New Gondola Nozawa Onsen Japan

New Gondola Nozawa Onsen Japan

 

The New Gondola Nozawa Onsen Japan, In the Bubble era in Japan there were over 600 Ski Resorts scattered across the country. Large ones, small ones and plenty of in between ones! Skiing was booming across the land and so was the Japanese Economy. The Royal Family was skiing all the time and so were the average families and all the resorts were very busy, including Nozawa Onsen. I was working in Ski Patrol in the early 90’s and some afternoons coming down Skykline Run it was standing room only and we were dealing with as many as 50 injuries a day not to mention the many we had to help slide down the steeper sections.

Then by the mid 90’s the economy was starting to turn and so was the countries love of the slopes. Since many smaller resorts have shut shop as the skier numbers declined. Even now not many resorts in Japan are investing in their infrastructure to keep improving the resort for years to come. Nozawa Onsen is one of the few, so was great to hear a few years ago the announcement of a new main Gondola to get the skiers and boarders to the top quicker and easier.

New Gondola Nozawa Onsen Japan

A few facts on the new Gondola for Nozawa Onsen

• The New Gondola will replace the current Nagasaka Gondola running from Nagasaka Base to Yamabiko
• The middle station will be removed and the track will be straight to the top
• The total length will be about 3.1km instead of 3.5km currently
• Passengers will be sitting instead of standing in gondola cabins with seating for 10 expected
• The construction will be done before 2020-2021 Ski season starts
• It halves the travel time to the top (from 16mins to 8mins)
• It will be more user friendly for Mountain Bikers and Hikers too and run longer over the Green Season months

All this is going to make for an even better experience skiing and boarding in Nozawa Onsen. We have opened bookings for the next season 2020/21 so if keen to get up and ride the new Gondola then get in as soon as you can. Here is a link to look and book Book Your Ski Holiday to Nozawa Japan

 

New Gondola Nozawa Onsen Japan – A bit of History

The Original Nagasaka Gondola was built in 1979 and was a 4 person gondola. It was then rebuilt in 1990 to carry 12 people with the boom and also for the Interski and Olympic in 1995 and 1998 respectively. This is the same Gondola above that currently stands. The Hikage Gondola was built in 1984 to carry 6 persons and is still operating, love the feel of “The Egg” shaped Gondola!

Update New Nagasaka Gondola – Now Complete

Thought about time to fill you in on how the New Gondola has been travelling since it was completed two seasons ago. All reports have been terrific! A few highlights are

• Easy Boarding and departing with better placed stations so can ski on and no hiking to get on
• There is even a lift from the ground floor up to the departure station level so no need to climb stairs
• There is a new Cafe and new lift ticket counters at the access level
• The views are spectacular with bigger windows and riding over the forest canopy
• Just remember to be ready to get off in time. Used to be able to take my boots off, feed the kids and make a phone call in the travel time. Not anymore!
• The seats are a welcome addition and super comfy
• The access to mid station going is good and bad. Miss sneaking runs from there and makes it a little harder to ski the middle runs of Yunomine but if an advanced skier you can still ski down Ushikubi to the bottom or beginners can exit via the cat track to Paradise but note it is very flat. There is talk of building anew lift from near the old mid station to Paradise slope in the future
• The new bigger gondola is great for taking Mountain Bikes on over the green season and open from May to October.

Anyway it is a great improvement for the whole Nozawa Onsen Resort and we really hope you will enjoy riding it soon.