Nozawa Onsen is one of the popular ski destinations in Japan. It’s amazing how people travel all the way to this tiny village covered in snow. The ski resort and Japanese village combination is hitting a lot of checkboxes for visitors who want to enjoy wonderful japow and get to see a glimpse of local Japanese culture up close. The small village atmosphere is very inviting and I’m always amazed on how local people actually live there. It’s not a curated ski village but a living one and I think that’s their biggest appeal to many tourists.
My friends and I stayed in different accommodations. There are tons of hotels, inns, rental homes around the village and you can choose which area you can base yourself in. I stayed near Karasawa, others stayed near Nagasaka and a few in Hikage. All areas are accessible through the free shuttle bus that goes around the village. They have their pros and cons. The Hikage area is wonderful for children as the kid’s park is there. Nagasaka is sort of in the middle but it’s where their huge gondola is which takes you to the top area of the ski resort. Karasawa is at the far end, away from all the crowded main areas in the ski resort. You can ski from one area to another so it’s not really isolated.
In Nozawa, when the snow dumps, it’s a lot. Part of the daily life here is shoveling the snow. I’m amazed at the amount of snow you have to remove on a daily basis, or else you cannot leave. Check out the cars covered in snow. You can tell who has been here for more than a day.
So in the POV of a skier or snowboarder, this is heaven. There will be days where you can have lots of deep powder snow, white out or a nice sunny ski day. Weather in the mountains is kind of unpredictable but it’s part of the Nozawa Onsen experience.
For beginners, I highly recommend staying in Hikage, and practicing on the bunny slopes. It might get crowded but you can refresh there before taking the Hikage Gondola to go up. It will take you up to Uenotaira station and you can ski around the paradise and Uenotaira slope for beginners. There is also a long forest trail to go all the way back down to Hikage. I usually ski down with my friends and take our time here. Although beginners are not limited to just Hikage, Karasawa also has green slopes perfect for families and beginners
If you want a bit more action, you can try to go all the way up to the Yamabiko area, where you can reach the top of Mt. Kenashi (1650m). There you can have a wonderful time in the groomed areas, ungroomed areas and even in the tree run areas. There are also a bunch of black (expert) and red (intermediate) slopes that run from the top of Yamabiko station going down to either Hikage or Karasawa.
Did I say Nozawa Onsen is also pet friendly too? It’s one of the very few resorts that allow pets inside their gondola. If you go up Uenotaira, you’ll be greeted by skiers and snowboarders with their dogs tagging along, especially on a nice sunny day.
If you want to have a rest day, you can take a break from skiing or snowboarding and explore the village. There are walking village tours and even snow shoe tours that run in the nearby fields in Nozawa.
A local who has lived in Nozawa all their life once told us that they were wondering why people from all over the world come to their tiny village. It boggles his mind because there are far more wonderful mountains in Japan. If I were to answer his question, Nozawa Onsen has a lot to offer despite being a small village. I think being small has made it very compact with all the necessary things to enjoy a wonderful winter trip in Japan.
For inquiries about village and snowshoe tours, check out Nozawa Onsen Tours.
For Apres Ski, check out Kahu bar just near the Foot Spa in Nozawa.