Nozawa Onsen is a ski area located in Nozawa Onsen Village in the northeastern region of Nagano Prefecture.
This large ski area, often known as just Nozawa, is just behind the village's central area. Base lifts are within walking distance, as are many onsen hot springs!
Nozawa Onsen is one of Japan's most famous ski areas. Skiing in Nozawa dates back to 1918, and the first ski lift opened in 1950. (Having said all that, the ski area is officially celebrating its 100th Anniversary during the 2023-2024 season). The Hikage gondola opened in 1979, and the original Nagasaka gondola opened in 1990. In 2021, the Nagasaka gondola was replaced with a new version that goes directly from the base to the top of Uenotaira, near the Yamabiko quad lift. For the 2024-2025 season, 17 ski lifts are scheduled to be operating at Nozawa Onsen.
Nozawa usually enjoys consistent heavy snowfall and an impressive vertical of over 1,000m. The snow is left ungroomed on some official runs, and backcountry tours are popular. It is very popular with visitors from overseas, and a real international presence has developed in recent years. Still, the village largely retains a traditional Japanese feel.
Off the slopes, the Japan Ski Museum by the Isemiya course introduces the history of skiing in Japan and Nozawa. And on the 15th of January every year, the Dosojin Fire Festival is a cultural highlight of the season. The traditional festival dates back to 1863.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1650
Vertical (m)
1085
Bottom/base (m)
565
Beginner runs (%)
40
Intermediate runs (%)
30
Advanced runs (%)
30
Longest course (m)
10000
Steepest slope (°)
39
Number of courses
36
Ski lifts
17
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
2
Quad lift (4-person)
6
Triple lift (3-person)
2
Pair lift (2-person)
7
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Nozawa Onsen usually plans to be open from late November until early May. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Lift operations at Nozawa Onsen are normally from 8:30am until 4:30pm in the daytime during the main season. (The Yu Road opens at 8:00am). The Utopia pair lift and Challenge pair lift are closed on normal weekdays.
The Yamabiko A-D courses close at 3:20pm until 29th March 2026 (at 3:00pm from 30th March 2026).
The Skyline Course closes at 4:10pm and available until 29th March 2026.
The following lifts are not available during the 2025-2026 season:
Yunomine Pair lift
Mizunashi triple lift
Kawasawa pair lift
Night skiing
There is night skiing with the Nagasaka quad lift operating from 4:30pm until 8:00pm on the following dates:
Saturday 27th December 2025 until Saturday 3rd January 2026
Saturdays between 10th January and 21st March 2026
Sunday 11th January 2026- Sunday 22nd February 2026
Park & powder
There are numerous Powder Snow Areas across the mountain and within the official boundaries of the ski area.
Two official Access Points, one on either side of the top Yamabiko quad lift, are available for people wanting to venture into backcountry. Beyond these gates is outside of the ski area and is not patrolled or maintained. The clear message is that you go beyond these gates entirely at your own risk. A Mountain Entry Notification (Backcountry Ski Plan) document can be filled in and submitted before entering these areas to provide information to relevant authorities in the event of an accident. The ski area however does not take any responsibility for anything that happens out there and any potential rescue charges will be charged.
The Uenotaira Snow Park is in the Uenotaira area on the upper half of the mountain, located at an elevation of 1220m-1410m. This area covers a full 2km and opens from late December until the end of the season in early May.
There is also 110m half pipe on the lower part of the Uenotaira area. Usually open from late December through early April.
Other activities include a winter Zip Skyride (2,000 yen for adults) and snowshoeing activities.
Families & children
The main Kids Park area featuring a 'magic carpet', inflatables and other play items, is located in the Hikage area of Nozawa Onsen. The moving escalator cists 3,000 yen for a day or 1,500 yen for 2 hours (or free with a valid ski lift ticket).
There are a few other areas for sledding and tubing.
The Yumin day care service is available in the Hikage Information Centre building and suitable for children ages 1-6. Charges are 4,000 yen for a half day and 7,000 yen for a full day. Open from 20th December 2025 until 29th March 2026.
