Snowsure: 4.3
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Nozawa Onsen is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
February 05, 2009
JohnA from
United Kingdom
JohnA from
United Kingdom
Nozawa Onsen is a very nice place with a small village atmosphere and very helpful people. Wonderful onsens (free public ones abound) and, at around 40 deg C or higher, they will cook you quite quickly.
Site claims that Nozawa Onsen has 40% beginner (and I can believe that), 30% intermediate (doubtful) and 30% expert (believable). The doubt about intermediate surrounds the definition.
I found that there was a lot of flatish (often requiring a long push to get anywhere) "slopes" and quite a few fairly steep ones but not much in between.
Lift unloads were poorly placed in relation to the load for the next logical lift. That said, it was easy to avoid the worst of the pushes once you worked them out.
Some stunning rides to be had along Skyline, on Challenge and Yamabiko (but not on weekends when it gets a little crowded - Nozawa Onsen is sorta like Thredbo on a good day.)
March 02, 2008
Gavin Greenway from
Pakistan
Gavin Greenway from
Pakistan
Intro
We visited Niigata and Nagano prefectures in the 3rd week of Feb 2008. Assuming Snow-Forecasts.com permission, this review has been posted on 6 resorts visited during this trip. We visited Gala Yuzawa, Naspa Ski Garden, Maiko Korakuen, Naeba and Tashiro Kagura Mitsumata (known locally simply as Kagura) in Niigata prefecture and Nozawa Onsen in Nagano prefecture.
The main reason for this wider review is that unlike many European resorts, where you tend to ‘stay’ on a resort, in Japan, or certainly around (Echigo) Yuzawa, the main bullet train town, you tend to stay in Yuzawa, and then take one of the free buses to a plethora of resorts in the vicinity. We hope that this review would help people who are new to skiing in Japan, an experience we can highly recommend.
Accessibility:
Echigo Yuzawa is the main bullet train station 77 minutes from Tokyo central station. The experience of taking these fantastic trains should be enough for most people! The trains look like something from Futurama and are double-deckers, allowing great views all the way. Japanese train punctuality is of course a given even in heavy snow. In fact the locals looked at us quizzically when we asked if there were any ‘problems’ with the trains because of the blizzard conditions in Yuzawa. “no…..why?” came the response. Once at the station, it's easy to hail a cab or catch a complimentary bus toyour hotel or chosen resort. I believe there are around 20-30 resorts with a 20 minute bus ride from Yuzawa station. Some people even play ‘resort roulette’ if they can’t decide which one to try that day and get on the first resort bus they see. The Guinness world record for travelling the most ski lifts in one day was broken in Yuzawa in 2007 by the wwwwelovesnowcom team that booked our trips.
Snow:
Of course, many are attracted to Japan for the legendary quality of snow. The predominant winds sweep across Siberia, pick up moisture and dump on the Japanese alps. Many visitors go further to the resorts of Hokkaido and I cannot comment on those, suffice to say that if you want to combine a trip to Japan with a city visit, then Yuzawa’s accessibility by Shinkensen (bullet train) would win it for me. Hokkaido requires another flight from Tokyo plus transfers. Compare that with Gala Yuzawa, which has a gondola to the slopes from within its own bullet train station, meaning you could leave your ski boots on for the day trip from Tokyo!
The snow this season (2007/8) has been apparently ‘average’ but to us Europeans, it was ‘fantastic’. It had snowed 5 days non stop before our arrival, and snowed every day bar one for our 8 day stay. Arguably there was too much snow as walking around the town was sometimes hairy. Imagine cars with a metre of snow overnight on their roofs to provide a picture.
To the European used to believing snow quality starts at 2000m, throw away this rule book. The ski in hotel at Naspa (our base) starts at circa 400m above sea level. SO WHAT? the snow was superb. The runs at Naspa themselves are not overly challenging, but if you had a family and wanted to touch up your skills it’s a great base. You can get a short bus to black runs and off-piste at Naeba and Kagura.
