Excitement building Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival mode really starts to build from today in the village with the Dosojin “Bad Luck Year” Men of the village dragging the logs down the resort and thru the streets of town. It is quite a spectacular day so be sure to try and catch them somewhere along the way. The bad luck years are 25 and 42 and they have a bit of a competition between themselves as to who can drag the logs down the quickest. Fuelled with camaraderie and lots of Sake it is a spectacle to watch. The dragging begins at the bottom of the Kandaha Race Course at about 1pm then past Hikage and Nagasaka Gondolas then down thru […]
fire festival
Nozawa Onsen Events Calendar 2019/20
Nozawa Onsen Events Calendar 2019/20 There are a growing number of events and activities in Nozawa Onsen. To keep track of everything, check out our new Nozawa Onsen Events Calendar. If there is anything you happen to stumble upon that we may have missed please let us know – there’s a good chance others will be interested too! Some of the dates for the coming winter season (October onward) are yet to be finalised. Also, as events come and go, we’ll look forward to the next year. That means we’ll be updating the calendar constantly. Enquiries may be directed to stay@nozawaholidays.com. 2019 April Echigo-Tsumari Art Field – 27th (until end of October) Yoga Retreat (with Mariko & Luke) – begins […]
Nozawa Onsen Snow Report 15th January 2019
Nozawa Onsen Snow Report 15th January 2019 Fire and snow on the way! Today is the day! The biggest event on Nozawa Onsen’s social calendar takes place tonight. The bonus is that it just so happens to coincide with a double-digit snowfall forecast. In fact, apart from a sunny respite on Thursday morning, there’s snowfall forecast for the whole week to come. It might be time to get out the snow shovels but not before the whole village gets festive this evening. If you haven’t already, check out our recent post which runs through all the details of this year’s Fire Festival. For those who are in town tonight, it will help explain what to expect and what is expected […]
Sun, Snow & Fire; Nozawa Onsen Snow Report, 13/1/2019
Sun, Snow & Fire, Nozawa Onsen Snow Report, 13th January 2019 The forecast for this week includes sun, snow & fire for Nozawa Onsen. The present cloudy situation has already begun giving way to sun. We may get the odd snow shower before more sun tomorrow. Tuesday night looks set to involve both snow and fire in plentiful amounts. We’re expecting a double-digit dump to coincide with the Fire Festival. That not only means great skiing to wake up to Wednesday but also a really cool (yes, literally and figuratively) atmosphere for what is probably the most important date on Nozawa’s calendar. Check out yesterday’s post to find out a bit more info on the Fire Festival. Fire festivals are […]
Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival 2019
Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival 2019 The Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival is one of Japan’s top three fire festivals and needless to say, a real treat to experience. It is held on January 15th each year to pray for a plentiful harvest, health and good fortune during the year to come. The festival dates back to 1863 and though the location has changed, the festivities remain the same. During this festival, the twenty-five and forty-two-year-old men from the village play a very important role. An old belief in Japan dictates that, for men, these years are unlucky ages. The twenty-five and the forty-two-year-old men in their unlucky ages construct the shaden (shrine) from beech wood that reaches a height of 18 […]