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Nozawa Onsen

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Elevations:

Top:
 1650 meters
 5414 feet
Base:
 614 meters
 2015 feet
Vertical:
 1036 meters
 3399 feet

Number of Lifts:

22 lifts:
  2 gondola(s)
  4 quad chair(s)
  4 double chair(s)
  12 surface lift(s)

Contact details:

Ph: +81 269 85 3111
Website: Click here

 

Resort Rundown

Nozawa Onsen is most famous for its onsens. Snowboarding is almost like a side activity. There are over thirty natural hot springs in the village. Each onsen has its own distinct characteristics that provide for a variety of different mineral baths. The hottest spring is the Ogama spring where the water reaches a temperature of about 90 degrees Celsius. Not surprisingly cold water needs to be added to this hot spring to make it bearable. The onsens of Nozawa are definitely not to be missed. Make sure your read the survival guide for onsens (above).

Putting the onsens to one side skiing actually started in Nozawa back in 1930 when Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider came and taught the techniques of modern skiing. As Schneider was from St Anton in Austria there is now an official sister relationship between the two ski villages. Today Nozawa is one of Japan's largest ski resorts. It has over a kilometre of vertical and 15 lifts including two gondolas.

In general the runs are cut out of trees. There are some open faces around the Challenger and Schneider Slopes. The off-piste terrain here does look very good - steep powder runs through trees. There are numerous cat tracks that wind their way down the faces of Nozawa. If you want fresh turns the best option is launch straight off the gladed trees that lie between each switchback in the cat tracks.

The village of Nozawa is a very unique Japanese country village. Narrow, cobblestone streets, traditional architecture and villagers selling their wares in the streets. It's almost like being transported back several hundred years. It feels kind of weird strolling down the streets in the latest snowboard gear holding the latest in snowboard technology. Nozawa is definitely not a purpose built ski village and this makes the experience that much better.

Terrain

Freeriding

Freeriding is really what Nozawa is all about. Although the majority of runs are cut through trees there are a ton of winding cat tracks that link up all the runs. This means you can take a detour straight off the cat track and join up with it again lower down the mountain. The terrain off the cat tracks is superb - a steep gradient combined with gladed trees. When the powder is on this is definitely the place to be.

Some of the best freeriding lines are off the Beginners Course (surprisingly) and off the Ushikubi Course. When the snow is good every turn is a face shot and run goes straight through a forest of gladed trees. Definitely an epic experience.

Just note that when there is no fresh snow around it's probably worthwhile to look into some of the other activities in Nozawa such as the onsens and the large aquatic complex.

Freestyle

Nozawa in not a freestyle mountain. There are no resort-built freestyle facilities and no halfpipe. You come here for the freeriding. If you want to jump then bring your own shovel. That said as Nozawa is actually a very large ski town there are plenty of jibs to be had.

Accommodation

Nozawa is actually a town and not a purpose built ski Title. Hence there are a ton of accommodation options ranging from Japanese pensions to five star hotels.

Some good options include:

(1) Hotel Chitose
The Hotel Chitose is a more western style hotel. It is one of the closest hotels to the ski lifts. Ph: 81 (0)2 6985 2273 or Web: http://www.nozawa.or.jp/Title-chitose

Getting There

Nozawa Onsen is located about two hours from Nagano. The best way to get there from Tokyo is to take a Bullet Train from Tokyo to Nagano then take a bus from Nagano station direct to Nozawa.

With more than 4 years booking Japanese Ski Packages, Liquid Snow Tours can help by offering advice from our collective experience with the region, and competitive prices due the volume we send over. With informative websites complete with trail maps and webcams, visit www.ski-nozawa-onsen.com, or call +61 (0)3 9017 1142.

It is highly recommended that you use a travel agent that specialises in Japanese Travel. Snowave Travel is a reputable travel agent that specialises in snowboarding. They offer both guided and unguided package tours to Hokkaido and other Japanese resorts. They can be reached on Ph: +61-2-9977-7488 or check out their website at www.snowave.com .

Thanks

Many thanks to the Hotel Chitose and Tezuka from the Nagano Prefecture for there tremendous assistance during our visit to Nozawa Onsen. Also a very special thanks to Roland and the Nozawa Onsen Village Office, Tourist Section (http://shinshu.online.co.jp/nozawa, Ph: 81 (0)2 6985 3111).

Last updated on 15 June 2009.

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Nozawa Onsen

Date	Name	Comments
12 Jun 2007	Sam	Hi thanks for the info on Nozawa Onsen we were just up there and it was everything you say and more. Really felt like we were in Japan and the snow was awesome. The hotsprings were perfect after a day in the mountains. We found a great place to stay Lodge Nagano, the web site is http://www.lodgenagano.com/ Cheers
06 Nov 2005	Anonymous	The proper link for Nozawa Tourism is http://www.infocreate.co.jp/hometown/nozawa/nozawa-e.html Also check out my new internet cafe with western foods. http://www.ecoworld.com.au/outpost The English capable hotel next door is http://www.ecoworld.com.au/asahiya

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