January 15th 2024 Nozawa
A very cool night in Nozawa of Fire and Ice
Low temps but big atmosphere and snowfalls saw another epic annual Fire Festival take place in Nozawa Onsen last night. The snow gods always seem to pay us a visit around this time of year and were out in force again last night. As usual the evening started fairly quietly but the flames gradually grew as did the crowd and atmosphere making for a very memorable Festival for all involved. This year we had 3 Toro and it was refreshing to be handed a cup of Tea instead of Sake from the Year 6 representatives 🙂 A huge Arigatou Gozaimasu and Otsukaresama desu to all the participants and volunteers that make this event such a success and a magic festival.
On the snow font it is still dumping outside right now. The resort is reporting 20cm of fresh overnight and the base has jumped to 185cm. The winds are strong and the wind chill is going to make it a deep cold day on the mountain so be prepared and enjoy the post festival powder in Nozawa. Lift operations dropping in now and due to strong winds most of the upper mountain will remain closed. The Gondola will not roll but lower lifts and mountain all operational.
⛅️TODAY:
Temperature at the top: -6 ℃
New snow since yesterday: 20 cm
Base at top: 185 cm
Wind: 60 km/h for top and 30km/h down low from North West
Weather: Snowing all day!
🚡LIFTS IN OPERATION: Just lower lifts Nagasaka, Hikage, Utopia and Challenger
🌄RUNS OPEN: All runs below the top of the Challenger chair including the forest trail
☃️ SNOW FORECAST:
There will be a few dusty heads and dusty chair lifts this morning in Nozawa. The blizzard like conditions should continue all day and we should see up to another 20cm of fresh snow fall across the resort. The good news is tomorrow should be a beautiful bluebird day with light winds and plenty of sunshine. With the upper lifts closed all that powder is just going to be sitting there waiting! Looking ahead warmer temps and just a few light falls until Sunday. Then cold temps and some decent dumps return for a few days. Welcome to winter in Nozawa Onsen, rug up and have an awesome day out there.
To book for next year head to www.nozawaholidays.com
