How to reach Nozawa Onsen

The most secure and most effortless approach to head out to Nozawa Onsen from Tokyo is by a combo of trains and transports. The whole outing from the Narita Airport in Tokyo to your objective will take some place around four to five hours. Your Nozawa Onsen settlement may have the ability to mastermind you to be met at the Tokyo runway by a private taxi/bus that will take you straightforwardly to their stronghold for around 12,000 yen for every individual (costs fluctuate). Assuming that you orchestrate your own transportation, the first leg of the trek is on one of Japan's expedient and productive projectile trains. From the Tokyo Train Station you get the Nagano Bullet Train (Asama Shinkansen) straightforwardly to the Nagano Train Station, then exchange to a nearby train or a transport for the last leg of the excursion. The Nagano Bullet Train ride is in the vicinity of ninety minutes and you will uncover the slug train an enjoyable experience. 

Fastest & Easiest Way to Nozawa Onsen from Nagano Train Station

The quickest and simplest approach to get from Nagano Train Station to Nozawa Onsen is to utilize the express transports from the Nagano Train Station as opposed to the neighborhood prepares. The nearby trains are troublesome to go and the express transport will drop you off in the inside of Nozawa Onsen where you can effectively place a taxi to take you to your Nozawa Onsen settlement. There are continuous and coordinate transports to Nozawa Onsen. You can uncover the right transport stop and the calendar for the express transports at the Nagano Train Station Information Office. The transport stops are just underneath the east retreat elevator at the station. In the event that you decided to take the neighborhood prepares you will get the nearby prepare at the Nagano Train Station to Togari Nozawa Onsen Train Station. This prepare trek will take in the vicinity of 60 minutes. From the Togari Nozawa Onsen Train Station you can get a taxi straightforwardly to your Nozawa Onsen settlement or get a neighborhood transport to Nozawa Onsen and afterward hail a taxi. The transport ride to Nozawa Onsen will be just around the range of ten minutes.the require for a blending train/bus ride to Nozawa Onsen will go between 9,000-13,000 yen for every individual hinging upon the game plans you picked.

Hot spring of Nozawa Onsen

Nozawa Onsen is a hot spring village spotted at the foot of Kenashi-yama Mountain. On top of the mountain, there is Nozawa-onsen ski resort. This far reaching ski resort, rich in powder snow, is cherished by skiers from home and abroad.

Its hot spring has a long history, and it is said it goes once again to eighth century. In those days, it was not a custom to revel in a hot spring as a resort office. In the Edo period (1600~1868), as individuals started to do "Toji" which is to bathe to have profits of hot spring, numerous individuals began to visit this village. It is felt that generally individuals from adjacent villages came to bathe throughout off-season on the homestead. It is said the hot spring is handy for stomach issues, ailment, female issues and paralysis.

Today, there are 13 open hot spring showers which are supervised by a nearby association. Numerous locals and vacationers visit people in general showers each day. While it is complimentary, there is a crate outside every open shower for guests to give a tip.

Around these 13 open showers, "Oyu," spotted at the focal point of the village, is viewed as an image of Nozawa Onsen. Its delightful shower house with the climate of Edo period gets eye.also, it is "Ogama" that makes a scene specific to Nozawa. With 90℃ boiling hot water consistently meandering up, this wellspring of hot spring is uncommon and is designated as a characteristic landmark. It is utilized as a spot to bubble vegetables and eggs.

Thin, winding boulevards and inclines add an intriguing quality to the village.

In spite of the fact that noticeable tourism advancement is not done in Nozawa-onsen, it is an exceptionally mainstream hot spring resort. Consistent with the well known hot spring resort standing (2011) advertised by Recruit CO., LTD., Nozawa-onsen won the first in the fulfillment level ranking.there are footbaths too to unwind simply by taking off shoes and letting feet in a hot spring.

The Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival, Japan

We were living in Suzaka at the time of the fire festival, which takes place in mid-winter (mid-January) in the small ski-resort town of Nozawa-Onsen. This peaceful place is surrounded by rice paddies, natural onsens (hot baths) and small wooden huts, which are standard in many rural Japanese towns. It just seems to make it all the more blissful, and serene seeing it all covered by a thick blanket of snow in the Winter. It was a calm, refreshing -27 degrees on the night of the festival.

Nozawa-Onsen is famous for it's snow. The skiing here during Winter is second-to-none, and the small town becomes a bustling hive of activity during this period. The main festival over the Winter period is the fire festival. This has run for many years, and involves the men of the village (I think 25 year olds) who cut a tree down during the day and drag it through the village. They chant as they go, finally erecting it in the village square by means of a series of ropes, and with men holding on all sides, they lift and plunge the log into the ground with sheer force. No mechanical diggers here.

Once this feat has been accomplished, a shrine is built on top of the log and covered by ferns for the older men to sit on when the time is right. The end result is a kind of miniature temple on top of this log, with ropes hanging down. When night comes, the older men (42 year olds) of the village sit on top of this shrine, drinking sake and chanting as they throw bundles of twigs down. The younger men (25 year olds) hold onto the ropes to protect the shrine. A bonfire is lit, and this is gradually pushed closer, and closer towards the shrine. As this is happening, people from the village, starting with the kids, take the bundles thrown from above, run to the bonfire, light these bundles and run towards the shrine to try and set it on fire. Madness I hear you say? You're damn right, it's insane.

