The entrance to the “Super Arena”, where you can head up to the mountains or enjoy a hot spa (Photo: Steve Morton)

Nagano’s Nozawa Onsen

The perfect winter getaway

Steve Morton Jan 10, 2019 - 1 min read

Situated at an altitude of over 1000 meters, Nozawa Onsen has rightly established itself as one of Japan’s leading winter resorts. Thanks partly to the success of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, Nozawa Onsen is now rightfully recognized for its wide range of attractions, including its famous powdered snow as well as boasting a 297 hectare wide ski slope area.

This fact isn’t too hard to see when walking around the picturesque village situated at the foot of these ski slopes where you see many traditional buildings or enjoy a relaxing soak in one over 30 different types of hot springs or thirteen public baths on offer.

With winter now firmly set upon us, I was lucky enough to visit this impressive village for a short break where I was immediately reminded as to why it has become so popular. You will soon realize this fact as you descend down its pristine slopes while enjoying some amazing views from above

Located about one hour from Nagano City, there are numerous ways of reaching Nozawa Onsen. This depends largely on the type of transport you take and of course, your budget

From Tokyo Station take the Hokiriku Shinkansen to Nagano Station then transfer onto the JR Iiyama Line to Iiyana Station from where it’s about a 25 minute bus ride away. Please allow around 3-4 hours total journey time. For a conclusive list of travel options please check out nozawaski.com/en/access/

Steve Morton @steve.morton138

Yokohama based content creator, editor, and researcher. Steven likes, eating, reading and traveling on a streamlined budget guaranteed to make any self-respecting local gulp. When not too busy with work assignments, Steven attempts to not get lost while following Japanese tourist maps.Follow me o...