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 skiing will be had today in Nozawa Onsen with the heavy snow that feel late yesterday afternoon. The freezing level was sitting quite high so don’t expect the driest snow around. It will be quite wet and heavy on the lower slopes, but still, fresh snow is fresh snow.. We have some mostly cloudy conditions this morning but expect the clouds to clear throughout the day.
Last night the fire festival kicked off down in the village. It was quite a spectacle as usual. There will be more than a few sore heads across the mountain today.
On the forecast front moderate to heavy falls are predicted tonight into tomorrow and then again earlier next week. Isolated snow showers will occur on and off following these two dumps.
Nozawa Onsen, welcome to the snowiest resort in the world. With the deepest base of any ski resort in the worldwide at this time, Nozawa Onsen has taken the top spot for the second occasion this season, surpassing the usual frontrunners in Hokkaido and the US. It goes without saying, the base depth and snowfall amounts so far this season have simply been remarkable, already running above the average peak depth.
In other news today the much anticipated fire festival is a go for tonight. The village has really swelled with Japanese and foreign tourists in the past few days and is ripe with anticipation for internationally renowned event. Well worth a look during the day, the main event kicks off around 7pm with the tower usually alight at some point between 10 and 11pm. Please be respectful of this culturally significant event as we have had a number of occasions in previous years where drunk Australian yahoos have created a bad name for themselves about town.
A quick look at the forecast reveals some exciting detail. After a warmer day today, the freezing level is set to take a dive to around 500m in combination with fresh snowfalls expected tonight. Partly cloudy tomorrow, temperatures will drop further to very cold, with moderate snows and wind for Saturday. Isolated snow showers look like they will continue on Sunday into the new week. Accumulation will continue in the deepest resort in the world.
The Fire Festival in Nozawa is an amazing night please respect the local customs and have a great night
The Fire Festival is one of the three most famous fire festivals in Japan. It is held on January 15th every year to pray for a plentiful harvest, health and good fortune in the coming year. The festival dates back to 1863, and though the location has changed, the festivities remain the same. During this festival the twenty-five and forty-two year old men from the village play a very important role. An old belief in Japan dictates that, for men, these years are unlucky ages. The twenty-five and the forty-two year old men in their unlucky ages construct the shaden (shrine) from beech wood that reaches a height of 18 meters. Every year it takes 100 villagers to build the shrine. The trees are cut down in October and brought down from the mountain, through the village, on January 13th. After the shaden has been constructed, the priest from Kosuge shrine performs a ceremony to endow it with a God.
Along with the shaden there are an average of five tôrô (dedicatory lantern poles) erected every year. These poles are made by a family in the village to celebrate the birth of the first son. The tôrô are offered to the Gods in a prayer for health and good fortune. The festivities begin with the lighting of the fire by the twenty-five and fourty-two year old men. A small group of men carry a torch, which is lit by striking two stones together, from the Kôno residence to the festival grounds. The torch is used to start a bonfire from which the handmade torches used to attack the shrine are lit. The festival centers around the shaden, where the fourty-two year olds sit on top and the twenty-five year olds stand guard at the base. Those who are 41 and 43 years old stand around the perimeter to protect the spectators. Torch bearing villagers of all ages attempt to break through the guards and light the shaden on fire. A dangerous and lively battle ensues. The defenders try to put out the fire by striking it with pine branches. The attack lasts for about one hour, after which the 42 year olds call an end to the ceremony and the shaden together with the tôrô are set on fire in an offering to the Gods. The entire festival can take up to four hours from the beginning to the end, but the main attraction is the battle between the guards and the torch bearing villagers.
Time Table
19:00 Bring the fire to the fire festival arena.
19:30 Towers representing the new births arrive
20;00 Fireworks and the Dosojin drummers
20;30 Fire begins with the kids and dignitaries kicking it off
20;50 Adults attack the Tower with burning sticks
22;00 The Tower is set alight
Rules of the Dosojin Fire Festival
1. The Lighting of the fire and challenging is restricted to local Villagers only. No
one else to enter past the roped off area
2. Do not throw any objects. Respect people around you and no chanting please
3. Only participating members are allowed to climb the shrine (42 Year old
villagers)
4. No drinking in the arena except for participants in the festival and please remove
all rubbish when you leave
5. Please take care of friends and have the name of your lodge or bus company on
you somewhere, can put in a lift pass arm band
6. We do not take responsibility for any damage or injury, take care of nylon
clothing as can burn. Beware of pick pockets too don’t bring valuables with you
7. This festival is an age old tradition that has been running for hundreds of years since 1863.
we ask you to please respect the local customs, have fun but behave and take care. Thank you for coming
The battle is enthralling and a true traditional Festival
Today is the day that we all expected yesterday. A clear full blue sky in combination with the occasional streaky high and astoundingly photogenic cirrus cloud. The views from the top this morning had to be seen to be believed with every mountain in the surrounding 100km revealed in startling detail. Chutes, spines and open powder fields of the soaring Japanese Alps that would take days to reach were just in grasp for the pleasure of mind skiing. Oh, and the skiing was pretty good too.
Stubborn clouds remain most of the day yesterday cloaking the peak of Nozawa Onsen in a hazy grey fog. Nevertheless there was superb skiing and boarding both in the trees and on the many smooth groomers meandering downhill. Who could argue with 30cm of fresh pow right? Those in the village would have bore witness to locals hauling a huge log through town with the sake flowing strong. This will be used as the centrepiece in the fire festival structure, due to kick off tomorrow night. Topping off the day was a minute of the most golden sunset light so far this season as the sun passed between the clouds and surrounding ranges.
According to the forecast clear conditions are set to remain until tonight, where by we may see the occasional isolated snow shower which is looking likely to increase into Thursday. For the fire festival tomorrow night we should expect light to moderate snow showers down to 500m before another, colder bout during Saturday. Due to the variability in the current forecast, confidence is low in these current predictions.
We were expecting a full bluebird this morning but it looks like the skies haven’t quite cleared just yet. Mostly overcast conditions with the occasional flurry still persist. We should see these clouds to move on at some point later today. Expect the skiing and boarding to be as good as it gets in Nozawa Onsen with deep dry powder blanketing all areas of the resort. The groomers will be soft and silky smooth. For powder enthusiasts skiing in the trees will enable you to obtain no shortage of face shots.
Yesterday was also just about as good as it gets. Lighter than expected crowds surprised us all without complaints making freshies easy to access all day long. Moderate falls of snow continued for most of the day, 28cm was recorded at the top up until last lifts. Those who ventured into the village were rewarded with site preparation in the lead up to the world renowned fire festival, which will occur on thursday.
Mostly fine weather is forecast for the next three of four days with the models predicting a moderate dump at the weekend, with snow showers and freezing temperatures persisting into the new week. For the fire festival evening we may see the occasional flurry of light snow between partly cloudy skies. Of course, the forecast is subject to change in the coming days.
