Stay Safe Powder Nozawa For all the joy and delight of a day out skiing or boarding in powder – a powder day can also be super deadly. This goes not just for skiing off-piste in the backcountry, but inbounds as well. People travel from all over the world for Nozawa Onsen’s epically deep powder… But many of us have never experienced such deep snow. The dark side of this life-changing powder is that it also takes lives – avalanches and people suffocating in the snow. The light, fluffy snow can turn holes, valleys, depressions and moats around trees into death traps. When you fall into a hole or moat, the loose snow can act like quicksand, pulling you down […]
Latest News from Nozawa Onsen
Ski Camp Nozawa Japan
Ski Camp Nozawa Japan Rippa of a day in Nozawa Rippa is actually a Japanese word and means much the same as does in English – awesome. Yesterday was certainly all that and more. It started with lofting fat snow flakes in the morning. Then the sun came out at about 11am and conditions were amazing. Not so many people about either now School Holidays and Chinese New Year are finished. Today is looking like another beautiful day with the pink sunrise raising its head above the surrounding peaks. Last night was super clear could see lots of stars and a bright moon. It was cold, my ears were stinging walking back from the Onsen. This morning my thermometer is […]
Cheap Lift Passes Nozawa
Cheap Lift Passes Nozawa Still Snowing in Nozawa Onsen It’s surely shaping up as being the week of the season with another significant snowfall since the close of lifts yesterday. Waking to the sound of snow sliding off roofs and the lawnmower hum of snowblowers is always a good sign. Walking around the village huge pillows adorn cars, gigantic mushrooms threaten to bury buildings and fresh powder festoons the visible mountainsides. I feel that today will be another epic day. If looking to buy lift passes in Nozawa click on this link for some great value multi day passes; https://www.nozawaholidays.com/lift-pass-prices-nozawa-japan/ We’ve had another 25 cm recorded up on the summit and about 20 cm at the mountains base so the […]
Stay Safe Nozawa Onsen
Stay Safe Nozawa Onsen Purple Patch in Nozawa Onsen Ohayou and welcome to another day in paradise. Today is shaping up to be another cracker, albeit without heavy overnight falls for the first day in a while. The resort high point, Yamabiko has recorded cm overnight while down here in the village we’ve had an additional cm fall. We are expecting another beautiful blue sky morning until clouds gradually build into the afternoon so the visibility should remain excellent with spectacular views in all directions. Look out for the Sea of Japan visible from the top lifts- how many places can you ski within sight of the ocean!? Snow conditions should remain good especially up top where cold temperatures have […]
Another Dump Nozawa Onsen
Another Dump Nozawa Onsen Another day another amazing dump of fresh snow in Nozawa. The powder tap has turned on and seems to be flowing hard. Late yesterday afternoon, the snowfalls began to ease and I suspected we’d get another big overnight dump as forecast. At about 8.30pm last night, the telltale signs were there as the first flakes began wafting past the village light posts. Overnight, we had thick heavy flakes falling down here in the village. Early this morning, it looks like the skies are clearing for a perfect bluebird day ahead. A rinse and repeat of yesterday? The overnight figures certainly suggests so; Yamabiko 20cm, Uenotaira 33cm. How many best days of the season can we have […]
50cm Snow Overnight Nozawa
50cm Snow Overnight Nozawa Suki ni ikimashyo! Let’s go skiing! Last night, 50cm of fresh snow fell up top on Yamabiko we were only expecting 30cm so was a real bonus to get 50cm. The base now at 260cm so grade to get over that 2.5 meter mark. It even snowed briefly in Tokyo yesterday and the mercury is dropping below zero Celsius across the country. It’s a strong winter pressure pattern bringing in this influx of cold air and we are not complaining here at Nozawa Onsen! It’s some of the lowest temperatures Japan has seen as a country in a decade. TODAY: Temperature at the top; -10 degrees on Yamabiko and -12 degrees on Uenotaira! New snow since […]
Nozawa Onsen Freezing Temperatures
Nozawa Onsen Freezing Temperatures Ohayō gozaimasu from another chilly morning in Nozawa. We’ve woken up to another day in paradise! Fresh snow and more to come! The past few days have been especially cold in Nozawa. Naturally being a ski resort it gets cold however temps normally hover between 0 degrees and -5 degrees in the village. They have been down as low as – 11 degrees in town and even colder up at Yamabiko hitting a low of about -19 degrees. has lead to a few frozen pipes and toilets but also some amazing powder snow. Here are a few Japanese phrases around the theme of skiing for you to try out today: It’s cold = Samui desu ne. […]
Best Powder Day Nozawa
Best Powder Day Nozawa It’s one of those days… One of the BEST days of the year… A POWDER DAY! This is what people travel all over the world from to come ski and ride. With yesterday’s high winds, the upper mountain was closed all day… What this means for riders today is plenty of untouched fresh powder to claim first tracks on! Take care skiing and snowboarding in the powder. I’d recommend riding with at least one other person, just in case you lose a ski or pole and have to dig around in the snow. It’s still very cold out there, perfect temperatures for preserving the fresh powder, but wrap up warm – goggles and muffs are highly […]
Japan Cold Snap Nozawa
Japan Cold Snap Nozawa Japan is being hit by a once-in-a-decade cold snap and we’re certainly feeling it here in Nozawa Onsen. We’ve again hit our two metre mark for the Yamabiko base! Yesterday we woke up to sunshine but by lunchtime, the clouds had crowded in, the winds picked up and the snow started falling. The base went from 150cm to 230cm in just one day! Temperatures are the coldest they’ve been all season so if you’re out chasing some of that powder today, put on double those usual layers and make sure you’ve got your powder planks if venturing anywhere off the groomers. You know its cold when the road heating just can’t keep up. It’s going to […]
Snow Fall Nozawa Onsen
Snow Fall Nozawa Onsen Today is the beginning of what’s looking to be the snowiest week of the season so far! Perfect timing for all our guests travelling for the Chinese New Year. Nozawa Onsen is known for its excellent snowfall. People travel from all over the world to get a taste of that fresh powder! The best snowfall year Nozawa has ever experienced was in 1986… That season, they received more than 2000cm! The lowest record was in 2016 – where the mountain received just over 500cm… This is still a lot compared to an Australian ski field such as Perisher, which in that same year received just over 350cm. Today we should see around 50cm of snowfall throughout […]