Nozawa Onsen, renowned as the Mecca of skiing, has a
history of evolving hand-in-hand with skiing since the establishment of its ski
club in 1923. Although Nozawa Onsen is a tiny village with less than five thousand
inhabitants, it has successfully hosted numerous international ski championships
including FIS races and Interski-related tournaments. It has also produced numerous
Olympians and other international skiers. The Japan Museum of Skiing is also
set up here preserving Japan's history of skiing. The museum exhibits a wide
assortment of precious material including items used by Hannes Schneider, who
was a champion skier involved in Nozawa Onsen's history. It was Nozawa Onsen's
profound closeness to skiing that enabled it to establish such a valuable property.




　The village takes great care in operating the ski areas at Nozawa Onsen, where
profound understanding and enthusiasm for skiing has been the driving force behind
development. Nozawa Onsen's ski area extends from Mt. Kenashi's crest at 1,650
meters above sea level through its skirts. It is unquestionably an ideal ski
area giving top consideration to its users. Even beginners can board a gondola
lift and view the breathtaking 360-degree panorama at the gently sloping crest.
There are twenty courses bounding with distinctive qualities such as the 5,000-meter
Skyline Course, the challenging Schneider Course (a Nozawa Onsen special attraction),
Japan's first competition course, the Kandahar Course, and more. The unique village-operated
transport system is fully equipped with lifts and moving walkways linking the
courses to make your skiing a delightful experience. 



　Coming down to the foot
of the mountain, you find yourself in the hot spring area, where lingering white
vapor brings on a mood of buoyancy. This hot spring area, which legend says was
discovered by Gyoki the bonze in the first half of the 8th century, has been
prospering as a therapeutic bath resort since the days of old. Strolling through
the village, you come across community bathhouses called "sotoyu" operated
under the traditional membership system of the 17th century Edo Period. At Ogama,
one of the hot spring sources, you can catch a glimpse of the Nozawa villagers'
daily hot spring lifestyle. It is not unusual to see them boiling field mustard
or wild mountain plants in the hot spring water. 



　Although there are modern facilities
such as Nozawa Onsen Arena and Kurhaus Nozawa, all in all, Nozawa Onsen retains
an atmosphere of traditional Japanese heritage. As a skiing Mecca and as a rare
resort retaining traditional Japanese heritage, Nozawa Onsen is an exemplary
mountain resort of which Japan can boast to the world. 



Sister city: 
St. Anton
am Arlberg
 
　St. Anton am Arlberg is the native village of Hannes Schneider, who
played a major role in Nozawa Onsen's history. Situated in the westernmost part
of Austria, St. Anton am Arlberg is a village where skiing flourishes. In 1971,
the villages of Nozawa Onsen and St. Anton am Arlgerg entered a sister-city affiliation.
Since then, both villages have been maintaining friendly interactions, including
yearly skiing exchanges and exchange visits by junior high school students. The
signed sister-city agreement and material about St. Anton am Arlgerg is on display
at the Japan Museum of Skiing. 



NOZAWA ONSEN

Nozawa Onsen Village Office, Tourism
Section 

Nozawa Onsen Village, Shimotakai-gun, Nagano 389-2502 

Tel: (+81) 269-85-3114
(Domestic: 0269-85-3114) 

Fax: (+81) 269-85-3803 (Domestic: 0269-85-3803) 

URL http://www.nozawaski.com/

















Ski area opening

Population

Hotels, ryokan inns
 
Minshuku inns,
pensions
 
Hotels, pensions

Total lodging capacity 
1912
 
4,835

 
25

 
330

 
21


18,000 people








　










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