A short, honest guide to where to stay in Nozawa Onsen, written by a lodge in the village. It covers the parts of the village, the kinds of place to stay, what to check before you book, and where we fit.

The village in a minute

Nozawa Onsen is a hot-spring village on a hillside, with the ski area rising straight out of the top of it. The main lift, the Nagasaka gondola, sits at the top of the village, and the Chuo bus terminal is about ten minutes’ walk below it. Hikage, the other big base, is at the north end of the village, and a free covered moving walkway, the Yu Road, carries you up to it. Most of the places to stay, eat and drink are in the main village around and below the gondola, among the thirteen free public bath-houses. The streets are steep and icy in January, so where you stay changes your day.

Which part of the village to stay in

• The main village, around and below the Nagasaka gondola. The most places to stay, eat and drink, and the shortest walk to the main gondola. The higher up you stay, the shorter the walk to the lift; the lower down, the closer you are to the bus terminal, and the longer the walk up in the morning.
• Hikage, at the north end. Quieter, and a five to ten-minute walk from the main village’s restaurants and bars. The Yu Road takes you up to the Hikage base, which has its own gondola, a ski school, rental shops and a large children’s snow park, so it suits families with young skiers.
• Karasawa, at the south end. Chairlifts but no gondola, and the furthest part of the village from the centre, so the walk home after dinner can be long.

You can manage without a car: the Yu Road runs from morning until late afternoon in the ski season, and the village runs a free shuttle bus.

Kinds of accommodation in Nozawa Onsen

• Ryokan: traditional inns, usually with dinner and breakfast included and their own onsen. The most Japanese experience and the most expensive per night.
• Hotels: a handful, mostly near the gondola. Private bathrooms, a reception, sometimes a restaurant.
• Lodges and pensions: small places with private rooms and shared kitchen, lounge and bathrooms. Cheaper, sociable, and often run by skiers.
• Apartments and houses: self-catering for families and groups, usually a longer walk from the lifts, and the first to sell out for the school holidays.

What to check before you book

• The walk to the lift, in ski boots. Ask for minutes, not metres, and remember it is uphill in the morning in most of the village.
• Bathrooms. Many lodges and older ryokan have shared bathrooms. That is normal here, and the free public onsen are part of the point of the place, but know before you arrive.
• Meals. If dinner is not included, you will eat out. The popular restaurants fill up by seven in peak season, and a kitchen is worth a lot on the nights you cannot get in.
• Minimum stays. Christmas, New Year and the Dosojin fire festival on 15 January often carry a minimum of three nights or more.
• Luggage. Send skis and big bags ahead with a takkyubin courier from the airport. The lanes are narrow and steep, and the walk from the bus terminal is easier with one small bag.
• Booking direct. Most places are on Booking.com and Airbnb, and most are cheaper booked on their own website, because they are not paying a commission.

Getting there

From Tokyo, the Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Iiyama in about 1 hour 40 minutes, and the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus takes 20 to 25 minutes from the station to the Chuo bus terminal in the village. The buses are timed to meet the trains and run several times a day in winter. From Nagano city, local buses also run to the village. You do not need a car; in January you will be glad not to have one.

Where Welcome Nozawa fits

We are a nine-room lodge in the main village, below the Nagasaka gondola and three minutes’ walk from the Chuo bus terminal, with a shared kitchen, a lounge and renovated bathrooms. Rooms are Western-style doubles, king or twin, from ¥40,000 a night for two. If you want a private bathroom and a restaurant downstairs, a hotel will suit you better. If you want a warm, well-kept base among people who are there to ski, and you would rather spend the difference on lift passes, this is the kind of place to look at.

Common questions

When is the ski season? Lifts usually run from late November or early December to early May. The village is busiest from Christmas to the end of February.

Is Nozawa Onsen good for beginners? Yes. The Hikage and Nagasaka bases have wide, gentle slopes and English-speaking ski schools, and the upper mountain gives stronger skiers plenty to do.

Are the public onsen really free? Yes. The thirteen soto-yu bath-houses are kept by the villagers and are free to use; a small donation is welcome. They are very hot.

How far ahead should we book? For Christmas, New Year and the fire festival, six months or more. For January and February weekdays, a few weeks is usually fine. March is quieter and cheaper, and the snow is still good.

When is the Dosojin fire festival? Every year on the night of 15 January. It is the village’s biggest night of the winter, and rooms for it sell out first, often with a minimum stay.