Lifts & Terrain
Nozawa Onsen Ski and Snowboard Terrain
The Nozawa Onsen ski area sits below the tree line, with a range of courses for all ability levels, although the ski resort is best suited to beginners and advanced riders. Nozawa Onsen used to prohibit snowboarders in the 1990s but it’s shaken its old school approach, and opened the ski resort up to both skiers and snowboarders.
One of the strong points of
Nozawa Onsen is the magnitude of the ski area. At approximately 300 hectares and 50km of courses, Nozawa Onsen is one of the largest ski resorts in Japan. Of course relative to many ski resorts in North America and Europe, Nozawa is not particularly big.
By Japanese standards the vertical descent of 1,085 metres is impressive. Whilst Nozawa has a few reasonably long runs, there aren’t consistent fall line top to bottom runs because the vertical is chopped up into sections. It’s somewhat time consuming to get between various parts of the ski resort. Advanced skiers may find the green Uenotaira run an annoyingly long link between the top of the mountain and the challenging runs below, whilst loops to do any of the short black runs off the Skyline ridge take a very long time.
Nozawa Onsen is a very good destination for powderhounds. The snowfall is plentiful, you can go off-piste without losing your lift ticket, and there are backcountry options. Nozawa Onsen isn’t crowded yet it certainly isn’t a hidden gem anymore. Freshies on weekends don’t last long, and the number of powder rodents there on weekdays is starting to creep up. However there are still plenty of fresh tracks to be found, especially for rope limbo experts.
Lifts
The Nozawa lift infrastructure received a major upgrade prior to the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Of the 20 lifts, the 3.5km long Nagasaka Gondola is a major part of the lift infrastructure. The ride takes about 15-20 minutes and it’s largely a stand up affair so you may not be able to rest weary legs. The Hikage Gondola is an antique version of a gondora (the Japanese pronunciation of gondola!), a bubble type gondola that is egg shaped where you face out instead of in. Big fat skis won't fit in the racks or inside the gondola and you’ll have to poke your powder skis up through the seal of the gondola.
Nozawa also has a couple of hooded fast quad chairs which are a welcome retreat during stormy weather. There are three other quad chairs and the rest of the fleet consists of slow double and triple chairs, some that are so sluggish that you may repeatedly ask “are we there yet?”.
During peak times, long lift queues can develop at the two gondolas.
Lift Tickets
The Nozawa Onsen lift ticket prices are pretty standard for Japan. Lift ticket configurations include half day (morning or afternoon), full day, 1.5 day, 2 day, 3 day, or night skiing passes. One time use passes are also available. Child tickets are for junior high school age, whilst pre-school children are free.
Nozawa Onsen Snow Conditions
Nozawa Onsen gets lots of snow and like the other ski resorts near Nagano, the powder has moderate moisture content. It’s not Hokkaido light dry powder but it’s not the thick sludge that you commonly find in New Zealand, South America or California.
The top of the ski resort has the lowest elevation of the Nagano ski resorts (e.g. the top of Shiga Kogen is 655 metres higher), and considering the significant vertical of 1,085 metres, it’s not surprising that the quality of the snow can sometimes be a little second rate at the base. Snow cover in the lower areas can be thin early in the season and there are no snowmaking facilities.
For the Beginner
Nozawa Onsen is really well set up for beginners with large areas at all three of the main bases. Karasawa is a nice wide area and is typically pretty quiet because there aren’t many accommodations near here. The Nagasaka area is fine for beginners, whilst the Hikage is well set up and is the hub for many ski lessons. The only downsides of Hikage may be a throng of people and some really flat spots at the base which require poling, skating or walking.
Beginners can go up to the upper parts of the mountain on the Nagasaka Gondola and download at the end of the day. The 2km long Uenotaira run is really wide and perfect for learning.
Beginners with plenty of stamina can tackle the Rinkan course, a 5km long tree lined run that snakes its way down the mountain.
Nozawa Onsen Skiing and Boarding for Intermediates
Despite 30 percent of the trails being rated as intermediate (orange), Nozawa Onsen probably isn’t fantastic for intermediates. The best spot for intermediates is at the top of the mountain in the Yamabiko area where there are a few trails. Challenge is one good course that loops nicely off the Challenge chair or Hikage gondola. Confident intermediates can hit the long Sky Line trail, but this requires a painfully long time to get back up to the top, and may not be accessible for intermediates if snow cover is thin. Otherwise any orange trails are just very short and require a commute along beginners’ runs.
For the Kids
Families typically hang out at the base areas, and the Hikage area in particular is popular with families. The Hikage base has a complimentary kids’ park with playground type equipment.
Terrain Park & Pipe
Whilst Nozawa Onsen has produced some ski racing Olympians, it’s unlikely to be the training ground for freestyling champions. The ski resort only has a small terrain park with an assortment of a few little kickers, boxes and rails, and Uenotaira has a half pipe that’s sometimes formed.
Advanced Skiing at Nozawa Onsen
Nozawa Onsen has plenty of great on-piste advanced terrain, some of which is delightfully steep. It’s probably amongst the steepest piste terrain in Japan. The runs are commonly covered in bumps, but after a big dump some of the black runs are epic. Scheider is a common favourite. It’s reasonably mellow with a maximum of 32 degrees, and the steeper Utopia will have you in utopia especially if it’s got freshies. The Challenge run has a maximum of 39 degrees, but it’s rather popular and gets chopped up pretty quickly. Other classic steep black runs are Kurokura off the gondola mid station and Grandprix off the ridge, which border on being double black runs depending on conditions.
Of course the real joy for advanced riders can be found in the off-piste areas, particularly if moguls make your knees creak.
Expert Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Even though Nozawa Onsen and St Anton are sister resorts, there is little similarity between the two ski areas when it comes to expert and extreme terrain. Nozawa doesn’t have an ounce of the white knuckle terrain that can be found at
St Anton. There are no super dooper steeps, chutes, or cliffs. However when the snow is happening, most experts will be kept very happy playing in the powder amongst the trees.
Nozawa Onsen Off Piste Skiing
Off piste skiing is permitted at Nozawa Onsen in certain areas, and it even seems that skiing under the lift line is OK. Conversely it is taboo to ski in zones below the Yunomine Station and Yamabiko Station. In a similar vein the side-country (ie areas to the sides of the resort boundaries) is roped off and has signage to indicate that it’s off limits.
Tree skiing at Nozawa Onsen is brilliant. A popular place for mellow off-piste skiing is either side of the top lift. For steeper tree skiing the Sky Line ridge provides some really awesome lines, so long as there is plenty of base.
The sidecountry is also impressive with long powder runs that pop back into the resort, but you’ll have to be discrete and wear a camouflage outfit. As with all ski resorts in Japan, if you go out of bounds you do so at your own risk and are responsible for the costs associated with any backcountry search and rescue. There is no avalanche control so only go into the backcountry areas with a transponder, shovel and probe, and the know-how associated with safely navigating the backcountry.
Nozawa Onsen Season
The Nozawa Onsen ski resort season typically runs from late November to early May. Visiting in December may be marginal considering that Nozawa Onsen doesn’t have snowmaking, and not all areas may be open. If you want to go off-piste there may be inadequate snow to cover the bamboo and shrubbery.
January and February are great months to visit because there’s plenty of cold powder. March can be a particularly good month for powderhounds to visit because there is still plenty of powder, and very few punters to share it with.