FESTIVALS IN NOZAWA ONSEN Farewell Winter and Hello Spring We are finishing the last days of February in true style with yesterday being a truly sublime day on the mountain. All the elements lined up with fresh snow, sunshine and very little wind for such an awesome day. Who was up there? This morning still an impressive base of 300cm up top, so there is still plenty of snow to ride throughout March and April. We have had an awesome winter so far here in Nozawa and are excited about Spring skiing and the beautiful days it brings. Today is set to be another bluebird day with light variable winds, and seeing temperatures creep into the low positives on top […]
Events
LIVE MUSIC NOZAWA ONSEN
Big weekend of snow and festivities in Nozawa Onsen With light snow showers overnight and not looking to stop until Sunday night, we are in for a treat with up to 15cm expected to fall today. Powder will still be available in some spots across the mountain, with groomed tracks filling in as the snow falls throughout the day. Moderate winds are blowing in from the NW from the morning picking up throughout the day. Colder temps around -10 are predicted but the wind chill will be closer to -20 on top of the mountain, so rug up. Skies will be cloudy but visibility on the mountain should be decent with the light snow showers but the wind could change […]
Rainy Day Activities Nozawa
Rainy Day Activities Nozawa Good day for an Onsen After some amazing powder days and some truly glorious sunny days here in Nozawa, this morning as forecast the warmer temps have delivered some rain. It started last night and was pretty light but a bit more this morning. We are at the mercy of the southerly wind shift driving that warmer Okinawa current our way. Good news is the low pressure will move and change the wind direction and temps very soon and will see snow start to fall up top later today. Then it will intensify over the next 24 hours and bring with it some serious cold temps and snow fall. So for today maybe hit an 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. […]
Happy Valentines Day Nozawa
Happy Valentines Day Nozawa Love is in the air in Nozawa Onsen Photo @mountain_swell. Be sure to follow their adventures around the ski resorts of Japan. After a weekend of waking up to bluebird days, we’ve woken up to FRESH SNOW. The perfect gift for Valentines Day. I also woke up to the sound of diggers clearing snow at 5.30am in the morning, that’s never a bad thing as, of course, it means there’s been a heap of new snow overnight. In fact, 20cm of fresh snow. The gifts don’t end there with free Chocolate Fondue on the slopes at Hikage from 10;30am It’s going to be a great few days ahead. Our village turning back into the winter wonderland […]
Ski Contest Nozawa Onsen
Ski Contest Nozawa Onsen Yesterday was an utterly stunning day up in the mountain and down in the village – you were either skiing or walking through gently falling snow mixed with sunshine creating a magic concoction of glitter in the sky! At some moments, the flakes were so fat, if they caught in your hair they lingered as a new accessory, not melting for a few minutes. Today is the last day of the All Japan National Junior High School Ski Championships. School children from around Japan aged between 13 and 15 years old have been competing this week in a range of disciplines such as downhill racing, ski jumping and cross country skiing. Nozawa Onsen has the competition […]
Snow Monkeys Nozawa Onsen
Snow Monkeys Nozawa Onsen We were expecting to wake up to light snow this morning but the sun us still winning at this stage. Have a feeling the snow will kick in soon though and will get heavier throughout the day. One of the most special sites to see in Nagano, our prefecture, are the snow monkeys. Just over the hill in Yudanaka National Park, you can find the furry creatures relaxing, playing and bathing in the warm natural spring waters. There’s also an Onsen you can relax in yourself and the monkeys may come and join you! The Jigokudani Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen Koen, 地獄谷野猿公苑) was created in 1964, as a conservation area to protect the Japanese macaques who […]
Happy Chinese New Year Nozawa
Happy Chinese New Year Nozawa What a weekend in Nozawa Yesterday was a fantastic day on the mountain. The snow just kept coming all day and heavy at times. Was funny as I got on the Gondola after lunch it was sunny down the bottom but 8 minutes later when reached the top the snow was dumping down. Nice cold temps too which kept the slopes in good condition all day. Being the weekend and the start of Chinese New Year there were definitely more people around but didn’t line up much at all yesterday afternoon. Most Tokyo folk will head off at lunch time today so this afternoon should be good too. Todays Japanese word is “Nichiyobi” which means […]
Fire Festival History Nozawa
Fire Festival History Nozawa For many visitors to Nozawa Onsen, last night will have been an event to remember. It was Nozawa Onsen’s annual Dosojin Fire Festival. The fire festival, held on the 15th of January every year, is about bringing good fortune to the New Year by driving away evil spirits with sacred fire. It is a long-held tradition and had always been run by five groups of young men. During World War Two, the village men had to leave to go and fight. There was also a shortage of buna trees, used in the ceremony. It became difficult to continue the festival. In 1955, a man named Seiji Azegami took charge, not wanting to let the fire tradition […]
Nozawa Onsen’s local traditions
Nozawa Onsen’s Local Traditions Yesterday was another day of Fire Festival preparation. The 42 year olds and the 25 year olds of the village each pulled a felled tree down from the resort, through the village and onto the festival grounds. There was a race across the snow outside of the Hikage Information Centre. And the 42 year olds won! Sake was flowing and by the beginning of the evening, the men involved were dashing into local stores to get water bottles as they continued to drink sake and pull the trees through the village, singing, laughing, and cheering. It was such a sight to see! Check back later today for some more information about the history of the Fire […]