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 […]
Fire Festival Nozawa Onsen
Fire Festival Nozawa Onsen Snowy Day and Big Night ahead for Nozawa with the Fire Festival As forecast the snow is falling nicely this morning in Nozawa quite a contrast to yesterday’s beautiful blue skies. Conditions have taken a turn with heavy snowfalls, winds increasing up to around 50km/h and temperatures dropping down to -10 degrees. Despite the snowy conditions, locals are pushing on and continuing to prep for the big night of the annual Dosojin Fire Festival that’s kicking off today form 7pm; details about the festival available here: https://www.nozawaholidays.com/news/nozawa-onsen-fire-festival/ Fire Festival Nozawa Onsen Time Table for the Nozawa Fire Festival 19:00 Bring the fire to the fire festival arena. 19:30 Towers representing the […]
Peak Season Nozawa Japan
Peak Season Nozawa Japan Peak Season Nozawa Japan Another day another 30cm for Nozawa It’s getting deeper here with back to back days of the “Magic Foot” the base has now hit peak for the season so far at 160cm with a lot more to come from tonight. Yesterday just kept on giving with heavy snow all day and powder stashes up for grabs at every turn. A very atmospheric day with the local lads dragging the logs across the slopes and down through the village to the Ceremony grounds. A right of passage literally for the young men of Nozawa. This morning is going to be nothing short of amazing Sunshine, fresh snow, light winds and the runs groomed […]
Best Family Ski Japan
Best Family Ski Japan Fat flakes and frozen lakes for Nozawa It started snowing here last night not so heavy but now the snow angels are dropping some nice big snow flakes from the sky. The resort reporting 30cm or the “Magic Foot” overnight for the top and the snow show is set to continue all day long. We should see another 30cm on top by tomorrow morning. Temps also set to plummet through the day so the powder will be cold and light. There will be a few more people about for the weekend and Fire Festival activities but does not look too crazy at this stage. Be sure to head over to Hikage at 1pm for the log […]
Perfect Ski Holiday Nozawa
Perfect Ski Holiday Nozawa Best of both worlds in Nozawa with a good Snow – Sun rhythm Which do you prefer snowy or sunny days? If you were here for the last two days you got a perfect day of each. Deep powder and snowy on Monday then the glorious sunshine with amazing snow yesterday. Must admit it felt amazing to ski top to bottom again and had beautiful runs down both the reds and greens. Never thought would be so happy to ski the home trail! We can’t have those days without the snowy ones so like it when we hit this kind of purple patch with a bit of both. The forecast for the upcoming days is also […]
Book Next Year Nozawa
Book Next Year Nozawa 50cm of fresh overnight for Nozawa! Has been a while since woke up to the sound of snow blowers and shovels scraping the steps. But this morning the neighbours were out in force clearing their homes after this amazing dump of half a meter of snow in Nozawa! When I went to bed the snow was just starting to kick but not a lot had accumulated. Woke up in the early hours and the road was completely white. You always know it is a big dump when the road heaters can’t keep up. The base has jumped to 130cm up top. Still no word on more runs opening but hope there will be a top to […]
Rent Powder Skis Nozawa
Rent Powder Skis Nozawa Say good bye to the Sunshine and hello to the Snow in Nozawa After a few beautiful blue sky days on the slopes the snow has set in. Must admit I love skiing in the sunshine but hard to beat fresh snow and we needed it. Great night on the main street last night with drums, janken and lots of people from all over the world enjoying the Nozawa vibe. The snow is falling nicely now out my window and some kids are out playing on the white rice paddy next to our house that was mostly green yesterday. The feel around town is this is going to be a big dump with over half a […]
January Festival Nozawa Onsen
A little ray of sunshine before a Snowy weekend in Nozawa Surrounded by low level cloud in the Village this morning but a quick check of the web cams and it looks glorious and sunny up top just above town. Check them out here; https://nozawa-onsen.com/nozawa-webcams/ Will be a magic day on the slopes, the bit of snow we received yesterday combined with sunshine, light winds and not too many people about. Yesterday was wintery all day, we got about 10cm up top overnight and it kept falling on and off through the day. Nothing down low but up on the operating slopes got a good top up. January Festival Nozawa Onsen ⛅️TODAY: Temperature at the top: -2 ℃ New snow […]
Earthquake Nozawa Onsen Japan
Earthquake Nozawa Onsen Japan Sunny second day of the year in Nozawa Shaken but not stirred here in Nozawa Onsen after yesterday’s Earthquake. Thank you everyone for your concern. Lifts are open and the Gondola is running dropping people into a beautiful day up at Yamabiko. Unfortunately Nodo peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture got hit pretty hard and they have some major damage so our thoughts with everyone in the affected regions. Trains and busses to and from Nozawa are all more or less operational. Just the Shinkansen to Nagano is not up yet but can take the local trains to Nagano then Bullet train from there to Tokyo. So please just allow a little more time if travelling today. All […]
Happy New Years from Nozawa Onsen
Happy New Years from Nozawa Onsen Happy New Years and 明けましておめでとうございます from Nozawa Onsen A New Year and New Adventures awaits and we wish you all the best for 2024. The Snow Gods have been kind for the start of the New Year, with 30cm or the “Magic Foot” of fresh snow up top. We got hit with rain down low last night but it was snowing the whole time up the top and has seen the Base jump to 90cm this morning. It eventually turned to snow down here in the Village too and is snowing lightly as we type. It was fairly mellow New years in town last night, the bars were jumping and people were […]