alison wong
Angel Diva
I’ve always wanted to ski in Japan. It is higher on my list than the Alps. Primarily because: 1) heard a lot about the powder snow in Japan; 2) curious to see what the skiing culture is like (if there is such thing); 3) want to check out a ski town in Japan; 4) last but not least, food… my 1st love, I always prefer Japanese food (or Asian food) over western food.
Since I was going to HK for x’mas, I decided to utilize this opportunity to visit Japan for a short ski trip before returning to the U.S..
Why did I decide Nozawa Onsen? I’ve only heard of Hakuba and Niseko prior to this trip. When I started planning, I have my eyes set on Hakuba since Niseko is too far for a short trip. I posted a thread on this Japan forum on Aussi website with my questions about skiing in Hakuba, as well as my “bucket list” in “must have” and “nice to have” for what I was looking for.
My must haves are: traditional authentic Japanese experience (including lodging, food), easy accessibility to public transportation. Nice to haves are good terrain, snow condition but they are not essential since I am only an intermediate skier.
Based on the list, folks from the Japan forum recommended few places: Zao Onsen, Nozawa Onsen, Naeba, etc. I settled in Nozawa Onsen because its local tourism board was the first to give me a reply and found a lodging that fitted my time frame. Upon further research (youtube video), I learned Nozawa is a traditional Japanese village, not as westernized but enough to get around with minimum Japanese.
This is what I learned about Nozawa Onsen ski resort:
1) Locate in NE of Nagano prefecture, it is considered as the birthplace of skiing in Japan (info. from Powderhound). 2019 marked it’s 95th anniversary year since it first opened in 1923.
2) It has 2 gondola, 19 lift chairs - from double to quad, one bubble quad chair. I’d say all chair lifts and gondolas are quite dated (compare to what I have seen in other places), but they are not slow!
For the fixed grip, lift attendants don’t slow down the chair for you, they can be fast approaching and slammed toward you, so be prepared.
3) Total area 297 hectares, vertical just over 1000 meters, 36 trails, ~30% intermediate trails.
3) Trails are rated as green (beginner), orange (intermediate), black (advanced).
4) Trails at top and bottom part of the mountain are considered to be mellow.
5) Mid mountain section is where the steepest (blacks) terrains are. Some blacks can be considered as double black in other resorts. It is considered as a rarity in Japan with some of the steep terrains it has.
6) One black run called “Schneider run”, named after this famous Austrian ski instructor, Hannes Schneider, who taught skiing in Nozawa.
7) There are 2 base areas, where the 2 gondolas are located: Hikage station, Nagasaka station.
Hikage station is where the information center, restaurants are located. You can take a lift chair, ski down a green to reach the station. Alternatively, you can take the resort shuttles. It is also the meeting place for lessons.
Nagasaka station is near the ski bus stop and parking lots. Many ski rental shops are near Nagasaka station. I rented my skis at the rental shop there.
8) The most famous run is the 3500 m long Skyline course, off Nagasaka gondola. On a clear day, you can see the village from Skyline.
9) Another popular and famous area is the Paradise area. It is off Nagasaka gondola. The area is so wide that it divides to 4 little areas: 1) race course; 2) x-country course; 3) terrain park; 4) Paradise run (green) …..
10) Yamabiko course A, B, C, D and E are the runs off the top of mountain. My understanding is, you can find some nice powder in that area. Since top of the mountain is not very steep, these 5 courses are not very steep, rated orange, but quite mellow, I’d say.
11) There is quite few flat areas that you have to push / hike up. e.g. after a pitch / steep run you arrive to a rather long flat section or; once you get off a chair, you need to go uphill to get to a run…
12) In terms of snow depth, I went in late December (28th - 31st), snow accumulation was 120 cm - 150 cm depends on the areas. I thought it was good considering it is early season, I wonder how much accumulation it will be in mid / late season.
13) Trail signages are adequate, but not as detailed as the ones I’ve seen in some other places like Val D’Isere. Probably I am just not used to how the signages are displayed / communicated…. With the combination of sign posts and trail map, for someone who has poor sense of direction (i.e. me), I managed to navigate around the mountain without getting too lost.