All we know, as once a year chancers, was that in 2007, we had a week at Les Arcs, in France, the second biggest ski area in the world, with glacier options above 3000m. The temperature rose to 20c, at 1000m, in the 1st week of March. The snow, although plentiful above 2000m, was like porridge.
Compare this to the Niigata region, where you can off-piste up to your waist in powder and you can understand our new found love for Japan.
Choice of run/Lifts etc:
Gala Yuzawa was a little limiting for an intermediate, although good for a day out. The ski school there had English instruction, and I finally learned to snowboard after years on skis. The snow being so good encouraged me 'to have another go' at learning this skill. I didn’t see any drag lifts in Japan, another snowboard bonus.
Maiko Korakuen, like Kagura, had a massive amount of variety. We were looking for blue runs alongside reds and blacks at each resort to cover different abilities; neither disappointed.
Naeba, on the other hand, was more for the intermediate and above and tremendous fun!
Nozawa Onsen (in Nagano) was, again, great for all levels, and very beautiful. We hired a car for the 1.5 hour drive from Yuzawa. Nozawa is a more traditional town, with kimonos not uncommonly worn in the village. The resort itself is beautiful with fabulous views and waist deep snow off-piste. What else could you want?
The lift equipment is exceptional across the resorts we visited. The Yuzawa area is home to the world’s largest gondola (approx 170 people per car) from memory, and the world’s longest lift linking resorts of 5.5km. Japan is pistes ahead in this regard.
Culture/Food:
This was a major pull for us. We did not fail to have a good meal in the many small bars/restaurants in Yuzawa. Typical costs were around USD25 per head including drinks. Tipping is considered rude. It can seem intimidating to walk into a small inn and order food; the flip side being the sense of adventure. The food always being fresh and often prepared with skill in front of you. The tradition of providing pictures or plastic mock ups of food outside the restaurant, helped us to at least have some clue what we were ordering.
We flew from London to Tokyo for this trip and the Japanese would not lever their seats back on the 12 hour flight for fear of upsetting fellow travellers. This will give you just a taste of what hospitality to expect.
The last of this cultural jigsaw is the Japanese public bathing spas (onsen). After a hard day on the slopes this is a must. The Japanese ‘expect’ excellent facilities, and I understand all hotels will have them, as will many ski resorts themselves (at the base of ski lifts). We become addicted to this après-ski pastime and became fastidiously clean.
Length of season:
Tashiro Kagura Mitsumata or ‘Kagura’ opens at the end of November and runs through to late May. This is no joke apparently. As 3-4m of snow builds up over the winter I understand t-shirt skiing is possible till early summer.
Conclusion:
If you want a diverse, fascinating trip to Japan visiting 7 different ski resorts in 1 week with off-piste, on-piste, south facing, north facing options, why not go for it? Combine it with a city trip before, after or to relieve tired legs in the middle and it could be the trip of a lifetime. The Western run wwwwelovesnowcom guys helped us book by e-mail and on the phone. They will do as little or as much as you like to help from booking hotels, to train tickets, to provide day guides for off-piste treks. Brilliant.
Shame we are now back in London.
November 17, 2005
Alun Jones
Alun Jones
Visited around 10 times between 2002 and 2004. Great all round resort and really appreciated the ski-school which takes english speaking kids from as young as 4 years old. The hike from the village up to the slopes can become a bit of a bind ( even when using the Yu moving road ) but the character of the village and its onsens in unbeatable. Weather and ski conditions range from perfect to -10C whiteout so check the forecast carefully. Snow chains are mandatory ( by Japan police ) if driving to the resort.
August 31, 2003
Rob Walker from
USA - California
Rob Walker from
USA - California
Visited Nosawa Onsen in'95 as part of a US Navy rec. program. With incredible trails ranging from beginner/cross-country to near verticle with moguls as large as some Volkswagons, and traditional onsen(hot springs) to relax in until midnight, absolutely the best all-around ski vacation one could ask for.
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