The night slowly intensifies, as the flakes of snow grow larger, and flurry down around the fiery laughter. Men with sake bottles around their necks (cup attached) amble through the crowd giving free sake to all, and sipping on a fair few themselves I must say. As the fire gets closer to the shrine, the heat and atmosphere of the festival intensify. People were grabbing bundles of fiery twigs and smashing them into the poor, blackened faces of these young men holding for dear life from the shrine. Protecting it like brazen soldiers on a golden castle. Bugger it I thought, I'm going to smash them in the face too!

I got a few looks from the locals, as I don't think it's fully 'allowed' for geigin (Westerners) to run the gauntlet. I ignored the drunken stares, and jumped in there. I fought with the other guys, vying for a bundle to fall from above. As it came down, I found that my somewhat small stature in the western world was a tall advantage in the short world of Japan. 'I am a giant!' I roared as I jumped through the seething Japanese mass, to claim my woody prize. I turned and made my way back to the bonfire which was roaring away, as it got closer to the shrine. I plunged my bundle into the flames where the heat was so intense I had to turn away.

As my hands began to swell with the heat, I pulled my flaming bundle out and turned to face my challengers, swaying from their ropes, with charcoal faces, and some blood showing from their scratches. Eyeballs still intact thank god. I bared my teeth and charged full steam at the young, burnt men flailing the fiery mass above my head like a mad man. There were screams, and shouts as I smashed the burning bundle into the faces of the men, protecting their 'castle'. It was all to no avail though, as my bundle fell to pieces in my hands, the men triumphant in their cause. I walked back to where I had come from, stopping for a compulsory shot of sake on the way. I was still 'man'.

The festival comes to a close, when the fire gets right up to the shrine. They get the drunken men off the top, and basically set fire to the whole thing. The fire is huge. We stood their smiling and enjoying the atmosphere of these beautiful, crazy Japanese people, all enjoying themselves in the snow and fire. As the shrine collapsed, we turned to go, having a shot of sake on the way, and laughing at the state of the sake man himself. I guess in life there are some things that just have to be seen to be believed....and appreciated. The Nozawa Onsen fire festival is definitely one of those things.

Save Money at Nozawa Onsen

Still to this day people have the perception that skiing holidays are for the rich, the mountain locals or competition winners! It is simply not true these days. True there are a number of winter ski holiday options out there that will leave most people sitting at home next winter but look closely and most importantly in detail at what you can get for your money and there are plenty of possibilities for the "average" person to get out on the slopes and rip it up with the best of them.

The key to all of this is not picking up a ski brochure, looking at the picture on the front and saying "That's where I have to go." Chances are the brochure cover images are on the top of the highest pistes in the deepest snow on the sunniest day of the last decade in the best resort in the world! Flick to that resorts brochure page or website and the price will be up there with the most expensive in the world. Ask around and the most common answers to "Where should I go skiing?" will be France, Austria, America, Canada and Switzerland.

The answer is no.  These are most expensive places in this world.  There are so many other places are less famous as compare to these, Japan is one of them. In this beautiful country Nozawa Onsen is a place famous for ski resorts. You can easily get cheap and best Nozawa Onsen Accommodations.

Beautiful Places of Japan

While Tokyo and Kyoto are the two most important tourist destinations in Japan, there are several other interesting places that are worth a visit.

One such interesting destination is Hiroshima, a city that has virtually risen from ashes after getting decimated completely due world's first nuclear bomb attack during World War II. Hiroshima Peace Memorial is the most famous war memorial located in Hiroshima, symbolizing the destruction caused by the atom bomb. Another important place to visit is the Peace Memorial Museum that houses details about the events that led to the attack.

Hokkaido Island of Japan is a nature's paradise with most of its area being protected as national parks. Filled with fantastic volcanoes, 'bottomless' crater lakes, hot springs and numerous mountain and ski resorts, Hokkaido is also home for Japan's indigenous Ainu tribe. Diasetsuzan National Park is Japan's largest national park located in central Hokkaido.

Another premier tourist destination in Japan is the Mount Fuji, the highest mountain peak in Japan with a perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone. There are various hiking trails on either sides of the mountain. Considered as a dormant volcano, Mt. Fuji can be climbed during summer season. Situated around Mt. Fuji is the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, a recreational paradise offering hot spring resorts, golf courses and facilities for fishing, hiking, camping, swimming and boating.

And if you are a skiing lover then Nozawa Onsen is nice place for your desire. It is a best place in Japan for the ski purpose.

Nozawa Onsen Accommodation

Nozawa Onsen is a popular skiing destination in Japan. People came at this place from all over the world. The basic purpose of tourist is to enjoy skiing on the snow full mountains. In the winter season of January you can participate in most popular skiing tournaments. If you are not a professional skier then no need to worry because at Nozawa Onsen there are so many ski schools where you can learn and enjoy skiing in the presence of professional skiers.

You can reach Nozawa Onsen with bus from Iiyama and Nagano Dentetsu. Nagano is the nearest railway station to it. After that you can pick bus from the station. The bus will take 20 minutes to reach Nozawa Onsen. The availability of bus is fine as you can get buses in every half an hour.

As per the accommodation Nozawa Onsen has no big hotels and inns. It is a small village where you can get small Japanese inns. In local language people call these inn ryokans. These rooms are designed in a way that you will feel the local culture. Local food will give you traditional feeling. But if you are not comfortable with these inns then you can go for some western option also.

The price of these Nozawa Onsen Accommodation is depends upon facilities, services and dining. It is a small village where you can get best accommodation with in your budget. So just keep your bag pack and visit this heaven at least once.