Nozawa Onsen, located in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture, is a hot spring and ski resort village of 5000 inhabitants. Renowned for it's onsen since the Edo period, the village also played a significant role in the history of skiing in Japan. The village is located at the foot of Kenashiyama (literally Mt 'No-hair'), alt 1650 meters, in beautiful natural surroundings - lush green in spring and summer, coloured leaves in autumn and of course spectacular snow covered surroundings in winter.
In recent years Nozawa Onsen has become increasingly popular with international visitors but it still strives to maintain a traditional atmosphere.
Out of the winter season the village is quiet, but as the snow arrives so do skiers and snowboarders and the energy levels suddenly increase as people come to enjoy the mountain. Skiing was introduced to Japan in 1911 by Austrian Major Theodor von Lerch and came to Nozawa the following year, although the ski hill was not established until 1924. It was in 1930 that one of the founders of alpine skiing, Hannes Schneider from Austria, taught the techniques of Arlberg skiing in Nozawa Onsen.
This brought about a sudden rise in the enthusiasm of skiing in Nozawa Onsen. Since then, Nozawa Onsen has always been at the top of the Japanese skiing scene, and more recently snowboarding. It was the first place in the country to install ski lifts and also holds numerous major skiing and snowboarding tournaments. It was also the host for the Biathalon competitions at the Nagano Olympics.
Onsen Hot Springs
No visit to Nozawa Onsen would be complete without taking a hot spring bath. After all, the Onsen in Nozawa Onsen is the Japanese word for hot springs. Many traditional ryokan and a few minshuku accommodations in the village have their own hot spring bathing facilities.
Anyone can enjoy, free of charge, any of the thirteen public hot spring baths known as sotoyu. They all have a different source with distinct characteristics that provide for a variety of different mineral baths.
Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Festival
An important intangible folk cultural property
One of the three greatest fire festivals in Japan, the Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Festival is nationally designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Taking place on January 15 every year, the festival is staged by men aged 42 and 25 (so-called 'unlucky ages') to celebrate the birth of a family's first child, to dispel evil spirits, and pray for happy marriage. The highlight is a 'fire-setting battle' which ends up with the setting fire to a huge wooden structure with blazing torches by the offensive team and the offering of torches to the deity, making the festival truly spectacular and exciting.
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