Nozawa Holidays

Base up top: 260 cm    Temp Top;  -8 Degrees Base at bottom; 155 cm New Snow since close: 35 cm Weather; Light snow   Deep snow has once again buried Nozawa Onsen last night. A shift of the wind to the north west has resulted in a dramatically increase snowfall rate and we have accumulated around 35cm across the mountain. There will been excellent riding today especially in the Yamabiko tree area. Yesterday saw less snowfall than expected and as a result in was a good day for the groomers. Up top saw some nice powder amongst the trees. Off piste on the lower slopes were affected by a crust layer, which should be sufficiently buried by today. In […]

Base up top: 240 cm    Temp Top;  -8 Degrees Base at bottom; 150 cm New Snow since close: 10 cm Weather; Light snow   This morning we have isolated light snow showers falling across the resort. Totals have not substantiated to forecast amounts; we have had 10cm on the upper slopes and just a dusting in the village. This system is moving in from the west, not an ideal direction for Nozawa Onsen due to blocking mountain ranges. Again, the best riding will be had today on the well groomed runs, which will be fast and smooth. Yesterday was quite nice, better than expected. Wind and visibility was mostly fine, and the snow was running fast on the groomers. […]

Base up top: 250 cm    Temp Top;  -3 Degrees Base at bottom; 160 cm New Snow since close: 10 cm Weather; Isolated showers   Looks like we were hit by some sour weather last night. Rain has fallen about the village resulting in loss of snow, not really a problem given the deep base. The good news is that the freezing level is expected to drop during the day resulting in snowfalls from top to bottom. Yeahaa! The best riding today will definitely be found on the pistes. Skyline will get your legs burning and Yamabiko will offer plenty of natural features to slash and jump off. For steep fall line skiing head to the Hikage area and take […]

Base up top: 260 cm    Temp Top;  -8 Degrees Base at bottom; 195 cm New Snow since close: 0 cm Weather; Partly cloudy   A partly cloudy morning today and there is very good news. Today marks the day in which Nozawa Onsen ski resort fully opens. All lifts will be running, depending on weather conditions as will all slopes. With no shortage of powder on offer today looks like it will be epic! Early on its worth exploring the slopes which have been closed without access so far this year. Skyline, Hikage, Kandahar will all be great. Once tracked out head to the treed areas for your fix of powder. Heres an amazing fact for you. Yesterday Nozawa […]

Base up top: 290 cm    Temp Top;  -8 Degrees Base at bottom; 200 cm New Snow since close: 50 cm Weather; Partly cloudy It looks like the very heavy snow we have had for the past couple of days has finally abated. Small patches of brief blue sky are gradually making appearances with the occasional isolated snow shower passing over. We expect a continued clearing trend today with hopefully a full bluebird afternoon. Light winds are forecast. The snow is extremely deep off piste so its recommended to avoid these areas without adequate experience and equipment in dealing with the overhead depths. Yesterday only the lower slopes were open with horrendous wind conditions up top. Nevertheless there was so […]

Base up top: 270 cm Temp Top; -10 Degrees Base at Uenotaira 250 cm New Snow since close: 50 cm Weather; Still dumping It was less than a week ago we reported a 70 cm base up top. This morning it is 270cm we have had over 300cm fall now in less than a week. I have been here for a while and never seen a season start like this. Talked to my old Ski Patrol boss last night, he has done over 50 seasons here and he said he also couldn’t recall a mid December like this ever! It is proving hard work for all the locals trying to keep from literally getting buried with everyone on the roof […]

Base up top: 210 cm Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 150 cm New Snow since close: 25 cm Weather; Light snow Heavily overcast conditions have engulfed Nozawa Onsen this morning and we have some light snow falling across the mountain. Unfortunately high winds are forecast so fingers crossed the resort is able to open the upper lifted areas. As usual, this system looks to be slightly delayed in comparison to forecast timings, expect snowfall intensity to build steadily throughout the day. Best riding today again will be Yamabiko, provided wind intensity is below the safety margin for lift operation. Yesterday we saw strong prefrontal winds aloft which kept the Nagasaka Gondola closed all day. With only the Nagasaka […]

Base up top: 190 cm    Temp Top;  -4 Degrees Base at bottom; 140 cm New Snow since close: 0 cm Weather; Overcast   Everyone has been shovelling hard around the village late into the night yesterday. This means only one thing, snow is coming! Forecasts suggest heavy snows are expected over the coming days right up to the end of the week. Combined with what fell over the weekend we are looking towards a very solid december base indeed. No new snow fell overnight and yesterday afternoon felt decidedly warmer once the snowflakes had cleared. Compacting the base is what we are after at the moment and warmer temperatures expected today should continue to impact this change. Again today […]

Base up top:  210 cm    Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom;  170 cm New Snow since close:  50 cm Weather; Heavy snow   Welcome to the Nozawa Onsen daily snow reports for season 2014/15. We hope to provide you with detail weather and relevant resort information tied in with a selection of daily photos from in and around the local area of Nozawa Onsen. Like what you see? Head straight on over to the Nozawa Photos Facebook page and these wall hangers are available purchase starting at 1000 yen. Wow, what a weekend! The amount of snow that has fallen in the last 48 hours pushes towards the record books for Nozawa Onsen, surpassing 2m yesterday. Locals were […]

Base up top: 165 cm Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at Uenotaira 150 cm New Snow since close: 95 cm Weather; Still snowing heavy!   Crazy night on the snow front in Nozawa, with almost a whole Meter of snow falling across the resort. Seems like a while since we have seen this big a dump as last season we did not get a lot of these huge falls. This system looks set to be a bit of a record for this time of year in a few parts of Japan and Nozawa is no exception. The base has over doubled overnight to up to 165cm and still going strong! This should set us up for the season now with […]