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Drawing attention from overseas: Nozawa Onsen

Recent years have seen Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort rapidly gain the attention of overseas skiers and snowboarders. Combining a historical snow resort with a famous onsen region, Nozawa Onsen has a different atmosphere from Niseko, Hokkaido or Hakuba, which have been attracting overseas visitors from early on.
Situated in northern Nagano, and with a vast ski piste lined with sparkling snow-laden trees, Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort takes pride in some of the best snow and views in mainland Japan. The ski piste boasts fantastic powder from plenty of snowfall, a super-long course with a range of terrains, a snow park that's a safe playground, and a gentle slope for beginners. Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort is ideal for visitors of all levels to enjoy this stunning combination of snow activities and vast stretches of nature.
For après-ski, soothe your fatigue in a 100% natural hot spring water in the atmospheric onsen town. It's part of the fun of visiting Nozawa Onsen. You'll encounter a pocket of old Japan that hasn't changed in decades.

Powder snow at Nozawa Onsen

Nozawa Onsen is a big ski resort with as many as 36 runs over three ridges stretching from the summit of 1,650m-high Mt. Kenashi. The vertical elevation of the runs is 1,086m, and although 40% of the ski pistes are for beginners, the most popular Yamabiko piste has five 1-km runs for intermediate skiers and snowboarders, with fantastic snow and views.
Nozawa Onsen has a typical Sea of Japan climate influenced by the Asian continent, and some of the heaviest snowfalls in Japan - as much as 107cm in a day (recorded in 2010). At times during the winter, the summit may get dumps of over 5m, giving skiers and snowboarders the chance to experience some truly amazing powder. So much so that it's become something of a mecca for powder junkies.

Atmospheric onsen town

The other attraction of Nozawa Onsen is, well, the onsen. The compact onsen town can be easily covered on foot, with 13 public baths open to everyone. Controlled since the Edo Period by a system called Yunakama, the public baths are 100% natural hot spring water, managed and kept clean. There is a warm exchange between villagers who are regulars at the baths and guests, talking about the day's events while enjoying the soak.
The public baths can be enjoyed free of charge but there are donation boxes at each one, so why not consider leaving some money as a compliment?

Access to Nozawa Onsen

With so much going for it, reaching Nozawa Onsen has become extremely easy from Tokyo or Osaka, thanks to the new Hokuriku Shinkansen that connects Tokyo and Kanazawa. Get off the Hakutaka Hokuriku Shinkansen at Iiyama station and take the Nozawa Onsen Liner direct bus service from the station to Nozawa Onsen. The bus takes about 25 minutes. Single tickets are 600 yen per adult and 300 yen per child. On weekends and national holidays during the winter, and during the New Year, there is also an express bus from Nagano Station (1,500 yen for a single adult ticket).
For drivers the closest exit is Toyota Iiyama IC on the Joshinetsu Expressway. There are three parking lots each in the onsen town and the ski resort. In the onsen town, though, you'll mainly need to walk for activities like onsen-hopping. Enjoy this drawcard ski resort and onsen to your heart's content!
text : Kensuke Itahara

Facility Information

Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort
Address
7653 Nozawaonsen-mura, Shimotakai-gun, Nagano 389-2502
URL
https://snow.gurunavi.com/guide/htm/r0028ens.htm

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