Nozawa Onsen

Introduction

Nozawa Onsen is considered a medium to semi large resort with 36 courses. In my opinion Nozawa is one of the few resorts that actually has some of the more steeper terrain that I have not found in many of the Japan ski resorts I visited.

Accommodations

There are numerous accommodations surrounding Nozawa Onsen all ranging from small pensions to nicely sized ryokans, but don’t expect to find large luxurious hotels here. Part of that is because one of the highlights of Nozawa is that is still feels like Japan. I have only been to Nozawa once and I stayed at ryokan Kawaichiya. Nicely sized rooms with nice facilities and one of the best meals I have ever tasted in Japan. Although it felt like there were a lot of stairs which didn’t do so well after a day of snowboarding.

Like many other ryokans in Nozawa, this hotel was not ski in/ski out and was around a 10 min walk to the nearest base plus an additional 5 min ride up the Yu escalator. Also the area is very hilly so don’t expect a nice pleasant walk around the village area. For people with families this is not the most convenient place to stay.

Ski Area

There are three main base areas at Nozawa Onsen. The Hikage, Nagasaki and Karasawa area. While on paper the ski area looks good, the lift layout was not the most efficient as some trails you could not repeat due to the lift layout.

Facilities

Nozawa Onsen has a very nice kids area and the usual restaurants, nothing out of the ordinary.

Food

While there are a lot of restaurant in the village area, the food at ryokan Kawaichiya was very good and probably one of the best meals I tasted. The first night I had horse and it was actually quite tasty.