The Naski-go service welcomes guests and takes them between the Nagasaka Station of the Nagasaka Gondola to the front of the Hikage Information Center. Open from 20th December 2025 until 29th March 2026. From this season there is a charge of 700 yen.
There is also a free indoor Naski Room rest & play room on the 2nd Floor of the Hikage Information Centre building and is open from 8:30am until 4:00pm.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons in English and other languages are available at Nozawa Onsen.
Rental
Ski and snowboard equipment & wear rental is available.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day
Adult: 7,500 yen
Child: 4,500 yen
Senior: 6,000 yen
2 days
Adult: 13,900 yen
Child: 8,300 yen
Senior: 11,100 yen
3 days
Adult: 20,300 yen
Child: 12,100 yen
Senior: 16,200 yen
4 hours
Adult: 6,400 yen
Child: 3,800 yen
Senior: 5,100 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 700 yen
Child: 500 yen
Nagasaka gondola
Adult: 3,500 yen
Child: 2,500 yen
Hikage gondola
Adult: 2,100 yen
Child: 1,500 yen
Night skiing
Adult: 2,700 yen
Child: 1,600 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 97,500 yen
Child: 58,500 yen
Senior: 78,500 yen
Season ticket (from March)
Adult: 53,500 yen
Child: 32,000 yen
Senior: 42,500 yen
A special ticket is required for night skiing (not included in the normal day tickets). The season ticket includes night skiing.
Pre-school children can ride the lifts at no charge when with an adult (1 per adult).
Cheaper early season and spring season tickets are available. The opening season prices are as follows:
Pets can ride the Nagasaka Gondola for 600 yen (some conditions apply).
Various other lift ticket combinations and online offers are available.
Historical snow depth data
The following ski season and official snow depth data have been independently compiled by SnowJapan for publication on this website. Where available, the data is updated annually after each ski season.
First and last dates of recent seasons
2025-2026 season: 29th November - 6th May (159 days)
2024-2025 season: 30th November - 6th May (158 days)
2023-2024 season: 29th November - 5th May (159 days)
2022-2023 season: 13th December - 7th May (146 days)
2021-2022 season: 30th November - 8th May (160 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 300cm on 30th January and 9th February
2024-2025 season: 460cm on 21st February
2023-2024 season: 310cm on 21st March
2022-2023 season: 315cm on 15th February
2021-2022 season: 480cm on 23rd February
2020-2021 season: 340cm on 9th February
2019-2020 season: 275cm on 11th February
2018-2019 season: 355cm on 29th January
2017-2018 season: 370cm on 19th February
2016-2017 season: 435cm on 28th March
2015-2016 season: 215cm on 1st March
2014-2015 season: 470cm on 16th and 20th-21st February
Resources
More information on Nozawa Onsen
Official website [opens in new window]
Daily weather & snow reporting on SnowJapan
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
SnowJapan Directory: accommodation listings in the region
SnowJapan Directory: ski school listing in the region
Introduction to the region
Nagano Prefecture is located in the Chubu region of the main island of Honshu. It is one of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, bordered by Niigata, Gunma, Saitama, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Toyama.
Nagano Prefecture is sometimes referred to as 'the roof of Japan' because of the steep, rugged terrain of the many 2,000-3,000m mountains that comprise the Japan Alps. The Northern Alps are located along the northwestern region bordering Gifu and Toyama. The Central Alps are in the southwestern region, and the Southern Alps are along the southeastern border.
After Hokkaido, Nagano Prefecture is home to the second-largest number of ski areas in Japan. It has multiple world-class winter sports resorts within its boundaries, and some were venues for the main events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. There are ski areas throughout the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, but the majority are in the northern and central regions.
Nozawa Onsen Village is located in the northeastern region of the Nagano Prefecture. The ski area is the only one currently operating in the village.
About the information on this page
SnowJapan independently researches, checks and updates the information on this page at least once each year, in the lead-up to every ski season. We also update it whenever we become aware of other changes. The information published on SnowJapan is based on independent research using official Japanese-language sources and is not supplied by ski areas. If you are planning to visit a ski area, we recommend checking the official ski area website for the latest operational information. We take great care to keep the information on SnowJapan accurate and up to date. However, SnowJapan accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on information published on this website.
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