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 […]
nozawa onsen skiing
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 […]
Snow week coming Nozawa
Snow week coming Nozawa One of my favourite things about skiing at Nozawa Onsen, is seeing all the pups and dogs racing across the ski field. Siberian Huskies, Shiba, labradors and retrievers. Every day, I spot at least five furry friends running about in the snow. It’s simply adorable. Even more so if the dog is wearing ski goggles, little booties or a warm coat! Of all the places I’ve skied, I’ve never seen so many dogs! If you or your family member would like to pat the dog, you can ask via the phrase below! It’s always good to introduce yourself to the owner as well! Anata no inu ni sawattemo iidesuka? さわっても いいですか？ This week is looking to […]
Happy Chinese New Year Nozawa
Happy Chinese New Year Nozawa What a weekend in Nozawa Yesterday was a fantastic day on the mountain. The snow just kept coming all day and heavy at times. Was funny as I got on the Gondola after lunch it was sunny down the bottom but 8 minutes later when reached the top the snow was dumping down. Nice cold temps too which kept the slopes in good condition all day. Being the weekend and the start of Chinese New Year there were definitely more people around but didn’t line up much at all yesterday afternoon. Most Tokyo folk will head off at lunch time today so this afternoon should be good too. Todays Japanese word is “Nichiyobi” which means […]
Last Minute Booking Nozawa
Last Minute Booking Nozawa Snowy Winters day in Nozawa Almost the “Magic Foot” of fresh snow overnight for Nozawa and has probably got to 30cm by the time I finish typing this with huge flakes dropping from the sky right now in the village. The snow started just when I was heading to the onsen at about 9pm last night but heavier this morning. Great to see real winter conditions back in town and they look set to continue for a while now. Being the weekend should be a few people around but plenty of fresh tracks up for grabs. Gondola opens soon so get up there and have an awesome day Todays Japanese word is “Yuki” which means Snow. […]
Skiing Fun Nozawa Onsen
Skiing Fun Nozawa Onsen The Sun is out early today in Nozawa and shaping up to be a beautiful day ahead. Feast your eyes on the web cams up top. The Nozawa trees are doing their beautiful thing; https://nozawa-onsen.com/nozawa-webcams/ A cool thing about Nozawa Onsen is seeing the giantic ski jumps! Before coming here, I’d seen them only on a screen while watching the Winter Olympic Games, utterly in awe of the brave participants willing to ski with their skis straight and fly straight into the sky’s arms. Now, seeing them in person, the awe has only increased tenfold! The first recorded ski jump was in 1922! Between 1924 and 1925, permanent ski jumps were installed at the top […]
Back into winter Nozawa
Back into winter Nozawa Our favourite days are back… The ones right after a storm, where the clouds open up and the sun shines down and we find ourselves viewing a delicious snow paradise of fresh powder. Yesterday was an epic day out exploring in our “mountain office.” And the best thing is, there are more of these days to come! Next week’s forecast is holding strong for some huge snow dumps so let’s get out there today and do some snow dances! TODAY: Temperature at the top; -4 degrees New snow since yesterday; 0 cm Base at the top; 150cm Snow conditions; The groomers were out last night and it’s going to be a great day to go carving. […]
Snow, Vegan Treats Nozawa
Snow, Vegan Treats Nozawa The Siberian chills are back and it’s starting to feel like the middle of winter again here in Nozawa Onsen. The long range forecast is holding strong and there are going to be several days coming up for more than half a metre top up each day! The Fire Gods have received our prayers from Sunday evening’s Fire Festival. I just wanted to introduce a new cafe in town! Shizen, located on the back streets of Nozawa Onsen near the Post Office, it is a little bit of summer hidden in the depths of winter. It’s a great spot to read a book, journal away, and relax in peace and quiet! Shizen also offers yoga morning […]
Fire Festival History Nozawa
Fire Festival History Nozawa For many visitors to Nozawa Onsen, last night will have been an event to remember. It was Nozawa Onsen’s annual Dosojin Fire Festival. The fire festival, held on the 15th of January every year, is about bringing good fortune to the New Year by driving away evil spirits with sacred fire. It is a long-held tradition and had always been run by five groups of young men. During World War Two, the village men had to leave to go and fight. There was also a shortage of buna trees, used in the ceremony. It became difficult to continue the festival. In 1955, a man named Seiji Azegami took charge, not wanting to let the fire tradition […]