Sunday Pancakes Nozawa Onsen Waking up to a snowy Sunday morning here in Nozawa. Not a huge dump but enough to freshen everything up and fat flakes still falling outside my window right now. The sun is supposed to make an appearance later today as the snow fall eases. Another week comes to an end in Nozawa Onsen, we’ve had some EPIC powder days and some glorious sunny bluebird days. This weekend in the village, it’s been lively with visitors from Tokyo. But next week, the resort is quietening down meaning no lift lines and being quickly served at restaurants. It’s the best time of the year to visit! Now it’s time for a treat to celebrate the week’s end […]
nozawa onsen skiing
Best Morning Coffee Nozawa
Best Morning Coffee Nozawa Every season, we are on the search for the best coffee or “Kohi” in Nozawa Onsen. Unfortunately, Japan isn’t always known for its great coffee… But here in Nozawa, there are some places proving that wrong! Chatter on the street says the new Lift coffee shop at Jonnobi in the old gondola is the best. Nozawa Central above the Nozawa Rental shop also always a favourite open from 8;30am to 10;30am. Drop in grab some gear, have a chat to the Nozawa Holidays team and get your daily brew. I’m a fan of a coffee in Shichirohei at Hikage. Before heading out for line-up of my ski instructing job at 10am, I stop by for a […]
Day Tours Nozawa Skiing
Day Tours Nozawa Skiing Rest And the good snow just keeps on coming… Eleven centimetres of fresh powder is ready and waiting for you to carve fresh tracks into this morning. On days like recent, where the snow is just THAT GOOD, it can be really tempting to keep pushing it. But, powder skiing and riding is tiring. And it’s okay to break up your skiing holiday with some rest days. In fact, Nozawa Onsen is the perfect base for some less intense adventures. Some exciting day trip ideas include: A trip to Nagano City – the prefectural capital city. There is a direct bus from Nozawa to Nagano that leaves around 10am or 4pm each day. In Nagano, there’s […]
The Frenchman can Fly
The Frenchman can Fly Coco stood at the top of the ski jump. He felt scared. He tried not to overthink. Looking down the steep narrow slope, 30 meters high, that would soon send him flying into the air, he took a deep breath and pointed straight… Corentin Cesar aka. Coco a Nozawa Holidays instructor could ski before he could walk. His parents put him on skis when he was just a toddler; three years old. Coco’s home ski field in France is Les Arcs in Bourg-Saint-Maurice. It’s where he grew up. “It’s one of the reasons I came to Nozawa… I didn’t want to travel to the other side of the world to ski in another resort,” he […]
Community and Friendship Nozawa
Community and Friendship Nozawa Over the past few days we’ve had some of the best powder days of the season… And how good is it to be able to share these moments with the family we’ve travelled with, the new friendships made and the Nozawa village community? Today will be another with almost a magic foot fallen overnight! A Japanese Proverb says; Akarui tokoro o hitori de aruku yori, kurai tokoro o nakama to aruku hō ga ii. Which translates to; Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. There’s something so special about skiing and boarding with friends and family… Bouncing together down the moguls, swerving through the trees, giggling and laughing […]
Stay Safe Powder Nozawa
Stay Safe Powder Nozawa For all the joy and delight of a day out skiing or boarding in powder – a powder day can also be super deadly. This goes not just for skiing off-piste in the backcountry, but inbounds as well. People travel from all over the world for Nozawa Onsen’s epically deep powder… But many of us have never experienced such deep snow. The dark side of this life-changing powder is that it also takes lives – avalanches and people suffocating in the snow. The light, fluffy snow can turn holes, valleys, depressions and moats around trees into death traps. When you fall into a hole or moat, the loose snow can act like quicksand, pulling you down […]
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 […]
Another Dump Nozawa Onsen
Another Dump Nozawa Onsen Another day another amazing dump of fresh snow in Nozawa. The powder tap has turned on and seems to be flowing hard. Late yesterday afternoon, the snowfalls began to ease and I suspected we’d get another big overnight dump as forecast. At about 8.30pm last night, the telltale signs were there as the first flakes began wafting past the village light posts. Overnight, we had thick heavy flakes falling down here in the village. Early this morning, it looks like the skies are clearing for a perfect bluebird day ahead. A rinse and repeat of yesterday? The overnight figures certainly suggests so; Yamabiko 20cm, Uenotaira 33cm. How many best days of the season can we have […]
50cm Snow Overnight Nozawa
50cm Snow Overnight Nozawa Suki ni ikimashyo! Let’s go skiing! Last night, 50cm of fresh snow fell up top on Yamabiko we were only expecting 30cm so was a real bonus to get 50cm. The base now at 260cm so grade to get over that 2.5 meter mark. It even snowed briefly in Tokyo yesterday and the mercury is dropping below zero Celsius across the country. It’s a strong winter pressure pattern bringing in this influx of cold air and we are not complaining here at Nozawa Onsen! It’s some of the lowest temperatures Japan has seen as a country in a decade. TODAY: Temperature at the top; -10 degrees on Yamabiko and -12 degrees on Uenotaira! New snow since […]
Nozawa Onsen Freezing Temperatures
Nozawa Onsen Freezing Temperatures Ohayō gozaimasu from another chilly morning in Nozawa. We’ve woken up to another day in paradise! Fresh snow and more to come! The past few days have been especially cold in Nozawa. Naturally being a ski resort it gets cold however temps normally hover between 0 degrees and -5 degrees in the village. They have been down as low as – 11 degrees in town and even colder up at Yamabiko hitting a low of about -19 degrees. has lead to a few frozen pipes and toilets but also some amazing powder snow. Here are a few Japanese phrases around the theme of skiing for you to try out today: It’s cold = Samui desu ne. […]