Nozawa Onsen Autumn Lantern Festival 2019 Each year, on the 8th and 9th of September, the village comes alive for the Nozawa Onsen Autumn Lantern Festival. It’s a great insight into Japanese tradition and hospitality. However, even if you can’t make those dates, all is not lost. Those who have visited Nozawa will remember that each little area surrounding an onsen is its own little community. Many of these communities (Akiha, surrounding Kaiya Nozawa and Nakao, the area around Villa Nozawa, as examples) host their own mini-festivals, either side of the main event. It makes for a particularly vibrant period. Visitors will hear local participants practicing drums and rehearsing dances in the days leading up to each festival. As mentioned, […]
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Iiyama Sawagosa Music Festival – Nozawa Onsen
Iiyama Sawagosa Music Festival Across the valley from Nozawa, the Iiyama Sawagosa Music Festival features well-known and local music, handmade art and food (the food alone is worth a visit) and skate/bike demonstrations. There are also fireworks, plenty of beer (thanks to staff like the kind gents pictured) and a campsite. It all makes for what is a truly local yet welcoming vibe. Sawagosa takes its name from an expression meaning “let’s make some noise”. While there is plenty of that, it all goes down with the Japanese goodwill and friendliness we love. For such an awesome festival, it surprises to learn it’s organised by a group of volunteers. Actually, perhaps that’s not a surprise. There’s an obvious love for […]
2020 Tokyo Olympics Visit Nozawa
2020 Tokyo Olympics Visit Nozawa It would be fair to say Japan is a fairly Sports obsessed Nation, they love and do well at a whole host of sports. They are even better at hosting Sporting events with an amazing blend of history, culture and high tech you can rest assured Tokyo and all of Japan will put on an amazing show for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Some of the details Dates; Fri, 24 Jul 2020 – Sun, 9 Aug 2020 Host City; Tokyo Japan Opening Ceremony; 24th of July Stadium; New National Stadium Number of Athletes; More than 11,000 New Sports; Baseball/Softball, Karate, Sport Climbing, Skateboarding and Surfing So exciting times ahead and some exciting new sports. We are […]
Beginner’s Guide to Nozawa Terrain
Maybe you’re new to the snow or have tried skiing or snowboarding a few times. Or maybe you have a family, partner or friends who you’d like to introduce to the wonderful world of snow. You’ve probably heard that Japan’s awesome powder snow is great for beginners (it is!) Now you just need to find the perfect resort with plenty of beginner-friendly terrain. You’re in luck. Nozawa Onsen is one of the most beginner friendly resorts in Japan, with 40% of its terrain ideally suited to learners (trail map here). More than that, Nozawa has wide runs with plenty of room to get the hang of things. Plus, not all of the beginner terrain is located at the bottom of […]
Japan How Much Snow
Japan How Much Snow Japan How Much Snow How much snow does Japan get? People often ask us this question and the answer is it varies across the country of course but compared to other resorts on the planet we tend to get a lot! This year Nozawa received a total of about 900cm of snow fall and the peak base in late January was 355cm. That was probably regarded as a bit above average season. One great indicator of snow fall we like to see around this time of year is the huge snow walls at the nearby Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, the road was cut and opened on April the 15th this year and the highest point of […]
May Snow Nozawa Japan
May Snow Nozawa Japan Snow for up top in Nozawa overnight! No it is not a joke, check the web cams as up at Yamabiko is looking nice and white this morning and with temps below freezing levels the trees have taken on that frosted coat. Hard to imagine on May 7th. The lifts are closed and there is no official report so not sure how much we got but would say just a dusting. Can check the cams here https://www.nozawaholidays.com/snow-cams/ If wanted the slopes to yourself may be worth a walk up! Otherwise nearby Kumanoyu Resort at Shiga Kogen is open until May 12th and lift passes are just 3000 Yen a day. So there you go Winter refuses […]
Thank you from Nozawa Onsen
Thank you from Nozawa Onsen Today the Sun will set on the last day of the Ski Season in Nozawa Onsen. It is also “Children’s Day” or Kodomo no hi and we have a beautiful Sunny day up on the slopes so a good day to get up with the kids one last time. This photo was from April the 2nd just over a month ago when we got 100cm of snow in the first 3 days of April and the kids were working hard on the shovels. It has been an awesome season and we hope everyone that visited had a fantastic time. A huge Thank you and “Arigatou Gozaimashita” to everyone that came up to Nozawa this season, […]
Last Weekend Ski Season Nozawa Japan
Last Weekend of the Season in Nozawa! Looking like a beauty too here are the stats Base at Top; 150cm Base at Uenotaira; 80cm Runs open; All down to Paradise Weather; Sunny and light winds Forecast; Snow on Monday night? It is Spring skiing but cannot complain for May, with fun spring slush to enjoy. Lots of locals from Tokyo and around up to celebrate the Golden Week Holiday and last weekend of the season, and what a season it has been! So grab the kids, your friends and even your mother in law and get on up there. Enjoy the ice bar and last days on the mountain. Check out the cams this morning looking pretty nice up top […]
Flowers Japan Nozawa Nagano
Flowers Japan Nozawa Nagano Spring Flowers in Japan If you love flowers now is an amazing time to visit Nozawa and around Nagano. We have the Sakura or Cherry Blossoms out and also the beautiful yellow Nanohana or Canola flowers transforming the landscape. Spring time in Japan is amazing Flowers Japan Nozawa Nagano – Kanazawa Kenroku-en Gardens Nearby Kanazawa boasts one of the most famous Gardens in Japan the Kenroku-en Koen. The gorgeous gardens were once the outer garden of the Kanazawa Castle and are in the same amazing area. They were constructed in the Maeda Era and took nearly 200 Years to construct! They opened to the public in 1871 and have a wide variation of flowers and […]
Reiwa – New Era for Japan
Reiwa – New Era for Japan Dawn of a new era in Japan, The Reiwa Era as the next Emperor takes over the reign. The previous Emperor Akihito’s elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. There will be a number of ceremonies taking place in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo involving all the dignitaries. A few interesting facts – Emperor Akihito stood down which was the first time in 200 Years as usually the change takes place when the current Emperor dies. – This also means a change in the Calendar as many Japanese use this system of counting the years by years of the ruling Emperor rather than the Western Calendar. So yesterday was […]