Re: Aussie in Nozawa

[jjbeers 0]

G'day my name is JJ, have just joined up to this forum, and have some q's with regards to Nozawa Onsen and Dec/Jan in Japan in general.

 

So myself and crew of about 8 are heading to Nozawa from the 21st to the 29th of December for a bit of R&R and boarding. We will be staying at Ryokan Sakaya I think.

 

So being from the land of Oz we don't mind a drink and so far I have found 1 place called the foot bar (I think), but would like some more suggestions on after dark activity's

[wattiewatson 0]

Its a one street village. There isnt any secret places. Last season there was a small club, didnt open every weekend (the place is sleepy). Had a DJ spinning sometimes. Cant remember exactly where it was but it was on the way out of town, maybe 300 metres from the one traffic light in town. It was a little below street level, looked like a hole in the wall but it had a good vibe.

[2pints-mate 0]

Hmmm. No it's not. There are quite a few small higgledy-piggledy narrow roads going off the main one. Yes, it's small, but there are places to find that aren't so obvious.

[iiyamadude 6]

Ryokan Sakaya is a fine place - probably the best in Nozawa.

 

My suggestion - first of all ask Mori-san at Sakaya and he'll point you to places you probably wouldn't find on your own. It is a small village, half the fun is walking round and finding places. Don't expect Mad Parties, it's not like that.

[jjbeers 0]

Originally Posted By: iiyamadude

Ryokan Sakaya is a fine place - probably the best in Nozawa.

My suggestion - first of all ask Mori-san at Sakaya and he'll point you to places you probably wouldn't find on your own. It is a small village, half the fun is walking round and finding places. Don't expect Mad Parties, it's not like that.

Thanks for the replys.

So Mori-san is the man, we will do alot of exploring on our own but advice from the locals is always welcome. I t will help that our friend from Osaka will be with us.

When I was last in Nihon,we stayed at few Ryokan's some of them had Mirco brewerys, and sold there own beer, any place's like that in Nozawa?

Was not really expecting any mad parties in Nozawa, going save that up for new years in Toyko!

[BagOfCrisps 24]

Indeed a very nice hotel.

[axellieb 0]

One other thing. You do understand that Sakaya is fullboard, yes? Every morning and evening you will be served a full scale course menu that begs to be accompanied - in the evenings! - by beer, sake and shochu. (Note: try the horse meat sashimi!) If after that and a hard day of riding you are still capable of venturing out to town and yet again next morning be up in time for the best snow then you must have an enviable condition. What you may want to do is see if you can be accomodated half-board on a couple of days and use those for your excursions to town. As well, unless you know what Japanese traditional breakfast is like and enjoy it I recommend trying to get them to serve western breakfast at least on a couple of days. Both requests will meet with resistance but you can usually get your way if you - very politely - insist. Best to do this now through your travel agent.

 

Also, note, Sakaya is an upscale place so partying on the room is frowned on. Tokyo, on the other hand, is definitely the right venue for all your escapades.

[jjbeers 0]

Originally Posted By: Axel Lieber

One other thing. You do understand that Sakaya is fullboard, yes? Every morning and evening you will be served a full scale course menu that begs to be accompanied - in the evenings! - by beer, sake and shochu. (Note: try the horse meat sashimi!) If after that and a hard day of riding you are still capable of venturing out to town and yet again next morning be up in time for the best snow then you must have an enviable condition. What you may want to do is see if you can be accomodated half-board on a couple of days and use those for your excursions to town. As well, unless you know what Japanese traditional breakfast is like and enjoy it I recommend trying to get them to serve western breakfast at least on a couple of days. Both requests will meet with resistance but you can usually get your way if you - very politely - insist. Best to do this now through your travel agent.

Also, note, Sakaya is an upscale place so partying on the room is frowned on. Tokyo, on the other hand, is definitely the right venue for all your escapades.

Hai, i understand that Sakaya is fullboard, it was one on the reasons we choose it. I am aware of whats is served for traditional breakfast, but i can see some of my mates whinging and wanting a western breakfast (Even though they are fully aware of what to expect.)So thanks for the tip I will see how they go. By the way the Horse meat sashimi sounds tastey, I can't wait to get back to the Japanese food.

As for my condition, I like to think i have a semi-enviable condition , but when it comes to making the most out of a location i can push on through. Don't get me wrong I don't intend to smash myself evey night and expect to wake up fresh as a daisy. I am more than happy for most days to wake early, go boarding, have dinner, soak in the Onsen and go to bed.....
With the occasional night of smashing myself.

Do they have local beer in Nozawa?

[axellieb 0]

I am not aware of any local brewery. In Tokyo, you can get Tokyo Ale as well TY Habour's beers. These are really very good.

[abe 0]

No Ryokan specific local beer, but a few decent ones from Nagano. Shinano Ale and Yona Yona Ale. There is at least one more microbrewery that has 3 types of beer (in the bottle store) for about 800 yen a bottle. I cant see them selling too many this year.

 

One regret I have from the time I spent in Japan was not trying lots of sake - will make ammends for that this year!

[s3phis 0]

There's about 3 karaoke bars and a lot of normal bars around. Each one is quite different to the other in style and character; personally, I like "Stay", but yeah, if you ask Mori-san at Sakaya, he'd happily tell you all the good spots.

 

Sakaya's right at the corner of the main road in Nozawa, you'll find Stay on your right hand side if you walk down the road from Sakaya.

[XilR8 0]

Make sure you try the "Mizuo" sake from there too. That stuff is the bomb