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,
Good morning from Nozawa Onsen where we have a day pretty similar to yesterday. A light dusting of 5cm up top and no recorded snowfalls in the village. Again today the groomed runs will be the pick. Yamabiko early and around lunchtime with Skyline and Challenge for a more leg burning pursuit. The park will also be worth a hit. The pistes will be firm early, softening with exposure to sun.
Yesterday was a good day on piste. The crowds were slightly less than previous days with the groomed runs not being too icy, nor too slushy. A lot of people are waiting with baited breath for the next dump, hopefully to start skiing in the trees. Another meter or so is needed off piste.
Looks like we receive that next dump tonight with moderate snowfalls forecast. Probably around 15-20cm will fall tonight, continuing at a similar rate of precipitation into tomorrow and tomorrow night. So hopefully we will receive half the amount needed to ski off piste in the next 3 days. Further ahead there is something much more impressive on the horizon. An extremely strong winter setup is still predicted from Monday next week onwards. Confidence on this is higher than normal with successive model runs and a variety of weather model services predicting this outcome. Its possible a meter plus will fall from this. Finally a weather setup of true wintertime Japan, something that has been missing for the past two years.
Great news this morning out of Nozawa Onsen. The forecast was pretty borderline for rain in the village today however it has swung in our favour with snow falling right to the resort base. There are currently big flakes falling out the window with fresh coverage on the rooftops. Towards the summit 10cm has fallen overnight keeping the base level with yesterday. At -4c the resort is reporting powder up top, but expect it to be heavier powder as the temperature is three degrees above the average morning.
Yesterday we had another day for the groomers. The morning started with passing cloud and was really quite icy across the lower mountain with Yamabiko offering decent but crowded turns. During the afternoon conditions softened with sunshine making an appearance vastly improving the on piste snow. The terrain park was the place to be with soft and forgiving turns, as was some of the steeper lower pistes. Off piste is still not possible, more snow is needed here to push down the many bushes.
Luckily we have a lot of snow in the forecast along with some variable prefrontal warm temperatures. It will be a little warmer tomorrow morning, we will probably get some rain in the village, snow up top. However by the afternoon it will snow in the village again, hopefully repairing any damage that occurs. Thursday will be even colder still with moderate snow showers persisting.
In the long range we have an extremely strong, cold and snowy period starting from Tuesday next week predicted. Its a positive note here the many weather prediction services are coming into line with a similar forecast. A brisk arctic NW wind will deliver strong snowfalls to Honshu from Tuesday 10th till either the 13th or the 17th. The caveat with this is that we also have a potential pineapple express inbound beforehand. Lets hope this slides further south as previously predicted.
We are looking at a pretty similar day to yesterday here in Nozawa Onsen. Its currently partly cloudy above the mountain with good visibility up high. The temperatures will be positive below mid mountain, negative towards the top. Again today the groomed runs will be the pick, smooth and fast early becoming choppy as the afternoon wares on. Its a little quieter on the mountain now the Japanese New Years holidays are drawing to a close and there is no new snow to report.
Yesterday was a fairly good day to be skiing or boarding. As the clouds circulated around Yamabiko there were some great views. The snow remained good up top, light and dry. Towards the mid elevations and high traffic it became a little icy, grading to slushy on the lower slopes. The mid station areas were again a great place to escape the crowds.
Looking into the future we have some interesting developments ahead. From tomorrow for the next two days we should see snowfalls across the top three quarters on Nozawa Onsen. The temperature is a little warm for snow to the village until Wednesday afternoon when the snow line will drop to 300m. Snow will continue until Friday. The daily totals aren’t extreme, probably topping up the mountain with 10cm or so each night but its better than nothing. In the distant future an extremely cold and snowy system is possible around the 10th. However this is subject to big changes, long range forecasts are never exactly accurate.
Moody weather over Mt Hiuchi, across the valley from Nozawa Onsen.
Base at top: 140 cm
Temp at Top: -5 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 105 cm
New snow since close: 2 cm
Weather: Overcast
Hard to believe its 2017. Here in Nozawa Onsen the festivities were really ramped up last night; alcohol and positive vibes were flowing freely. Night skiing under the stars with sake makes for a dangerous combination! When it came to the stroke of midnight most people headed up to the Nagasaka slope to enjoy the fireworks display. However I walked down to the temple area to enjoy a serene atmosphere so far removed from the hustle and bustle elsewhere. A huge gong was rung 108 times to dispel all bad luck and with each stroke the iconic sound reverberated through the forest.
This is the first New Years day I can remember that hasn’t been an epic powder day, thankfully for some with sore heads. There was still a dusting of fresh snow up top to wipe the slate clean for 2017 and no new snow was recorded at the lower elevations. Currently its mostly cloudy however the sun is popping out every now and again. Its quite foggy up top so be prepared and take it easy. The groomers will be the pick today with top to bottom coverage across the entire resort.
To the all important forecast, the freezing level is sitting at about 1000m for the next two days. Tomorrow afternoon light showers are predicted for the lower elevations and snow up high. On Tuesday we will see the snow levels gradually drop towards the resort base becoming colder by Wednesday. The temperatures never get super cold but I’m confident we will see snow to the village level (just). Regardless, Im quietly optimistic that there will be some strong totals come the end of the week. The overall setup isn’t ideal, but the wind is.
Welcome to the last day of 2016 in Nozawa Onsen. Its a fine day around here with a blue sky above and high clouds spread across the sky. From last lifts yesterday we had a dusting of 5cm fall up top which should have freshened up the cover; although a first lifts ascent is required to beat the Japanese holiday crowds.
There is a lot happening around Nozawa Onsen today and tonight for New Years celebrations. Night skiing is on until 1130pm including complimentary sake and mulled wine, offered near the bottom of the Nagasaka slope after which a midnight fireworks display will be set off for everyone to enjoy. Down at the temple area of the village (near the cooking onsen) the temple bell will be rung 108 times to rid all bad luck from the area. New Years is a popular time in Japan and the restaurants will be busy with locals and foreigners. Many head to the Soba shops to eat the long noodles that are thought to bring a long life.
Although very busy, yesterday was a great day. First lifts kicked off a little early at 810am, fooling a few, myself included. But for the first half of the morning there were plenty of deep fresh tracks to be had, especially on the lower mountain. After that everything became quite chopped up by the holiday crowds, especially since the treed areas are not quite ready yet with hidden logs and branches ready to snag unsuspecting riders.
Looking ahead towards 2017 there is some snow on the horizon from the 3rd-5th. Nothing substantial is predicted, a bit of a downgrade from yesterday. Weeks like this can swing either way, sometimes producing heaps of snow, other times just isolated snow showers. Time will tell…
