Latest News

As autumn starts to set in, some of the locals in Nozawa Onsen start to head to the mountain in search of a local delicacy: wild mushrooms! There are a few hundred species of fungi that can be found on the mountains here, ranging from rare and expensive types to the famous “Shimeji” – long thought to be responsible for numerous health benefits. As Nagano prefecture is now the longest lived area in the world, it can’t be doing any harm! When searching for specific edible mushrooms you need to factor weather, rainfall, and mainly which area of the mountain you will visit as different species require different fallen trees to grow from. A word of warning though – make […]

New bus announced linking Nozawa all the way to Myoko via Madarao. Hot of the press have heard thru the grape vine that there will be a new bus route between Madarao and Myoko starting this season. It is set to kick off from 23rd of December to the 5th of March 2017. It is expected to run daily and will be a great service for anyone wanting to hit up a few resorts in the area as will link Nozawa Onsen, Iiyama Station, Madarao and Myoko together. Will be the same No-to-ma bus that already connects Nozawa to Madarao via our neighbouring resort Togari, also not to be overlooked with some amazing side country no crowds, cheap tickets and […]

The rice harvest (Inakari) has just started here in Nozawa Onsen. Some of you may already know – rice farming here in the valley has a history that far outreaches the snow sports industry! In fact you could almost say it is the main way of life for most villagers here in town. Nagano and Niigata prefectures are said to produce the best quality rice – with all of that fresh water flowing down the mountain through our fields and the clean country air we have here – you can see why! Traditionally, rice was planted and harvested by hand. It is then hung to dry and mature for a few weeks, before being removed from the grass and milled […]

As the mercury starts to rise down south and many are beginning their school holidays you may be already thinking how can we escape this heat! This photo was taken at Ogama the cooking onsens in Nozawa a few Christmas’s ago. Give the sweltering Christmas a swerve this year and consider a snowy White Christmas in Nozawa this coming December. Still have good availability at many of the lodges and can do a package starting for as little as $965 for Adults and Kids $615 White Christmas Week in Nozawa 7 Nights Stay based on Japanese Style Tatami Room with Share Bathroom Healthy Breakfast Included Daily 5 Days Lift Passes Use of all the Village Hot springs All just 70,500 […]

  As the weather starts to cool in Nozawa there is no better place to be than in an Onsen ( Hot spring) We have 13 free ones around the village and it is a daily ritual for the locals to meet and bathe in the geothermal hot waters. All housed in traditional bath houses they are a very relaxing way to start the day or soothe the aches and pains at the end of the day. Even more special in the snowy months, as you get a warm buzz to the core of your body that lasts for a few hours. If you are not familiar with the Onsen etiquette and just want a few little pointers on how […]

You can feel the change starting to roll over the mountains in Nozawa. Have had a few foggy days about town and always pretty to see the clouds sitting in the Valley. This photo is taken from Villa Nozawa and won’t be long now until the scenery takes on a snowy change! Quite a lot of rain in Nozawa at the moment too which has cooled things down and find you need a long sleeve in the nights now, which is kind of nice. Most locals are talking about good snowfall this year. Mainly because last year was a bit light on and was a 1 in 50 year like situation so this year Nozawa should be back to its […]

Konnichiwa looks like a few deals available for our friends from Melbourne Some of you may have been waiting for this, so looks like time to Jump in. At a quick glance some sales on offer appear to be; • Melbourne to Osaka from 6th of Feb to 23rd of March from $466 Return • Melbourne to Narita from 21st of March to 27th of March from $436 Return Sale ends 21st of September So looks like into Osaka is for good dates for the season. Osaka to Nozawa is a little further but you get the chance to visit the old capital Kyoto which is an amazing part of any trip. Osaka is also an exciting city with delicious […]

In most towns that would probably not be so news worthy, but in our little country town it is a pretty big thing. The last ATM was installed about 20 Years ago at the Post Office and is still the only other one for international cards in the village! The new machine is set up right next door to the Nozawa Tourist Info Office on the main road into the Village. It is in the new Kura café and art gallery building. Kura is a traditional Japanese storage house that originally probably stored rice or grain. It has been renovated to perfection and looks amazing! There are probably not too many Cash Machines in the world set up in stylish […]

As preparations for the season continue this poor fella has the hard job of cutting down all the grass and shrubs that have grown on Hachiman Slope over the summer. I know form tackling the jungle that grows just around my house this is not an easy job, made even harder with the steep slope. But we will be thanking him this winter when gliding down there in knee-deep powder! It is a beautiful run…  

If want to do some Autumn training and get your snowboarding legs back ready for the season do what the locals do and hit the hills for some downhill skateboarding! Imagine the forest trail without snow! It runs 10km from top to bottom and has a nice gentle slope on a bitumen road most of the way. It is a smooth and very scenic ride down thru the trees. With the air temp starting to cool in Nozawa it gets your mind thinking of the snow and is much more comfortable to start training for the winter too. Nozawa is a great place to get in shape to ski or board in Nozawa or anywhere else for that matter. The […]