Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort Safety & Emergency
In an emergency
Tell ski patrol or resort staff firstOn the mountain, tell any ski patrol or resort staff first — they coordinate rescue and call emergency services for you.
Many Japanese fire departments handle 119 calls in major foreign languages via three-way simultaneous interpretation through a telephone interpretation center, 24 hours a day, year-round. Reviewed 2026-07-21
Medical facilities nearby
This list shows the nearest 15 hospitals, 10 clinics, 10 pharmacies and 5 dentists, plus every emergency hospital. More are in the area.
Facts marked "From website" come from the facility's own website or the town's page. The national medical register does not list them, so check with the facility before you go.
Contact the hospital before coming for neurosurgery. Clinics may be cancelled or the doctor changed when unavoidable, so contact the hospital in advance. The town's own hospital and a designated second-tier emergency hospital (about 74 ambulance arrivals a month). Its urgent-care outpatient service takes patients who need first-aid treatment 24 hours a day, including closed days: after 17:15 on weekdays and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays it is staffed by the duty doctor, so phone before coming. Outpatient reception is Mon-Fri 08:30-11:45 and 13:30-16:30, mostly by appointment; reception hours differ by department. The national registry lists CT (3,771) and MRI (1,529) scans in the previous year, English support and payment by JCB, VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Diners Club.From website
Ophthalmology is closed on Tuesday and Friday afternoons (surgery days). Orthopedics is closed on Tuesday afternoons (surgery day). Dentistry closes irregularly on days other than Thursdays and holidays, so ask the hospital. Breast surgery is currently suspended. Radiology does not see general outpatients.From website
Required Without a referral letter you pay an extra ¥7,700.
Note
The only tertiary emergency centre (救命救急センター) in eastern Nagano (Toshin), open to emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the base of the Shinshu doctor helicopter (Saku). It treats seriously ill or injured patients of the kind who arrive by ambulance and cannot take every emergency: it asks other patients to consult a family doctor, an urgent-care centre or a nearby hospital first, and to phone before coming rather than walking in. Low-urgency patients seen in the emergency department at night or on holidays may be charged an out-of-hours fee. Outpatient orthopedics needs a first-visit appointment and does not see patients without one. A first visit without a referral letter carries a special charge of 7,700 yen (3,300 yen on a return visit). The national registry lists remote medical interpreting in 32 languages around the clock, and payment by JCB, VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Diners Club.From website
Also closed 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 8/13, 8/14, 8/15, 12/30, 12/31
Emergency
Emergency status not listed
Drive
21 minNormal conditions, no snow delay
Departments
Dentistry
Note
Closed Sundays, Thursdays, national holidays, the Obon break and the New Year period; in a week with a national holiday it is open on Thursday. It may also close for conferences.From website
Gathered ahead of your trip as a planning aid — details change; verify locally on arrival.
Backcountry policy
Never go past a no-entry sign. To leave the ski area using its lifts you must file a climbing plan (登山計画書) with the patrol headquarters and exit only through a gate; leaving anywhere other than a gate can cost you your lift ticket. Filing a plan does not make the ski area responsible for you: it states it takes on no responsibility for an accident and no duty to search, and that the plan only helps the police and fire service if something happens. Rescue outside the area is billed to the person rescued.
As of 2026-10-17
Nearest emergency hospital
In an emergency, 119 decides the destination. The town's own hospital, Karuizawa Hospital in Nagakura (about 4.5 km in a straight line), is a designated second-tier emergency hospital with orthopedics, CT and MRI, and its urgent-care service takes patients needing first-aid treatment 24 hours a day, including nights, weekends and holidays (phone first). The tertiary emergency centre for the area is Saku General Hospital Saku Medical Center in Saku City (about 18 km straight line), the only 救命救急センター in eastern Nagano, open 24 hours for seriously ill or injured patients, mainly those arriving by ambulance. For minor illness on weekday evenings, the Saku-area weekday night urgent-care centre runs 19:00-21:00 inside Asama General Hospital in Saku (internal medicine and pediatrics only, phone first).
As of 2026-10-17
Major trauma center
Nagano Prefecture's doctor helicopter service (信州ドクターヘリ) has two bases: Saku General Hospital Saku Medical Center, which is also the area's tertiary emergency centre, and Shinshu University Hospital in Matsumoto. The MHLW coverage list and the prefecture's page give the whole prefecture as the operating area; the prefecture gives operating hours of 08:30 to 17:00 (or sunset). The fire service judges the patient's severity and requests the helicopter, so a skier or the resort cannot request it directly. No source names a destination hospital for a patient airlifted from this ski area.
As of 2026-10-17
Show this to staff
Each line is in Japanese a receptionist can read, with its meaning underneath.
スキー中にけがをしました。
I was injured while skiing.
ここがとても痛いです。
It hurts a lot here.
診察を受けたいです。
I would like to see a doctor.
海外旅行保険に入っています。
I have travel insurance.
クレジットカードで払えますか？
Can I pay by credit card?
英語を話せる人はいますか？
Is there anyone who speaks English?
保険請求用の診断書と領収書をください。
Please give me a medical certificate and a receipt for my insurance.
Cost, insurance and medicines
Rescue costs
Inside the ski area, patrol response is part of normal operation. Outside it the rule is explicit: if you ask for rescue off the courses or outside the ski area you are liable for its cost, and all search-and-rescue expenses fall on the person rescued. The ski-area terms itemise what is billed after a rescue from a no-ski area (including closed courses): staff costs, snow-vehicle costs, lift-operation costs, lighting and electricity, and any other cost, charged by the operator's own scale. The operator also accepts no liability for accidents caused by breaking its rules, so carry insurance that covers rescue and treatment.
As of 2026-10-17
Japan's National Health Insurance does not cover tourists — hospitals bill the full cost and generally expect payment upfront by cash or card. Ordinary travel insurance often excludes off-piste and backcountry rescue; dedicated mountain-rescue insurance exists, so check your policy before you ride.
Reviewed 2026-07-21
Some common medicines are restricted in Japan — e.g. codeine-containing products, pseudoephedrine above set limits, and ADHD stimulants — and may require advance permission to bring in. Check the MHLW guidance before you travel.
Reviewed 2026-07-21
Nothing here is medical advice. We compile this information from Japan's national medical registers and the official websites of facilities and resorts, as a planning aid. Hours, phone numbers and services change, and we cannot guarantee that any of it is current or correct. Decisions you make with it are your own responsibility: check with the facility before you go, and in an emergency tell ski patrol or call 119.