Nozawa Onsen Accommodation, Nagano, The Alps Japan
Nestled in the Japan Alps is a magical place steeped in culture and with some terrific skiing and boarding. Nagano was home to the Winter Olympics in 1998.
Get in touch if keen to get knee deep in powder or neck deep in a Hot Spring soon…
Video
Check out our video of our 4 main properties below.
Nozawa Onsen is a very traditional town with beautiful hot springs, friendly locals, and awesome snow. Our Lodge gives you amazing value and we have a range of accommodation to suit any budget.
The Lodge is only 100m to the slopes and short stroll to town
Relaxed and comfortable atmosphere
In the centre of Japan’s main Island Honshu easy access from anywhere
You can fly direct to Tokyo and there is a shuttle bus direct to the Lodge
English and Japanese Speaking Staff to help with all your needs
Unique and beautiful place with breathtaking nature and culture
Nozawa Village is also famous for its hot springs, there are many nearby
Lots of terrain, with Gondolas, high speed quads, and long runs – very few lift lines
Thanks Mark – we were first invited to Nozawa years ago and have been enjoyed the skiing, the village and your hospitality ever since. Thanks for helping us enjoy it so much,
Nozawa Autumn Lantern Festival - Good Harvets ahead
Last weekend saw two amazing Festivals take place in Nagano.
In Nozawa Onsen we had the annual Autumn Lantern Festival. A beautiful traditional Village Festival to welcome in the start of Autumn and pray for a good upcoming Rice Harvest. All the kids in the Village got dressed up in traditional costumes and the whole village paraded through the streets for two very enjoyable days.
Both days the Festival finsihes on top of the long steps leading up to the shrine with an intriguing performance. Lots of Sake flowing and cheering from the crowd.
On the other side of Nagano in Hakuba a Festival of a different kind took place on Saturday night. Completely different scene but just as inspiring. Some of the long term locals there organisedMate Rock a charity concert to raise funds to send students from the Earthquake affected area on Exchange to Australia. Some of the big names in Aussie Rock were out in force to show thier support, including Jimmy Barnes and the Angels.
Well supported by some very cool local Japanese acts including the all girl rock band Pinky Piglets. Was a truly awesome day and felt very fortunate to be enjoying such great bands with only a few hundred other people.
After a long and eventful Winter Season the snow has finally disappeared from the Mountains of Nozawa Onsen. The ski season only wrapped up on May 15th for what was a good season on the snow front.
Season Review
January just felt like the snow was never going to stop with the base hitting over 350cm on January 31st. February was a bit light on but had some beautiful sunny days then March did not disappoint with consistent falls and quiet slopes.
Nozawa was not greatly affected by the Tsunami and quake on March 11th but the next night we did get a shake up nearby. Some damage was caused to the lifts but the great team at the resort had all back to normal before the end of the season. So things are looking good for the season ahead.
The Dosojin Gods watch over Nozawa Onsen
Japan Travel warnings removed and back on lowest level
In the past months the Australian and some other governments have reduced the Travel warning for all of Japan except the Tsunami affected area to Level 1 the lowest level. Stating that overall the situation in Japan has largely returned to normal. http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/japan
Here is the latest from the JNTO too http://japantravelinfo.com/news/news_item.php?newsid=431
The speed and determination that Japan has shown in the rebuilding process has been truly inspirational and one of the best ways to support them is by visiting this beautiful country.
Nozawa Safe travel guarantee
For anyone that was still a little hesitant on coming skiing next season to help with the decision process we are offering a Full Refund Guarantee if your Government issues a DO NOT travel warning for the area of Nozawa Onsen for the time of your stay. We feel confident that Japan is back on track and want to see lots of you back up here next season to enjoy our friendly town and awesome snow.
Smiling Snowman mid station Nagasaka Gondola Nozawa Onsen hand crafted good vibes
The lifties working at the Mid Station of Nagasaka Gondola always make a series of snowmen in between the Gondola carriages, pretty cool to check out when you cruise through on the way to the top
Beautiful Spring skiing conditions in Nozawa today and believe it or not a good dump of snow due for the top on Tuesday Night about 30cm expected. May be the last good dump of the season? Rain down lower as happens at this time of the year. Good news is the resort is planning to reopen some of the upper lifts at the top Yamabiko on Friday!
Great stuff and well done to the hard working team of Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort coming back from the damage of the earthquake so quickly. All will be back to normal for next season and there will be more cool snowmen and friendly folk waiting to greet you…..
Nozawa Onsen Staff going strong - Ora san Ski Patrol
Beautiful day in Nozawa Onsen for the first day of spring with lots of sunshine covering the resort. Conditions are excellent with a light dusting from last night. The snow is as good as has been all season with 340cm base at Yamabiko. Unfortunately unless you have a snow mobile or some touring skis then that area is still not accessible by lifts.
A ski tour is not a bad idea we usually do a few at this time of year around Nozawa and it is magic with untouched snow and so peaceful. Pack a picnic lunch and a few beers it doesn’t get much better.
Ski Touring Nozawa Onsen. Feel like you are in the middle of no where in the middle of Japan!
Temperatures were on the rise today so things will soften up a bit as the day goes on. But at this stage set to drop back down tomorrow and expecting a bit of snow tomorrow night then sunshine into most of next week.
The resort has announced it plans to stay open until May 8th for the Golden week holiday which is great news and have heard they are even hoping to have the Yamabiko lifts operating for the holiday so stay tuned.
From Monday at this stage they intend to get the Hikage Gondola rolling but will be operating less lifts.
Bluebird with 20cm of fresh and over 3 meters of Base at top. End of March Nozawa does it again!
New Snow; 0cm overnight but 40cm plus over the past few days
Base at top; 365cm
Base at bottom @ Hikage; 170cm
Hard to believe there are just a few days until the start of spring. The last few days in Nozawa have been full winter like conditions with cold temps and lots of snow.
About 50cm plus fell over the weekend then the sun blessed the village this morning with some awesome bluebird conditions for anyone around. If you are in Japan think about coming up as things are smooth here and the village can use the support.
The end of March always seems to come thru for us with the snow. We are often skiing 30cm of fresh powder by ourselves at the end of March. This year is naturally even quieter than normal. Though there were a few in over the weekend. Conditions are great shame the top of the mountain is not open as that would be amazing.
Outlook is still for reasonably cold temps for the next few days and some more snow on Wednesday night then it looks like the sun is going to shine for a while and we should get a few Spring days. At this stage though Mrs Winter is hanging on in Nozawa.
Powder Skis came in very handy in Nozawa Onsen this season
