a powder slope in Myoko

A smiling member of the NINJA team holding freshly prepared onigiri

Who we are

A souvenir shop, a family, and a change of plan.

We used to run a gift shop. When it closed, my father — who had cooked in a mountain lodge his whole life — said he'd always wanted a small restaurant of his own. So the three of us opened one, in 2023, thinking a few guests might come in over winter. Almost everyone who walked in was from somewhere else.

Read our story

Tell us when you're coming.

A message is enough. Table, car, bags, or just a question about Myoko — we'll take it from there.

Book or ask Message us on WhatsApp

Sake bottles lined up along the NINJA counter