Ski Japan 2021 Kodomo no Hi or Children’s day today in Japan Kids Day is a Japanese national holiday which takes place annually on May 5 and is the final celebration of the Golden Week holidays. It is a day set aside to respect kids individual personalities and to celebrate their happiness. It was designated a national holiday by the Japanese government in 1948, however it has been a day of celebration in Japan since ancient times. They put up the flying carp (Koi Nobori) because legend had it that a carp that swims upstream becomes a dragon and flies to Heaven so basically that kids will grow strong and lead good lives. Every year my elderly neighbour puts up […]
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Ski Japan May
Ski Japan May Ski Japan in May. Skyline course in Nozawa now in May and in the second shot from March. Still looks like you could take a slide down it! This year ofcourse our season was cut short by the dreaded Rona Virus but most years the ski Resort is open until May the 6th the end of the Golden Week holiday. The snow is totally spring skiing as can be expected but if you are looking for somewhere cool to open Golden week or early May in Japan then Nozawa is a great choice as you can still get a few turns in and there are so many other cool things to do. Ski Japan May May Activities in Nozawa Onsen Japan Check out the Sakura or […]
Best Place Cherry Blossom Nozawa Onsen
Best Place Cherry Blossom Nozawa Onsen Sakura almost as good as Snow! The “Sakura” or Cherry Blossoms have just been in full bloom around Nozawa Onsen and beautiful to see. Before Nozawa hits the beauty pageant neighbouring Iiyama puts on a pretty impressive show. These shots from about 2 weeks ago down at Iiyama Jo Park. It is the go to place for locals to enjoy this magic feat of Mother Nature. The park is on a little hills that has great views of the Chikuma River and all the way back to Nozawa Onsen. Best Place Cherry Blossom Nozawa Onsen Spring is a pretty special time of year in Japan and if we can’t have snow flakes falling the […]
Nozawa Ski Season Wrap 2020
Nozawa Ski Season Wrap 2020 Nozawa Ski Season Wrap 2020, The lifts stopped rolling in Nozawa just a few weeks ago with the last day being April the 17th 2020. It was a strange end to the season, we had thought around mid March we may end early anyway based on the snow levels. However the snow kept falling and the temps stayed low and we had one of our best Aprils in years. There was still close to 200cm of base up at Yamabiko on the closing day! Like pretty much everywhere in the world the dreaded “Rona” affected us too and the resort decided to close for the health and safety of both staff and guests. A wise […]
Australia First Gondola Thredbo
https://www.facebook.com/nozawaonsenjapan/videos/654256875412885/?t=2 Australia First Gondola Thredbo Southern Exposure Our friends down in Australia have just hit a cold snap and it is snowing across many of the resorts there this morning. This video just in from Thredbo Resort where they are expecting up to 60cm of fresh snow over the next week! Good to see early on and we hope they will manage to open this season with the current situation and have a terrific season ahead. Thredbo also installing the first Gondola ever in Australia which we look forward to seeing. Because our new Gondola coming in Nozawa for next season too. Here is a bit more info on the new Nagasaka Gondola in Nozawa if interested. New Nagasaka […]
Population Nozawa Onsen Village
Population Nozawa Onsen Village Nozawa from a different angle today. All very quiet and peaceful about town with no visitors at all at the moment. Who knows the population of Nozawa Onsen? Have a guess! OK give up? The Official population as at 1st of April 2020 was 3590 people. That should include all the new babies that have been born this year too and there has been a few 🙂 When I first arrived in Nozawa 30 years ago the population was 5500 people so quite a drop of 2000 people in 30 years or just over 35%. The reason being like most of Rural Japan, Nozawa has an ageing population. Even though the people of Nagano prefecture are […]
Golden Week Nozawa 2020
Golden Week Nozawa 2020 In Japan, the Golden Week is a series of four public holidays that take place within one week at the end of April to the beginning of May each year. It is usually a busy time around Japan with people travelling and visiting relatives. This year however in both Nozawa and all of Japan it will be very quiet with most places in lock down mode. The Golden Week holidays start from tomorrow with Showa Day celebrating the birthday of the former Emperor Showa who died in 1989. People often come up to Nozawa to enjoy the end of the ski season and take in the Cherry Blossoms which are now in full bloom around the […]
New Nishio Cafe Nozawa
New Nishio Cafe Nozawa A new entrant on the Cafe scene in Nozawa is Nishio Cafe down near the Nakao Bus Terminal. It is a bit of an interesting one too. Run by a lovely older couple who have settled in Nozawa from Nagoya. They did however bring the Nagoya Cafe style with them and it is an interesting twist. Basically you get a free breakfast when you order a drink so it is an amazing deal. This style of menu actually originated in Ichinomiya which is between Nagoya and Gifu, I used to live nearby there and it is a nice part of the country. No skiing though but not far to the Gifu resorts of Dynaland and […]
Best time visit Nozawa
Best time visit Nozawa Nozawa’s own frozen Walls. Yesterday we posted about the famous huge walls of ice and snow on the Alpine Route in Tateyama, but Nozawa can also get some pretty impressive walls of snow at times. This shot just outside Nozawa Cottage on the walk up to the Nagasaka Gondola. The date was Valentines day the 14th of February 2012. Who was there? It was a big season. You can read more in the archives of snow reports from the last decade here while enjoying some down time. Snow walls still building in Nozawa! We are in for a long season So when is the best time to visit Nozawa Onsen? The answer is there really is […]
Walls of Snow Japan
Walls of Snow Japan Walls of Snow – Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route Every year huge walls of ice and snow are carved into the mountain side at nearby Tateyama. It is an amazing spectacle and shows just how much snow this region can get. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is 37km long and from bottom elevation to top covers close to 2000m Vertical. Starting at Tateyama Station in Toyama Prefecture and finishing at Ogizawa Station in Nagano. It was set to open on April 15th but like many things has been postponed this year. They are hoping to open later but will have to wait and see. This shot was from the 23rd of March this year when they were […]