14) With the amount of snow it got during my 3 days there, it was surprised that I did not see many skiers/ snowboarders venture to offpiste to chase deep powder. The off piste areas remain untouched in many areas based on what I saw from lift chair.
Lodging:
1) I utilized Nozawa Tourism Association to find the lodging. My hotel is located near the local bus station depot, about 5 minutes walk. Ski bus stop is located in the same area as bus station depot.
(I requested this location because I know I would utilize public bus to and from Nozawa.)
There are accommodations close to the ski resort, but no ski in / ski out lodging. Alternatively, you can opt to stay in village (which I did) and take ski bus to resort.
Transportation:
There is a free ski bus takes you to and from village to the base area near Nagasaka station.
Bus ride is about 10-15 minutes. Bus runs on schedule, it is not as frequent as buses in Aspen / Snowmass. Bus frequency is more like the ones in Alta/Snowbird, or Sunshine Village / Lake Louise. Essentially, I feel like the time to wait for bus was longer than the bus ride to the village.
First bus starts at around 8 am, last bus at 5:10 pm.
Lift ticket:
1) Besides getting lift ticket at the resort, you can also get it at hotels. They usually sell it at a discounted price. My understanding is, it is better to get it at hotel if they sell it.
Lift ticket window price: 3 day lift ticket 13000 yen, roughly $130 for 3 days. (exchange rate: 108 yen = $ 1 USD). One day is 4800 yen, $48 USD.
If get at hotel: 12100 yen ($121 USD) for 3 days. Saved about $9 USD. I got mine at hotel and I had to pay cash for it.
2) Japanese are “operated” on “honor system”. At Nozawa, there is no lift attendant scan or check lift tickets. There is no gate uses RFID. The only time they asked me to show my lift ticket was when I got on the 2 gondolas.
Visitors make up:
1) Besides Japanese, there are Chinese from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, also Singaporeans. For westerners, I heard English, I assumed many are Aussies, I also heard people speak French, German (probably it’s Austrian connection).
2) There seems to be more snowboarders than skiers.
Now onto my trip..........
28th December - travel day. 5-hour flight from HK to Haneda Airport around 7 pm. Got on Chuotaxi (shared van) at 8 pm, arrived to Nozawa around 12:30 am. It was snowing pretty hard when I arrived.
Japan bond
Since I was going to HK for x’mas, I decided to utilize this opportunity to visit Japan for a short ski trip before returning to the U.S..
Why did I decide Nozawa Onsen? I’ve only heard of Hakuba and Niseko prior to this trip. When I started planning, I have my eyes set on Hakuba since Niseko is too far for a short trip. I posted a thread on this Japan forum on Aussi website with my questions about skiing in Hakuba, as well as my “bucket list” in “must have” and “nice to have” for what I was looking for.
My must haves are: traditional authentic Japanese experience (including lodging, food), easy accessibility to public transportation. Nice to haves are good terrain, snow condition but they are not essential since I am only an intermediate skier.
Based on the list, folks from the Japan forum recommended few places: Zao Onsen, Nozawa Onsen, Naeba, etc. I settled in Nozawa Onsen because its local tourism board was the first to give me a reply and found a lodging that fitted my time frame. Upon further research (youtube video), I learned Nozawa is a traditional Japanese village, not as westernized but enough to get around with minimum Japanese.
This is what I learned about Nozawa Onsen ski resort:
1) Locate in NE of Nagano prefecture, it is considered as the birthplace of skiing in Japan (info. from Powderhound). 2019 marked it’s 95th anniversary year since it first opened in 1923.
2) It has 2 gondola, 19 lift chairs - from double to quad, one bubble quad chair. I’d say all chair lifts and gondolas are quite dated (compare to what I have seen in other places), but they are not slow!
For the fixed grip, lift attendants don’t slow down the chair for you, they can be fast approaching and slammed toward you, so be prepared.
3) Total area 297 hectares, vertical just over 1000 meters, 36 trails, ~30% intermediate trails.
3) Trails are rated as green (beginner), orange (intermediate), black (advanced).
4) Trails at top and bottom part of the mountain are considered to be mellow.
