Today and tomorrow the 8th and 9th of September see one of the biggest and best festivals on in the village of Nozawa. It is the Autumn Lantern Festival and sees all the village out on the streets to celebrate in style. It is not the famous Nozawa Fire Festival we have on the 15th of January but there will be fire! Along with music, dancing, pantomime like shows, parades and lots of Sake! So if you are nearby stongly suggest coming to check it out and soak in the amazing atmosphere of our historic little town. Festivities get under way tonight from 18:00pm and go all the way until midnight ending up on the top of the stairs at […]
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Big snow season ahead for Nozawa with La Nina?
La Nina weather system for Japan this Winter? All this talk of El Nino and La Nina you may want to learn Spanish instead of Japanese if travelling to ski in Japan this season. El Nino means “ The Boy” and La Nina means you guessed it “ The Girl” they are counterparts and Ocean Atmospheric phenomenon. El Nino is the pattern we experienced last winter and the temperature of the Pacific Ocean is generally higher than normal, which resulted in warmer land temps for Japan and less snow than normal. La Nina is the opposite and temps in the Pacific Ocean can drop by around 3-5 degrees Celsius below normal, which should hopefully mean colder temps in Japan and […]
New Hikage Ski Lift started in Nozawa
New Hikage lift in Nozawa under construction Work has started to install the new lift running up the length of the Hikage slope replacing the old Hikage 2nd A and B lifts. Should be ready in plenty of time for this coming winter in Nozawa. Looks like will be going in a similar location but will improve the on loading, for any that remember the base of the lift was on a small mound so needed to ski up to get on to it. Will also be a much faster lift to get you to the top of the bowl. Hikage means shade but the slope, which faces fairly west gets a decent amount of sun. It was the original […]
Kanazawa a great destination near Nozawa Onsen
People often ask where is a good place to go as an add on to our ski trip to Nozawa? Kyoto is always hard to beat for an all round Japanese experience but if want something a little closer to home and easier all round Kanazawa is often called a little Kyoto. During the Edo Period Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda Clan the second most powerful feudal clan in the country in terms of rice production and field area. Thus the town grew to become a town of great cultural history and many of the old town remains such as the Nagamachi Samurai District and the Chaya entertainment area. These days Kanazawa remains a very important city in […]
Planning a Ski Trip to Japan?
https://vimeo.com/40275755 As you head into the weekend, here is a little video of Nozawa Onsen that we did together with the Nagano Tourist board a few years back. Gives a bit of insight into what a ski holiday to Japan could look like and will help you with planning your next adventure. Lots of great snow, good food, warming onsens and ofcourse all roads lead to a Karaoke bar! Have a little look and drop us a mail if keen to get amongst it all this coming winter to stay@nozawaholidays.com At the peak of skiings popularity in Japan there were over 600 ski resorts to chose from! Since the bubble burst that is probably more like 300 resorts now. So […]
Takagiya Lodge Nozawa an authentic experience
Lodge of the week in Nozawa Onsen “Takagi Lodge” Nozawa Takagiya has just recently opened its doors to overseas guests and both the owners and the guests are really glad they did. Mr and Mrs Mori with their extended family run a beautiful Ski Lodge in the heart of Nozawa Onsen Village. Their son also helps and works at the local JA Bank when not busy in the lodge. Mr Mori is a real local character and although his English is only basic he will quickly strike up a conversation and a glass of Sake in the evenings. Mrs Mori will do everything she can to ensure you have a comfortable and memorable stay. It is a traditional Lodge but […]
Getting from the Airport to Nozawa Onsen
Get out of that seat in the plane and on to a chair lift as soon as possible! With just 3 months to go until the ski season could be starting in Japan people are busy making plans for their next snow holiday. Hopefully Nozawa is on your radar and if it is you are probably wondering what is the best way to get to our quaint little ski town from the Airport. Here is a useful link that shows you some of the options Getting to Nozawa Onsen Ways to get to Nozawa Onsen from Tokyo Airports both Narita and Haneda. Note if coming […]
Big Weekend in Nozawa Onsen
With Festivals, noodle eating and the last weekend of the official Summer Green Season program at the resort. The Nagasaka Gondola will now cease for the summer hiking and Mountain biking as will the camp ground and outdoor swimming pool at the Sparena. This signals the start of Autumn and you can almost feel a change in the air. The following sporting fields are still open – Olympic Sports Park and Gym open until early Nov – Golf training field open until mid Nov – Nanbara tennis court open until mid Nov Ofcourse you can still hike and Mountain Bike and it is coming into the optimum time with cooler air and changing of the leaves. All the Onsens including […]
Flashback Friday – Nozawa buried in the Powder
Sometimes there can be too much Powder! I got this photo from Kubota san at the photo shop on the main street into the village. The photo was taken just outside his store in memory from the 60s. He told me the story that it had snowed in Nozawa every day for a month and then we got hit with some of those huge 100cm dumps and the village basically got completely buried! No one could get in or out and even in the modern 4wd’s of today there was no way you were getting around the town. Nozawa was declared a natural disaster zone and the National Guard were called in to help the locals clear the […]
Qantas and Jetstar Frequent Flyer Sale to Japan
Frequent Flyer Points Sale 20% discount on now Qantas and Jetstar are offering 20% off eligible flights with Classic Flight Rewards. So may be a good time to book that ski holiday to Japan you were thinking about! Good if booked with a QF or JQ flight number between 12.01am (AEST) 24 August 2016 and 11.59pm (AEST) 27 August 2016. Travel on Qantas between 27 September 2016 and 12 August 2017 or on Jetstar between 27 September 2016 and 30 June 2017. So a good range of dates so can visit Japan or Nozawa anytime for the next year. If coming up for a ski and want to get the best conditions to suit your needs can see details on […]