Nozawa Onsen Report

New Snow (Resort): 10cm
New Snow (Village): 5cm
Weather: Low cloud
Snow Depth: 100cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: Heavy snow expected from tomorrow evening.
Open Areas: Almost the whole mountain is open. Some steeps that run off Skyline need more snow.

Yesterday we had some decent heavy snow for a few hours after the lifts closed, followed by light snow on and off throughout the night. Just enough to freshen things up a little bit. Tomorrow evening we are expecting a good front to come through for a few days of heavy snow. With the resort recording only 2cm of snow on the Karasawa slopes, it can’t come a moment too soon. The 2 cm recording is right down the bottom of the slope – both lifts are running and there is enough to ski on for the time being.

The talk in town is that the bad economy is causing pain for Nozawa. Many lodges are reporting vacancies over new years, this will apparently be the quietest New Years in anyone’s memory.

New Years information for visitors to Nozawa

The resort puts on a variety of activities to ring in the new year. On the night of the 31st they extend nighter hours until 1130 at the Nagasaka slopes, provide free sake and hot wine, and hold a countdown to the new year and fireworks display. The Shrine area up above Ogama is a popular place to go after midnight, where you can make wishes for the new year in a Japanese tradition known as Hatsumoude (and drink free sake…) If you feel like having a quiet night, new years is the biggest night on TV in Japan. There is K1 (mixed martial arts), M1 (stand up comedy competition) and ‘Kohaku Uta Gassen’ – singing competition starring many famous Japanese artists. Whatever you have planned, keep your fingers crossed for plenty of snow to bring in the new year.

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