More Snowstorms Coming Nozawa WHAT A DAY yesterday was. One of the BEST powder days of the season. The powder smiles on the slopes are as big as the spray! This is why we travel to Japan from all corners of the world – for Nozawa’s epic powder production factory! You should have been here yesterday but honestly, today could be even better. The snow gods are working overtime with another “Magic Foot,” or 32cm of fresh powder overnight for Nozawa. Today offers a slight relief from the consistent puking of snow we’ve had over the last few days. We’ve still woken up to fresh snow in the village and it’s continuing to fall right now as I write this while […]
Lessons Nozawa Japan
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 […]
Ski Trick Fun Nozawa
Ski Trick Fun Nozawa Beautiful sunny days on the menu for today and tomorrow in Nozawa Onsen. When I was chatting with Nozawa Holidays ski instructor Coco the other day, he expressed to me how skiing and snowboarding are really all about just having fun! It’s very easy to get caught up in the desire to improve and get better, focusing on the technical side of riding. And of course it’s great to challenge ourselves to learn and grow in our skiing and boarding techniques. But it’s also important to remember that being an expert at skiing or snowboarding doesn’t just mean being able to do expert and black diamond courses! Coco said, how about skiing backwards all the way […]
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 […]
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 […]
How to Ski Powder
How to Ski Powder Those who come to ski and snowboard in Japan, visit here because they are chasing the world-renowned powder. When you’re watching the locals and pros ski down powder, they make it look so effortless and natural. But really, it takes a lot of practice to perfect. Powder skiing is completely different to skiing on piste. You basically have to throw all previous knowledge about skiing out of the window. Advice For the skiers out there, create a large surface area to float on by bringing your skis close together. When you’re skiing on piste, you usually use your downhill ski to begin to turn. If you try doing that in powder skiing, you’re going to send […]
Resorts Open Early Japan
Resorts Open Early Japan Harvesting the Veggies in Nozawa before they end up in the cool room. We have had some beautiful sunny days lately and as always helpful with getting work done before the season starts. Conditions look set to change from tomorrow afternoon with a West/ North West wind change dropping temps by over 10 degrees and taking the freezing level down. Resorts Open Early Japan Rain up top will turn to snow and a decent fall forecast for Friday night. Not sure it will be enough to get the lifts turning but with cold temps they can no doubt get the snow making happening too. Stay tuned it is early days. Resorts currently open in the […]