Latest News

Ski Jump Training Nozawa Summer vs Winter – Take the drop! Anytime of year it is a scary view from the top and cannot imagine what goes thru the minds of the athletes as the ski down that run! Lots of excitement in Japan now with the handing over of the Summer Olympics to the new host nation. It will only be Japan’s second time to host the Summer games but Japan has already hosted the Winter Olympics twice once in Sapporo in 1972 and again in Nagano in 1998. Nozawa Onsen hosted the Biathlon event and there was an amazing vibe in the village with all the visiting international teams. Nozawa has one of the highest number of Olympic […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gd6H4S4CKM Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a special entrance to the Closing Ceremony of the Rio Olympics. Dressed up as Super Mario and there is a cool little story how he is tunnelled in from Japan to make the appearance. As Japan will be the next country to host the Olympics in 2020 they got a short time to show case their country and what is install in Tokyo. Japan last hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964 so has been a while and most are confident that the unique city can put on a great games. Hope to see you there… The Opening Ceremony takes place on the 24th of July 2020 in four short years from now. Accommodation […]

Well-known food journalists Peden and Munk recently visited Japan and made Nozawa Onsen on the top of the list for places to visit. Not just for the Skiing but also for the culture, natural hotsprings and amazing local produce. Check out there beautiful little video. They loved the authenticity of the town and the people living here and the daily rhythm of a rural village in the snow country of Japan. In their write up they said “Nozawa was humble but brimming over with quality”, great to hear such kind words from people who travel for a living. They liked the idea of the simplicity of the Japanese Style Tatami Rooms. With the minimal Japanese feel of the woven straw […]

Time for a “Tree Change” to Nozawa Onsen Come on up and enjoy the fresh mountain air in Nozawa before Summer is over! Magic green season in full flow at the moment, and nice warm days especially in town. If want to escape the heat it is almost 10 degrees cooler up top of the resort at Yamabiko. Lots of people were around the village enjoying the Obon holiday, hiking, mt biking and swimming in the Sparena Pool and streams. Nothing better than after a hike taking a cool dip in a mountain stream then following up with an Onsen. Your body will thank you! Funnily enough the end of August officially is the end of Summer. The Sparena pool […]

Landhaus Azegami is this weeks “ Lodge of the week” in Nozawa Onsen. Azegami lodge is pretty special in that it is one of the only Pensions in town to have its own Onsen. They won the rights to the hot spring in a raffle put on by the village. Pretty amazing as usually the Onsen feed would be very hard to get and also very expensive. So the lucky folks staying there can enjoy a relaxing soak after a day on the slopes! Located just opposite the post office in Nozawa so is very central just 200m flat walk to the center of the village and all the shops, restaurants and bars. Also very close to the central Chuo Terminal […]

“The Fourth Phase” new Snowboard Film coming soon and some footage from Nozawa featured! Travis Rice and his talented crew at Brain Farm have been working hard over the last 3 years to bring us this amazing film called “ The Fourth Phase”, coming out very soon with official premiere due on October 2nd 2016. The story is something along the lines that they follow the cycle of water as it turns to snow and melts and follow its flow around the North Pacific and track the storms that form the winter. Migrating along side weather patterns to Japan, Russia and North America. The crew takes you on some amazing journeys across the globe including our very own Nozawa Onsen […]

Nozawana, the only way to get pickled in Nozawa. Anyone that has visited Nozawa has no doubt sampled the famous Nozawana vegetable. Most restaurants in town offer it as a free starter before your meal comes and it is also our town mascot! That’s right he is not a broccoli! Nozawana is a Japanese leafy vegetable it comes from the same family and the common turnip and is a variety of mustard leaf. The leaves generally grow to about 60-90cm in length and can be enjoyed in many ways and on may foods. Most commonly it is pickled and eaten with a splash of soy sauce or “Shoyu”. Pretty awesome also when some chili is added, to give that little […]

Japan is definitely a country of 4 very distinct seasons and it is one of the major draw cards for visiting Japan along with Spring Skiing. It is amazing to experience the dramatic changes in the climate, landscape, smells and feel of each beautiful season. The changes in the seasons are often marked by a change in the trees and the blossoming of a new flower. Here is a list of 10 such flowers and when to expect to see them. Spring is naturally the busiest time for nature being woken up and amazing to see it come alive after the winter hibernation. Sakura or “Cherry Blossoms” are the most famous and can expect to see them late March to […]

Kamoshika Ski Lodge is this weeks “Lodge of the Week” in Nozawa Onsen. Kamoshika refers to the mountain goat/deer that we have in and around Nozawa Onsen. It is also the name of this amazing large and luxurious ski in ski out Lodge located just next to the main Nagasaka Gondola in Nozawa. The main lodge is made up of 5 Bedrooms and 5 Bathrooms with large living area, kitchen and media room. There is also a separate 1 bedroom Apartment that can be rented separately to the main lodge or together. It can sleep up to 4 people. The main lodge can sleep up to 20 in comfort with plenty of space for a few families or a large […]

Today is officially “Mountain Day” in Japan, which is an important day to us as the surrounding mountains in Nozawa bring us so much joy all year round. This is the first year that this day has been celebrated with a National Holiday and many people are still not aware of it. An incredible 73% of Japan is Mountainous and when you stand on the top of Mt Kenashi in Nozawa Onsen and look around you would have to believe it. As you can see from the photo the views of the Japanese Alps are amazing. This makes for some incredible skiing in the winter and at the peak of skiing’s popularity there were more than 600 ski resorts scattered […]