5) Mid mountain section is where the steepest (blacks) terrains are. Some blacks can be considered as double black in other resorts. It is considered as a rarity in Japan with some of the steep terrains it has.
6) One black run called “Schneider run”, named after this famous Austrian ski instructor, Hannes Schneider, who taught skiing in Nozawa.
7) There are 2 base areas, where the 2 gondolas are located: Hikage station, Nagasaka station.
Hikage station is where the information center, restaurants are located. You can take a lift chair, ski down a green to reach the station. Alternatively, you can take the resort shuttles. It is also the meeting place for lessons.
Nagasaka station is near the ski bus stop and parking lots. Many ski rental shops are near Nagasaka station. I rented my skis at the rental shop there.
8) The most famous run is the 3500 m long Skyline course, off Nagasaka gondola. On a clear day, you can see the village from Skyline.
9) Another popular and famous area is the Paradise area. It is off Nagasaka gondola. The area is so wide that it divides to 4 little areas: 1) race course; 2) x-country course; 3) terrain park; 4) Paradise run (green) …..
10) Yamabiko course A, B, C, D and E are the runs off the top of mountain. My understanding is, you can find some nice powder in that area. Since top of the mountain is not very steep, these 5 courses are not very steep, rated orange, but quite mellow, I’d say.
11) There is quite few flat areas that you have to push / hike up. e.g. after a pitch / steep run you arrive to a rather long flat section or; once you get off a chair, you need to go uphill to get to a run…
12) In terms of snow depth, I went in late December (28th - 31st), snow accumulation was 120 cm - 150 cm depends on the areas. I thought it was good considering it is early season, I wonder how much accumulation it will be in mid / late season.
13) Trail signages are adequate, but not as detailed as the ones I’ve seen in some other places like Val D’Isere. Probably I am just not used to how the signages are displayed / communicated…. With the combination of sign posts and trail map, for someone who has poor sense of direction (i.e. me), I managed to navigate around the mountain without getting too lost.
14) With the amount of snow it got during my 3 days there, it was surprised that I did not see many skiers/ snowboarders venture to offpiste to chase deep powder. The off piste areas remain untouched in many areas based on what I saw from lift chair.
Lodging:
1) I utilized Nozawa Tourism Association to find the lodging. My hotel is located near the local bus station depot, about 5 minutes walk. Ski bus stop is located in the same area as bus station depot.
(I requested this location because I know I would utilize public bus to and from Nozawa.)
There are accommodations close to the ski resort, but no ski in / ski out lodging. Alternatively, you can opt to stay in village (which I did) and take ski bus to resort.
Transportation:
There is a free ski bus takes you to and from village to the base area near Nagasaka station.
Bus ride is about 10-15 minutes. Bus runs on schedule, it is not as frequent as buses in Aspen / Snowmass. Bus frequency is more like the ones in Alta/Snowbird, or Sunshine Village / Lake Louise. Essentially, I feel like the time to wait for bus was longer than the bus ride to the village.
First bus starts at around 8 am, last bus at 5:10 pm.
Lift ticket:
1) Besides getting lift ticket at the resort, you can also get it at hotels. They usually sell it at a discounted price. My understanding is, it is better to get it at hotel if they sell it.
Lift ticket window price: 3 day lift ticket 13000 yen, roughly $130 for 3 days. (exchange rate: 108 yen = $ 1 USD). One day is 4800 yen, $48 USD.
If get at hotel: 12100 yen ($121 USD) for 3 days. Saved about $9 USD. I got mine at hotel and I had to pay cash for it.
2) Japanese are “operated” on “honor system”. At Nozawa, there is no lift attendant scan or check lift tickets. There is no gate uses RFID. The only time they asked me to show my lift ticket was when I got on the 2 gondolas.
Visitors make up:
1) Besides Japanese, there are Chinese from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, also Singaporeans. For westerners, I heard English, I assumed many are Aussies, I also heard people speak French, German (probably it’s Austrian connection).
2) There seems to be more snowboarders than skiers.
Now onto my trip..........
28th December - travel day. 5-hour flight from HK to Haneda Airport around 7 pm. Got on Chuotaxi (shared van) at 8 pm, arrived to Nozawa around 12:30 am. It was snowing pretty hard when I arrived.
Japan bond