Whether you’re a skier, snowboarder, or non-snow-person in Nozawa Onsen, taking a day trip to Obuse is well worth your time! Home to the Hokusai-kan Museum, Kozan Takai Memorial Museum, Nihonnoakari Museum (Japanese Lantern Museum), groves of grape and apple trees and famed for the perfect acidic soil to grow delicious chestnuts, you will be overwhelmed with things to do. Follow me along on my day trip to Obuse! Getting to Obuse from Nozawa Onsen Starting the day early, we caught the Nozawa Onsen Liner at 08:20 for just ￥600 each to Iiyama. A brief 25 minute ride later, we arrived at the newly constructed Iiyama Train Station. Instead of taking a local train or Shinkansen, we caught a connecting […]
spring skiing
Best Time Ski Japan Nozawa
Best Time Ski Japan Nozawa Ride the wave into March in Nozawa Beautiful Sunny day for the official first day of Spring in Japan. It was nice and cold early but definitely warming up as the day opens up and the sun kisses the slopes. Almost empty up there today, check out the web cams just a few people sliding down the mountain. Will be nice on the groomers and probably a bit crispy on any untouched powder stashes. Temp at the top; 5 degrees New snow since close; 0 cm Base at the top; 300 cm Snow conditions; Nice and quiet fun on the groomers and park. Weather; Sunny day Really feels like this season has flown […]
5 Reasons to visit Nozawa Onsen in Spring
Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort in Nagano Japan is quickly becoming a favourite destination for skiers and snowboarders from all over the world and with very good reason. It has a beautiful traditional Japanese feel combined with some of the best snow conditions in the world! All this plus delicious food and streets lined with soothing Onsens or hotsprings which are free to use. Many people visit in the peak times of January and February but for some reason think that the season is over in March but that is not the case March can be some of the best skiing of the season and we also love the Spring skiing in April. 5 Reasons to visit Nozawa Onsen […]
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 29/4/2019
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report, 29th of April 2019 This Nozawa Onsen spring keeps on giving. The resort is reporting a couple of centimetres overnight to go with what we awoke to yesterday. It really is amazing how much snow we have been blessed with during the month of April. What it all means is that there is still a very healthy base up top. There are only a few days left in the ski season before it’s the Green Season‘s turn. It tends to surprise people that we have such a long season here in Nozawa Onsen but it’s probably fair to say that everyone has been surprised by April’s snowfall. Coinciding with Japan’s Golden Week celebrations, it truly […]
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 28/4/2019
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 28/4/2019 Nozawa Onsen spring snow is not something we’d expect this late in the season. But we’ll certainly take it! We saw in excess of 10 centimetres fall yesterday. At last count, around midday, it was 11cm before the afternoon brought even more. Another few centimetres fell upon the top of Mount Kenashi last night. All in all, fantastic news for skiers in Nozawa Onsen and a great way to kick off this year’s Golden Week. The sun is out already and there are a few more people rolling into town already. Golden Week combined with fresh snow will certainly make for a vibrant atmosphere. With the temperatures now climbing, it creates the unique opportunity […]
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 27/4/2019
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report, 27th of April 2019 It’s probably a little hard to believe after reading the date above but we got some fresh snow overnight. It fell as rain at village level but up on the mountain, a respectable 6 centimetres. There’s even better news. The forecast suggests it will continue throughout the day before giving way to more bright sunshiny days like the one pictured above. This image was taken just a few short days ago. So imagine this scene with a new 6-centimetre layer. For the rest of this year’s special Golden Week, it looks as though temperatures will either be too dry or too warm to bring more snow. So we’re probably looking at […]
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 21/4/2019
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report, 21st of April 2019 While we’re still here enjoying some very decent spring skiing, it’s worth considering what else is on offer. Nozawa Onsen spring is beautiful in its own right. However, it also provides a great base from which to explore the area. Many of our guests tend to use spring to take day trips to places like Kanazawa, Nagano city, Togakushi, Joestu (pictured), Matsumoto, and others. Of course, those same places also exist during the Green Season. One of the great treasures of Japan is its distinct changing of the seasons. What was once caked in metres of white springs to life in vibrant green during the warmer months. Snow melts to open […]
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 20/4/2019
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report, 20th of April 2019 Today is what spring is about. Being Saturday, Paradise is open and a great place for a beer in the sun between runs. It’s getting towards t-shirt weather down in the village but up on top of the mountain, there’s plenty of Nozawa Onsen spring skiing to be had. Temperatures look like they’ll slowly climb over the next week. By the time Golden Week rolls around, we should be well into the 20s in the village. All things going according to plan, we’ll be sliding atop Mount Kenashi up until the 5th of May. That last week being the Golden Week holiday period creates a unique vibe around town. Not only […]
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 19/4/2019
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report, 19th of April 2019 It was a lengthy bout but spring has finally wrestled control from winter. The first half of April blessed us with much snow but it seems as though true spring is finally here. Out come the farmers and bears (you might need to check out our Instagram/Facebook pages if you haven’t seen that photo). Spring doesn’t mean we’re done though. There’s still a very respectable base of 260cm at the Yamabiko area. What is the top of the mountain looking like, according to official reports? At 7:01 am; Temp at the top; 6C New snow since close; 0cm Base at the top; 260cm Weather; cloudy The resort will stay open until […]
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report 15/4/2019
Nozawa Onsen Spring Snow Report, 15th of April 2019 It’s probably fair to say that we’ve now reached the part of the season more typically associated with the word “spring”. Most will remember the first three days of April where we saw in excess of a metre of fresh snow. There were a few significant falls to follow that too. But now, it seems as though the return to winter is done. It’s time to enjoy the views and relatively warm temperatures. Today is all about sunshine. Tomorrow promises much the same thing. Temperatures will continue to climb throughout today and into tomorrow. Now, it’s spring. Something the local farmers are probably pretty happy about! So what’s the official word […]