Baby Bamboo Festival While January’s Fire Festival may lay claim to being Nozawa Onsen’s most popular and well-known festival, it certainly isn’t the only one! June’s Take no Ko Matsuri or “Baby Bamboo Festival” is a fun festival to witness. It goes for over a week and brings a night market vibe to the centre of town. This year, the festival runs from the 8th to the 17th of June. Being held in during the warmer months outside the ski season, it’s not as busy as the Fire Festival. It also means that it’s the perfect time to sit outside and soak up the atmosphere with a cold beer (or two) and a tasty BBQ bamboo stick! This particular festival […]
Latest News from Nozawa Onsen
Gyoza Cooking and Calligraphy at Kaiya Nozawa
Gyoza Cooking and Calligraphy at Kaiya Nozawa Kaiya Nozawa is open during the 2018 Green Season. We have some great package deals and we’re excited to host some unique experiences! Akiko Sensei will be running both gyoza cooking and calligraphy classes for those who want to take a uniquely Japanese skill home with them. Gyoza Cooking Classes Who can say that they don’t enjoy gyoza? I don’t see any hands up… Although yaki-gyoza (the fried kind as opposed to boiled; sui-gyoza) typically contains pork as well as vegetables, they certainly can be made vegetarian. Yaki-gyoza is the most popular way to cook and eat gyoza in Japan. It may seem simple enough but those who’ve tackled the challenge without the […]
Thanks for coming to Nozawa Onsen
Arigatou Gozaimashita from Nozawa The last lifts have turned for this winter in Nozawa Onsen. Thanks so much to everyone for coming and for a great season. Another ski season wrapped up yesterday in Nozawa on Sunday May the 6th2018. We opened on Saturday the 25thof November 2017 so if you had skied every day since then you would have ridden a total of 162 days this season. Almost 5 ½ Months or if stretch it a little and maybe do some of the Summer skiing that’s half a year. If you bought a season pass for 63,000 Yen it would have cost you just 388 Yen a day or about $4.50 a day, not bad value! It was a […]
What is Golden Week?
It’s Golden Week in Nozawa Onsen! Golden Week has begun in Nozawa Onsen and the whole of Japan. It’s a great time to be in town for a few reasons. We’ve still got a bit of snow up top and the weather in the village and on the mountain is very spring-like. This means you can go for a few turns in the morning and a paddle on the lake in the afternoon, with plenty of time to fit in an onsen and some fantastic local food. The question still remains to many, however; what is Golden Week? Basically, it’s a collection of national holidays which occur alongside one another. Usually combined with well placed weekends, Golden Week becomes one […]
Summer Package Deals, Nozawa Onsen, Japan
Summer Package Deals, Nozawa Onsen Japan Most people visiting Japan will head to the big names like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and maybe even Takayama. These are amazing destinations, for sure, but how about getting off the beaten track and exploring a beautiful, rural Japanese onsen village like Nozawa Onsen? Easily accessible from Tokyo using your Japan Rail Pass. Only 2 hours by bullet train and yet it’s a world away from the hustle and bustle of the big city lights of the world’s largest metropolitan area. It’s surprisingly easy to get to this traditional farming village. Here’s how; Getting to Nozawa Onsen, Japan. Nozawa, famous for its amazing powder snow and skiing from December to April. However, the “Green Season” […]
Nozawa Onsen Terrain
Nozawa Onsen Terrain and Runs A Guide to Nozawa Onsen’s Skiing & Snowboarding Terrain Here in Nozawa Onsen we’re frequently gifted with bucket loads of light, dry powder to play in. Yet it’s actually Nozawa’s fun terrain that allows us to enjoy this snow to its full potential. Nozawa is incredibly appealing to skiers and snowboarders because it has such a huge range of terrain to suit different tastes. It has wide open trails for beginners and families, as well as plenty of intermediate and advanced terrain with tree runs, natural bowls and steeps to keep things interesting. When you’re not riding powder there’s the park and halfpipe, moguls and fantastic groomers to get carving on. If you’re new to […]
3 Great Day Trips from Nozawa Onsen
3 Great Day Trips from Nozawa Onsen Are you too sore from all that skiing and snowboarding? Or has the weather taken a turn for the worse? Luckily Nozawa Onsen is a great place to day trip from and see what else Nagano has to offer. Here are three of the best options for day tripping: Number 1 ; Yudanaka Snow monkeys Visiting the snow monkeys is a must-do activity if you’re in Nagano. Getting to see them in the wild, chilling out in the steaming onsen in the middle of a snowy valley, is a truly special experience. For many people it is the highlight of their trip. How to get there:Public transport to the snow monkey park […]
What to do in Nozawa Onsen on a Rainy Day
Nozawa Onsen on a Rainy Day Let’s start with the positives; it looks like we might have better weather tomorrow. Also, there’s still plenty of things to do in Nozawa Onsen on a rainy day! Wednesday 25th of April 2018 Temp at Top: 10 degrees Weather: Light rain Base at top: 100cm Base at Uenotaira station: 30cm New snow since close: 0 cm Here’s another positive; for those who are going to up today, you probably won’t be sharing the mountain with too many other people! Unfortunately, there is a bit of rain about, continuing on from overnight. It’s only very light, however, so that means the alternative is you can grab an umbrella and still have a great day […]
Snow Under Sunny Nozawa Skies
Snow Under Sunny Nozawa Skies We’re really enjoying some sunny Nozawa skies at the moment. The kicker is that there’s still a healthy enough base up top to be skiing upon too! Friday 20th of April 2018 Temp at Top: 11 degrees Weather: Sunny Base at top: 140cm Base at Uenotaira station: 45cm New snow since close: 0 cm It might be getting late in the ski season but all things considered, it’s hard to complain. The live webcams show an okay base up top to ski on and the weather is really turning it on at the moment. Like yesterday and tomorrow, today has very little but blue skies and sunshine in store. It’s time to break out the […]
April Heating Up in Nozawa
April Heating Up in Nozawa There’s been some really mixed bag weather of late in Nozawa Onsen. It brought us some rain, shine and a handful of snow. Today, however, there can be no doubt as for what’s in store! Thursday 19th of April 2018 Temp at Top: 13 degrees Weather: Sunny Base at top: 145cm Base at Uenotaira station: 50cm New snow since close: 0 cm This time yesterday it was a little gloomy and the rain had many of us in town looking for a different way to pass the time. Of course, many of us found an onsen, restaurant, bar, or even a quick trip for some fun at Round 1 in Nagano. Those who did go […]