Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort — Attraction in Nozawaonsen

Tons and tons of snow!!!!

Went for a day trip from Tokyo via Shinkansen which took about 1hr and 40 minutes. I have never seen so much snow. Visibility was variable and high winds shut the main gondola (Nagasaka) down for the entirety of the day. Fortunately the second smaller (Hikage) gondola continued to operate.

Pros: Tons of powdery snow Very good demo equipment (Atomic, Salomon etc) which you can switch to try other skis. - I went with the Salomon QST 106 - more than adequate for the deep powder. Lift ticket and rentals prices quite reasonable Very wide and open runs for plenty of people

Cons: Still a hassle to get to (but not terrible) Lines at the Nagasaka gondola were very long Difficulty getting seating in the restaurants. Intermediate and advanced runs had a lot of moguls - painful on the knees Lockers are coin operated

Tips: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Iiyayama station (JR East -Green) from Tokyo - take an early train especially on a weekend otherwise it'll standing room all the way.

From Iiyayama station catch the Nozawa Onsen liner. You do not have to stand in line to get a bus ticket like all the videos suggest. The bus now accepts Suica (IC) cards

Get an IC (Suica) card or on your iPhone in your Wallet app, you'll be more likely to get on the bus. Usually there are two.

Make sure you take a physical credit card as the small stores town will most likely not accept things like Apple Pay or Google Pay.

From Chuo Bus Terminal there are no directions to the actual Nagasaka Building where you can buy lift tickets. Use google maps. It's about 600 m - 10-15 min walk. Otherwise wait for the shuttle bus at Chuo Bus Terminal which can take you if you got a lot of gear.

Plan accordingly if you are doing a day trip. If the weather is bad it might be advisable to leave early as the evening Shinkansen service could be cancelled. Luckily the bus driver was kind enough to drive me to back to Iiyama bus terminal (otherwise I was gonna have to wait 2 hr for the bus) and I caught an earlier Shinkansen. As predicted the later Shinkansen I was booked on was cancelled because of the...

Great snow, good run length and variety make this a must-visit ski resort in Nagano. There is something here for everyone but I especially recommend this to: skiers of all levels and intermediate/advanced snowboarders looking to get a good mix of cruising and park runs in.

They have: Flat and wide beginner runs Steep runs & moguls Can go off piste at the top of the mountain Terrain park & half-pipe Long scenic runs Free retro onsen-hopping in the town

PROS: Snow rocks and lots of technical terrain Great for cruising; long and scenic runs have tons of variety Lots of fun park items (large kickers, half pipe, lots of jumps, etc.) Beginners travelling with you have "a way out" of most areas since they'll find a green run somewhere

CONS: Got super slushy at the very bottom on a warm day Caution for snowboarders: Green runs can get very flat Steep moguls are an intense challenge for snowboarders (I still have a long way to go)

We spent 2 days here during the first week of March and were able to do countless runs (310 cm of snow in some areas, daily temps peaked above zero). For the most part, the lift infrastructure works very smoothly and quickly. Few lineups, too. 1 full day or 1.5 days should be adequate to enjoy this place to the fullest.

Food and facilities were great; they actually served a decent menu incl. teppanyaki seared steaks and their rental equipment quality and prices were very reasonable.

Restaurant options in town were relatively limited; I recommend booking a meal at your accommodation and going into town for...

The Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort is one of the largest snow resorts in Japan. It has the longest ski slope 11km in Japan.

I often visit by car and park at the Park 1, which is next to the longest gondola lift, for 1,000 yen for the weekend. It seems the Park 2 and 3 are always free, these parks are a bit far away but one or more free buses are available from the parks to the gondola.

The area is very large and the slopes are wide and so long, so you can ski with your children without any worries. However, there is a lot of walking and climbing around lift stations and at the connections between the slopes and or areas. When I visit with my children, I wonder whether we are skiing or walking.

Please note if visiting with a pre-school child. The child is not issued a ticket as they are free to ride the lift, so the child has to go through the gate with a parent or a companion, but once holding up the ticket, the time between the gate opening and closing again is very short. Therefore, I met several times that only the child went through the gate and I could not. There were no staff around the gate and it was very difficult. Improvements requested.

The snow resort is really huge and one day is not enough to enjoy. Nozawa village also has great hot springs, I want to revisit here for a longer stay to enjoy the...