Karuizawa 72 East
On the cool, forested Karuizawa plateau beneath Mount Asama, the East at Karuizawa 72 Golf is two full length Robert Trent Jones Jr courses on one vast resort, the Oshitate and the Iriyama. It is highland championship golf in the classic resort style, a short bullet train from Tokyo and a long established summer escape from the city's heat.
Photo: Karuizawa 72 Golf East Course via Google.
The verdict
Karuizawa is Japan's original mountain resort, a cool, leafy plateau in Nagano that Tokyo has retreated to for more than a century, and the East at Karuizawa 72 Golf is its golfing heart. The name says it plainly: this is a resort of many courses on one immense site, and the East is two of them, a pair of par 72 layouts designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr and opened in the early 1970s. The Oshitate and the Iriyama run side by side through birch and larch forest, with the volcanic cone of Mount Asama on the skyline and the clean highland air keeping the turf and the temperature crisp through the summer.
What you get is approachable, beautifully kept championship golf in a genuinely special setting. Jones built in the resort idiom of his era, with broad fairways, big bunkers and large greens that give the average traveller room to enjoy the round while still asking good players to plot their way around. Open to the public and reached easily from the capital, the East is one of the most accessible great golf experiences in Japan, and pairs naturally with the cafes, galleries and cool weather of Karuizawa town for a relaxed, civilized golf trip.
Karuizawa 72 East at a glance
- Opened
- Early 1970s
- Designer
- Robert Trent Jones Jr
- Type
- Highland parkland
- Par
- 72 and 72
- Yardage
- Around 6,850 to 6,940 yds
- Green fee
- Around 9,000 to 27,000 yen
Designer, layout and yardage verified June 2026 from the resort and course databases. The East comprises two par 72 courses, the Oshitate at around 6,850 yards and the Iriyama at around 6,940 yards. Green fees are indicative, running from roughly 9,000 yen in quieter periods to about 27,000 yen at peak summer weekends in 2026, including tax and varying by season, day and group size. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
The East is two distinct rounds rather than one, and most visitors try to play both. The Oshitate is the more open and rhythmic of the pair, its broad fairways inviting a free swing off the tee before the challenge tightens around large, gently contoured greens. The Iriyama, a touch longer, threads more tightly through the trees and asks for a little more discipline with the driver, rewarding the player who keeps the ball in position over the one who simply hits it hard.
Across both courses the Jones signature is clear: generous landing areas, bold bunkering and big putting surfaces that make the approach and the first putt the heart of each hole. The highland air takes the edge off the heat and adds a yard or two of carry, and the forest gives the round a calm, enclosed feel, with the occasional opening to the mountains beyond. Conditioning is consistently excellent, as you expect from a flagship Japanese resort, and the greens run true and quick in the dry summer weeks.
What lifts a day here above a simple resort round is the setting and the scale. Few places let you play thirty six holes of well designed, well kept golf on one site, in cool mountain air, within a couple of hours of a capital city. Add the wider Karuizawa 72 complex around it and you have a destination that can fill several days of golf without repeating yourself, a rare thing anywhere in the world.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Open to the public; tee times bookable directly with the resort or through a trip planner, with carts and caddies available depending on the course and day |
| Green fee | Around 9,000 yen in quieter periods up to about 27,000 yen at peak summer weekends, including tax (indicative) |
| Booking | Reserve ahead for the warm months and weekends, when Karuizawa is at its busiest as a summer escape from Tokyo |
| On the day | Highland parkland over gentle terrain; many Japanese clubs include a lunch break between nines, so allow a full day for a round |
| Getting there | On the Karuizawa plateau in Nagano, around an hour from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train, then a short transfer to the resort |
| Best months | Late spring through autumn for the cool, dry highland golf the area is famous for; the resort closes in the snowbound winter |
Access and indicative green fees verified June 2026 from the resort; they change without notice, so always confirm directly before booking with Karuizawa 72 Golf or your trip planner. Check tee time availability.
Where to stay nearby
Karuizawa is one of Japan's most polished resort towns, with everything from grand hotels and design led ryokan to lodges and villas spread through the woods, plus the boutiques, bakeries and restaurants that have drawn city visitors here for generations. Several stay and play options sit on or beside the Karuizawa 72 estate itself, making an early tee time simple.
Base in or around the town and you can fill a few days with golf across the resort's courses, cool weather walks and outlet shopping, then travel on by bullet train to the rest of Nagano or back to Tokyo with ease, building a wider Japan golf itinerary around the trip.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts in Karuizawa.
Build a Karuizawa golf trip
We pair the East courses with the wider Karuizawa 72 resort and the best of Nagano, arrange the bullet train and transfers from Tokyo and handle the stay and play. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Karuizawa 72 East questions
What is the par and length of Karuizawa 72 East?
The East at Karuizawa 72 Golf is in fact two par 72 courses. The Oshitate plays to around 6,850 yards and the Iriyama to around 6,940 yards, both full length championship layouts on the cool Karuizawa plateau. The thin highland air gives a little extra carry, and the broad, tree lined fairways reward straight, controlled driving over raw power.
Who designed Karuizawa 72 East?
The East courses at Karuizawa 72 were designed by the American architect Robert Trent Jones Jr and opened in the early 1970s. Jones routed the holes through the birch and larch forest of the Karuizawa highlands, with generous landing areas, large bunkers and big greens in the classic resort championship style, framed by the volcanic cone of Mount Asama.
How much does it cost to play Karuizawa 72 East?
Indicative green fees at Karuizawa 72 East run from around 9,000 yen in quieter periods up to roughly 27,000 yen at peak summer weekends in 2026, with the price including tax and varying widely by season, day of week and group size. Karuizawa is a cool summer resort, so the warm months are the busiest and dearest. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
Can visitors play Karuizawa 72 East?
Yes. The East courses are open to the public as part of the large Karuizawa 72 Golf resort, which operates several 18 hole courses on one site, so visitors can book a tee time directly or through a trip planner. It is one of the most accessible great golf experiences in Japan and pairs naturally with the resort town of Karuizawa, a long established cool weather retreat reached quickly by bullet train from Tokyo.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, year, par and yardage verified June 2026; indicative green fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.