February Weather Update Nozawa Happy Friday everyone! We hope you’re all keen to head up the mountain and not miss a second of this bluebird day. After three days of consistent snowfall, Friday is shaping up to be a glorious day on the slopes. With the base sitting at just over 3 meters, the mountain has a lot to offer. Clear skies from early morning and throughout the day, accompanied by light winds. The temperature will be sitting at a max of -1 and min of -10, with wind chill hitting similar levels. With the inundation of fresh snowfall over the last few days, there is still plenty of powder to be enjoyed. Groomers will be flowing nicely with a […]
Accommodation Nozawa Onsen
February Snow Conditions Nozawa
February Snow Conditions Nozawa Stealth dump for Nozawa, one of the biggest of the season. Nozawa Magic has certainly happened over the last 24 hours. What we had thought would be about a 20 to 30cm dump has turned into over 1 metre of fresh Siberian powder! Figures just dropping now and we have had a massive 65cm overnight bringing the base to 315cm up at Yamabiko! We’ve smashed through the 3 metre mark and hit peak base so far this season. This snow storm is one of the biggest we’ve seen all season and the Snow gods are not finished with us yet! It is dumping down right now and the snow tap is expected to flow all day. […]
Learning Japanese Nozawa Onsen
Learning Japanese Nozawa Onsen After skiing for several days last week in amongst the clouds, it’s absolutely magic when those clouds and mist lift and we have a day like yesterday – bluebird, where you can see the gorgeous vista far below you. It’s hard not to stop every 10 minutes while riding down the piste to take photos. Today is shaping up to be similar so make sure you get to the top of Yamabiko to try and catch a glimpse of the Sea of Japan to the east. The sun is just poking over Mt Kenashi now and there is not a breathe of wind. Today I wanted to share some tips and tricks and resources for learning […]
Day Tours Nozawa Skiing
Day Tours Nozawa Skiing Rest And the good snow just keeps on coming… Eleven centimetres of fresh powder is ready and waiting for you to carve fresh tracks into this morning. On days like recent, where the snow is just THAT GOOD, it can be really tempting to keep pushing it. But, powder skiing and riding is tiring. And it’s okay to break up your skiing holiday with some rest days. In fact, Nozawa Onsen is the perfect base for some less intense adventures. Some exciting day trip ideas include: A trip to Nagano City – the prefectural capital city. There is a direct bus from Nozawa to Nagano that leaves around 10am or 4pm each day. In Nagano, there’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]