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,
Base at top: 370 cm
Temp at Top: -11 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 275 cm
New snow since close: 20 cm
Weather: Partly cloudy
Overnight the heavens opened above Nozawa Onsen puking deep powder all over the resort. Winter has returned and we are back into the swing of what has been an epic one so far. Expect today moderately deep powder across the resort above a firm base layer. This morning we will be battling with weekend crowds so every bit of information helps. If you dislike crowds avoid Yamabiko, perhaps diverting too Challenge or the Skyline blacks for advanced riders and the mid station lifts for intermediates. But be fast before the word spreads!
Yesterday across the resort we had a thin layer of powder smeared over an icy base on piste and a crust layer off piste. The riding was challenging for those who lacked a sharp edge but punters with carve skis and boards relished in the conditions. Even the sun make frequent appearances later in the afternoon which certainly helped to soften the snow at lower elevations thus improving the riding. By 730pm the switch had flipped once again as heavy snowfalls returned to the resort.
Later today snowfalls should ease with blue sky patches more likely than not. Tomorrow a brief warming trend will be replaced with snowfalls once again by the evening that will continue into Tuesday. Its looking likely that we will have some period of heavy falls over this time. On Wednesday the snow will become isolated as the temperature increases heading into Thursday. For late next week we are expecting cool but not cold weather with more isolated falls of snow.
Base at top: 350 cm
Temp at Top: -8 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 265 cm
New snow since close: 10 cm
Weather: Isolated snow showers
Delivered for us this morning courtesy of a light NW breeze we have 10cm of fresh japow up the top of Nozawa Onsen. This is certainly not any dramatic figure however it is enough to cover the icy ground on and off piste to about boot deep levels. Therefore today expect some decent skiing that is better at higher elevations and dust on crust lower down. Thanks to the warm temperatures over the last few days death cookies are plentiful off piste. Combined with the flat light caution is required to avoid hitting these semi buried cookies that can do severe damage to unsuspecting skiers and boarders. Sharp edges wouldn’t go astray on piste today which in high traffic areas may become icy as the day wears on.
Yesterday we saw rain increase into the afternoon but the snow remained in good condition, still flowing fast even with the increased moisture content. It appears any damage to the base was minimal as much of the water was simply absorbed by the deep snow. The entire upper half of the mountain remained closed as a moderate southerly wind fanned the mountain all day long.
Looking ahead and snowfalls will linger on and off today becoming heavier overnight tonight. I am hopeful for 20-30cm on the ground at dawn tomorrow. On Monday the temperatures will warm again climbing back up to around 5C in the village. But this spike will be short lived as snowfalls douse the region overnight into Tuesday. From then on light snow showers are predicted on and off for the rest of the week to around 500m. Overall the next week looks quite similar to our early January weather.
Base at top: 365 cm
Temp at Top: +1 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 270 cm
New snow since close: 0 cm
Weather: Wind, partly cloudy
Its warm and windy today. However fear not! Winter is not over just yet. While wind holds are the order of the day today (currently the entire upper half of the mountain is closed due to the strong winds) and rain is in the forecast this afternoon snow will fall tomorrow to low levels, becoming heavy over the weekend. But for now slushy spring snow is to be found across the mountain. Currently the weather is mostly sunny however I expect this to change fairly quickly as some mid level cloud is on the horizon racing towards us.
Yesterday was a beautiful spring like day. Strong sunshine, a deep quality snowpack and stupendous views. The ocean greeted us to the west and the soaring Japanese Alps to the south. It was a good day to be out and about with the excellent visibility giving a good overview of the resort. The snow started firm in the morning before softening and becoming slushy in the warm sun by mid morning. In parts it became a little sticky however on piste was fine for speed.
The change of the seasons are becoming more noticeable nowadays with rapid temperature swings from very cold to mild and then back again. This is what we are expecting over the next week. Snow, rain, wind and sun are all forecast at varying amounts over the next seven days. As mentioned earlier we are due for some snow over the weekend, becoming heavy on Saturday night before easing into Sunday. On Monday a brief warm spike with rain in the morning, turning to snow by the afternoon and continuing with cold temperatures persisting into Tuesday. For Wednesday some fine weather with spring snow conditions but into Thursday another tropical incursion will produce more rain followed by more consistent snowfalls into next weekend.
Base at top: 385 cm
Temp at Top: -5 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 285 cm
New snow since close: 0 cm
Weather: Clear
Today has dawned and it looks like an absolute pearler weather wise. Clear skies above and sparkling snow below how could you go wrong with that! There is one thing that could make this day even better and thats 30cm of fresh japow but I guess you can’t have everything all the time, although that could be proven wrong the last 4 weeks.. Off piste is almost entirely tracked so the focus today will be the groomers and these will be fast early, softening during the day thanks to warm temperatures and the sunshine.
Recently we had some sad news out of the neighbouring resort Togari Onsen, so often seen lit up across the valley for night skiing. An avalanche occurred on a moderate 37 degree rolling slope during ski patrol avalanche safety work which led to three patrollers being buried unfortunately one was killed. Its a lesson for us all that even small moderate slopes can hide life threatening dangers. For anyone who wishes to ski off piste its crucial to have the knowledge and equipment necessary to deal with this ever present hazard.
Look ahead and the next week looks extremely variable temperature wise. Some rain for Friday that will turn to snow overnight into Saturday as a cold front sweeps over the region. The following NW flow will deliver snowfalls, heavy at time over the weekend, across the Nagano region. A brief spike in temperatures for Monday before another short period of snowfalls during mid next week ahead of an overall warming trend.
Rici descends an avalanche barrier with no shortage of style yesterday.
Base at top: 395 cm
Temp at Top: -9 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 300 cm
New snow since close: 0-4 cm
Weather: Mostly cloudy
Isolated light snowfalls continued on and off last night refreshing the coverage but adding no substantial amounts to the base. It won’t be enough to fill in the deep off piste tracks from yesterday but the dusting will improve the riding for on piste. Right now its mostly cloudy with a few scattered clear patches and somewhat cold temperatures. It’ll be another good but not epic days riding on and off piste. For the morning session I can recommend Yamabiko especially the natural halfpipes where some nice hips and rollers have formed. For fast carving Skyline gains my recommendation especially earlier in the morning.
Yesterday we saw variable weather for much of the day. Honestly I was expecting mostly clear weather however mist and clouds remained all day with a few scattered snow showers passing through. There was excellent riding on offer with deep fresh snow abundant from the previous storm cycle. Crowds were far fewer in comparison with the weekend previous and this was much appreciated on the slopes.
Overnight tonight we are expecting further snowfalls to refresh the slopes but nothing too substantial. For tomorrow we are expecting similar weather to today but with the isolated snow showers gradually easing further. On Thursday clear weather and warm temperatures will prevail creating the first spring like conditions in a while. But this warm spell will be relatively short lived with cool temperatures and snow moving over the region for next weekend.
