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,
Rounding out 2016 in style Nozawa Onsen has come to the party with the biggest overnight fall of the season. 50cm has fallen up top, and 40cm in the village. Its going to be on for young and old today thats for sure! Snow started coming down during the evening and heavy falls continued as long as I could remain awake. By 11pm there would have been 30cm in the village at least. A walk around the town at this time revealed an amazing scene of car mushrooms and houses; even the under street heating couldn’t keep up with snow coating the roads!
Outside right now its pretty windy, going to be absolutely arctic on the mountain, rug up if going up. For your own safety, stick to the pistes. Apart from the Kandaha Double and Karasawa Double all lifts will be running today. The resort will be opening many more of the runs to the resort including Challenge, Hikage, Skyline and Utopia. The park is fully constructed too (probably buried today though).
Yesterday was an entirely different kettle of fish. A magic bluebird day, some fresh snow was to be found, although it wasn’t plentiful, torn apart by the Japanese holiday crowds. With quite a clear atmosphere it was possible to see as far as the West Coast, Sea of Japan and the Japanese Alps way off in the distance puncturing the atmosphere. Temperatures were cool early but warmed through the day and there was some great on piste skiing on offer.
Snow showers should continue today, easing this afternoon. A run of clear days is forecast for the long weekend, becoming snowy again by Tuesday. We’ll see how this event looks closer to the date but at the moment it has received a slight downgrade in duration and totals.
Early morning groomers taking on a familiar tone in Nozawa Onsen.
Base at top: 115 cm
Temp at Top: -7 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 75 cm
New snow since close: 0 cm
Weather: Partly cloudy
Nozawa Onsen has returned! Yesterday was the first day of the season that the mountain has felt like its true self. The brush and undergrowth were beginning to become buried. The Yamabiko trees were almost skiable. It was also unusual in that more snow fell throughout the day than the preceding night. We received 25cm from first to last lifts boosting the base to well over a meter (in total 50cm fell over 36 hours). Being the Japanese holidays it was busy, but that didn’t stop marauding powder hounds on fishes and wide bodied planks from sinking into deep white japow and with a bit of a search it wasn’t too hard to find untracked fields. Lets hope the season continues with many days like this.
Today looks like it will be an excellent day of another kind. We have some partly cloudy conditions. Excellent visibility and even some sunshine will impact the mountain today. Bring the cameras up, excellent photographic opportunities will abound with outstanding views of the Japanese Alps. With no fresh snow overnight those looking for fresh tracks will have to look harder, but they are not impossible to find.
Looking ahead at the forecast we expect more heavy snowfalls tonight; hopefully around 30cm, probably much more than this. A few days earlier I was predicting a 2m snow base by New Years. Personally I no longer think this will occur as there is a bit of a gap in snowfalls until a few days after the turn of the calendar. An extended run of snowfalls off the NW wind will make itself know over the region, starting on the 3rd and continuing well into the extended range forecast. For the New Years period we are expecting stable weather with clear skies and light winds.
As expected, winter has returned to Nozawa Onsen once more with 20cm falling since last lifts. Snow is continuing to fall down here in the village and the wind is quite strong up high. It is certainly going to be cold on the hill today, but matching the extremes in temperatures will be some extremely good powder snow. Deep and plentiful. Time to get out there!
Yesterday was quite disheartening as rain continued to fall at village level washing away almost all the base at the lower altitudes. Reports were that the rain turned to wet snow at the gondola top station around 10am as such the accumulations up high outweighed any losses. The rain turned to snow at the village by about 4pm.
Looking at the forecast ahead it continues to impress. Much the same as yesterdays report we have a lot of snow in the predictions with significant falls expected again on Thursday night. Further ahead another strong system is due early next week.
Sunbeams over Nagano and the Japanese Alps. Shot with a mid telephoto from the Skyline double chair.
Base at top: 75 cm
Temp at Top: +2 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 45 cm
New snow since close: 0 cm
Weather: Rain
When you stay in Nozawa Onsen for any length of time the sound of running water becomes almost constant. The trickle of onsen and meltwater streams is all too familiar and many times you may awake in the morning with the assumption that it is raining outside. Sure makes for a good nights sleep, but ironically when rain is actually falling the opposite can be true. I woke this morning to louder than normal running water sounds out the window. Alas rain was falling from the sky! Cursed rain, liquid pow or whatever you want to call it. Yes, it is raining this morning in Nozawa Onsen.
Thats the bad news for this morning. The good news is that the falling rain has had much less affect on the base than the hot blow-drier wind a few days back. Another positive is that the freezing level will quickly drop during the day and by afternoon we will be soaked in pow once more. Expect rapid accumulations up high, strengthening overnight. For skiing and boarding today, maybe wait a few hours before heading up.
Yesterday we skied under dramatic skies. Ominous and eerie, intrinsically patterned high clouds sat a few kilometres above the peaks, a juxtaposition of the relatively stable conditions on mountain. Beams of light piercing through cloud bands illuminated areas of Nagano and surrounds, a stunning backdrop for a good days skiing on the groomers. To match the weather it was eerily quiet on the mountain and about the village. Things have definitely yet to fully kick off around here.
Hard to believe right now but we are at the start of the best nine day outlook for the season. Heavy falls tonight to low levels, extending into tomorrow. Another bout of snow comes in Thursday night followed by a good run after the weekend.
Exploring pristine snow frosted trees. What a Christmas Day!
Nozawa Snow Report 26 December 2016: Overview
Its a pretty grey old day out there, shall i coin the term Greybird Nozawa Onsen? Todays clouds are high based so visibility isn’t affected even on the summit, but the temperatures have risen inline with the forecasted predictions. Its now sitting at -1c at the resort peak and above freezing in the village. For todays skiing and boarding adventures expect the snow to soften during the day, perhaps becoming slow during the afternoon. Best skiing will be on the well groomed pistes.
Yesterday was a fantastic day. Multiple Santa’s were making the most of the skiing conditions bringing a festive vibe not seen as much in past years. It was good to see a busy resort with lots of Japanese tourists making the trip up from Tokyo, even if the gondola line was at times a little long. The weather was sublime; plenty of fresh snow to enjoy, crystal clear blue skies, cool temperatures and hardly a breath of wind.
If you come skiing in Japan from overseas you may notice the lack of wind. Such is the setup of huge Siberian anticyclones, that wintertime Japan is dominated by high pressure and even a slight NW breeze will result in significant snowfalls (more on this in future reports).
The forecast is still delivering an impressive outlook. We have the minor blip of warm air and light rain this afternoon before a strong front of cold air and snow moves over the Sea of Japan. Snowfalls will increase tomorrow peaking tomorrow night, with probably 40cm falling Tuesday night. Another front is due on Thursday night and at this stage it is looking even stronger. Cool temps and moderate to light snow will intersperse the rest of the week.
