Japan Update & Focus on Nozawa, Shiga Kogen and Madarao
At the time of writing, it is early April and it is once again feeling colder and there is actually some fresh snow falling on some higher Japanese mountains. This return-to-winter spell is probably going to end up as no more than a quick ‘last blast’ and just a dusting of snow – or perhaps a little more in places if we are lucky…
Even so, any fresh snow is very welcome after the somewhat dry March that we just experienced.
After a decent-to-great season in terms of snowfall in many of the mountain regions of Japan, March arrived, and it was almost as if a big switch had been turned to the ‘OFF’ setting all of a sudden. Fresh snowfall pretty much dried up in most regions and we ended up with one of the driest month of March in a long time. Long spells of unseasonably warm temperatures and sunny clear skies became a common theme for long stretches of the month.
Luckily, through the end of February, we had enjoyed a decent delivery of snow this season which meant that we had some good bases to keep us going through March and beyond.
So, it was not a month for powder hounds – more for just getting out and making the most of the spring conditions.
In the past March has excited us with a good dose of March Madness, but that wasn’t to be during the 2017-2018 season… maybe next year.
Due to the early arrival of spring the beautiful cherry blossom (Sakura) that Japan is famous for have been appearing earlier than usual and the thoughts of most Japanese has now quickly turned to spring activities and traditions. For many in Japan, April is a particularly busy period.
Many ski resorts around Japan closed for the season towards at the end of March or on the 1st April. A fair few ski resorts at higher elevations remain open and some will continue through until the 6th May, if the snow lasts that long of course. (‘Golden Week’ is a bunch of national holidays in Japan and – depending on how the dates line up – most people either enjoy two long weekends or an extended holiday of a week or so. This year, Sunday 6th May is the last day of Golden Week).
Daily reporting right through until 6th May on Snow-Forecast.com Japan pages and here
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Last time around I wrote about Hakuba but there are quite a few other very popular ski resorts in the northern region of Nagano. The other resort areas that are increasingly appealing to skiers and snowboarders from overseas are Nozawa Onsen, Shiga Kogen and Madarao Kogen.
Nozawa Onsen the name of a village located just over 40km to the northeast of Nagano city. This quaint village of about 3500 residents is nestled in a secluded area by the base of the 1650m high Mt Kenashi. The slopes of the ski resort – which is also officially called known as Nozawa Onsen – are spread across a wide area of the northwestern slopes of Mt Kenashi, coming right down to the village area. Nozawa Onsen is a typical onsen hot springs village and has traditionally been popular throughout the year with Japanese visitors. In recent years the resort has become much more popular with international visitors due to the quantity and quality of snowfall as well as the wide variety of terrain on offer. Happily, even with the increase in popularity, it (mostly) retains its traditional charm while at the same time being more accessible to the international visitor.
Shiga Kogen can be found to the east of Nagano city and to the south of Nozawa Onsen. It is a highland area located within the boundaries of Yamanouchi town and is one of the traditional heavyweight names of Japanese ski resorts. It is often referred to as one ski resort, but it is in fact made up of is 18 different ski resorts that are (mostly) lift and course connected. The area boasts over 50 ski lifts and a huge variety of courses covering a wide area. A shared lift ticket and free shuttle bus make it appear as one huge area to the visitor.
One ski resort in northern Nagano that has quickly been making a name for itself over the last few years is Madarao Kogen, located in the highland area of Iiyama city to the north of Nagano city (in the area between Nozawa Onsen and Shiga Kogen). There hasn’t been much in terms of ski resort developments in Japan over recent years. It has been more a case of various ski lifts and courses closing rather than new developments, but Madarao has been busy expanding. It has opened up new courses and in particular their ungroomed ‘tree runs’ have been proving popular. An effort to attract the overseas market has also been successful and the popularity of Madarao seems set to continue.
Nozawa Onsen, Shiga Kogen and Madarao are all within fairly easy reach of each other and so can be combined into one trip. Just to the north of this area is Myoko, another popular area famous for heavy snowfall and getting lots of attention. Myoko is actually in Niigata Prefecture – next time I will write about the main ski resort areas of Niigata Prefecture, both in Myoko and Yuzawa town.
Until next time!
