Latest News from Nozawa Onsen

Base up top: 290cm        Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom: 150cm New Snow since close: 2cm It looks like we have occasional snow flurries and mist about Nozawa Onsen this morning. The weekend crowds have moved on and there is sure to be a few fresh tracks around. There should be a warming trend today with the freezing level spiking around 1700 meters later today. Some light rain is also possible. Yesterday was an ice rink on the mountain. Groomed runs were manageable with good edge control and a head for busy conditions. Patches of discontinuous fresh powder were available through the trees, but in between those was sheet ice and fields of death cookies. Challenging […]

Base up top: 290cm        Temp Top; -8 Degrees Base at bottom: 150cm New Snow since close: 3-15cm To the delight of many punters we have some light snow falling about Nozawa Onsen this morning. Drizzle turned to wet snow at about 8pm last night as temperatures gradually cooled. It looks like winter has finally returned and it will be a good day on the mountain, especially if this snow keeps up. Sticks and branches which had begun to show with yesterdays melt have already been covered, masking any potential damage from the rain. The temperature change was quite gradual so hopefully there won’t be so much abrupt dust-on-crust conditions today. Yesterday the conditions were not so nice. […]

Base up top: 290cm        Temp Top; 2 Degrees Base at bottom: 155cm New Snow since close: 0cm It’s a very damp day in here today. We had quite a bit of rain overnight all the way to the top and subsequently, lost a bit of cover. Thankfully the rain stopped around 7am in the morning but it is still very warm, well into the positives across all elevations. Today the snow will be wet, slushy and slow in places, waterskiing conditions. Should not stop people from having fun, there is never a bad day on the slopes! Yesterday was another very nice day. Blue sky and sunshine lasted the morning before some high cloud and wind rolled […]

Base up top: 310cm        Temp Top; -2 Degrees Base at bottom: 165cm New Snow since close: 0cm Another stunner in Nozawa Onsen this morning. Brilliant atmosphere clarity is delivering spectacular views with a totally cloudless clear blue sky. Highly recommended too make the effort bringing the cameras up the mountain this morning. The groomed runs will be fast early with the cold overnight temperatures, probably grading to fun and slushy later. Off piste conditions should be quite variable; depending on sun exposure. We are expecting quite warm temperatures well into the positives, even at the top, so a classic spring like day is expected. Clear conditions will persist for the morning at least before bands of high […]

Base up top: 320cm        Temp Top; 0 Degrees Base at bottom: 175cm New Snow since close: 0cm Well, what a day we have in Nozawa this morning; crystal clear skies with a couple of wispy high clouds. The Sea of Japan will be visible from near the summit. If you like fair weather skiing then today is your day. If you like spring skiing you will also enjoy the turns on offer. Runs will be slushy with the strong sun and warm temperatures as it’s nearly above freezing all the way to the top. Like the past couple of days crowds are non-existent. Yesterday was a fun day on the slopes. Good powder fields were on offer […]

Base up top: 320cm        Temp Top; -8 Degrees Base at bottom: 175cm New Snow since close: 2-10cm It’s an interesting morning here in Nozawa Onsen. We have some light snow falling across the mountain with quite a large variation in temperature from top to bottom. Up high it’s still cold, sitting at -8C but down low is positively balmy at about +1C. Therefore we should expect a high degree of snow quality variation across differing altitudes today. Interestingly we have also had more snow down low than up high. 10cm was recorded on the lower slopes while up high only received 2cm. Yesterday was a quiet day on the hill. Thanks to cold morning temperatures the snow […]

Base up top: 320cm Temp Top; -10 Degrees Base at bottom: 180cm New Snow since close: 5cm It’s another snowy day here in Nozawa Onsen. Light flurries continued overnight producing 5cm up top and 10cm in the village. It looks like today will be yet another nice day with plenty of fresh tracks on offer and minimal crowds. Yesterday saw great conditions across the mountain. Morning snow showers gave way to partly cloudy conditions. Lift lines were almost non-existent and the snow remained in great shape throughout, especially in the trees. The sun remained until just before last lifts when the snow clouds once again blew in obscuring the top half of the resort. The current forecast looks like a […]

Base up top: 320cm        Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom: 175cm New Snow since close: 8cm Sorry for the delayed report today guys. Everyone is wondering what the snow is like and I can assure that it is quite fine and hasn’t suddenly all disappeared. We woke this morning to passing snow showers that had dusted the resort with 2cm of fresh cover. Since first lifts we have had a further 6cm fall up top. It is now sunny and partly cloudy in Nozawa Onsen this morning and it has been a great day on the mountain with minimal crowds. Some were saying yesterday was the day of the week and they were mostly correct with […]

Base up top: 320cm        Temp Top; -12 Degrees Base at bottom: 180cm New Snow since close: 20cm Weather; Snow There is heavy snow about the village of Nozawa Onsen this morning. We have had 20cm fall overnight across the mountain and cold temperatures will ensure the fresh accumulations will be of high quality, especially up high. Strong wind about the peaks yesterday will have formed quite a few wind features to hit. We saw extremely cold windchill factors yesterday lingering around -20 to -30C so it’s safe to say yesterday was cold, very cold. This didn’t seem to keep the weekend crowds away. However those who braved the conditions were rewarded with perfect knee deep powder amongst […]

Base up top: 300cm        Temp Top; -12 Degrees Base at bottom: 160cm New Snow since close: 5cm Weather; Snow It’s always good to wake to the sound of snow sliding off the roof and the machines clearing the road in the morning. This was the case in Nozawa Onsen earlier. It’s currently dumping consistent thick flakes and really looks to have set in. Finally this long awaited system has begun to deliver which is good as the lack of substantial snowfalls yesterday was starting to make my forecasting look bad! Today is Australia Day and there is a real party mood in the lodges this morning. With the good snow on offer, it should be a good […]