Nozawa Onsen
野沢温泉スキー場36°54′ N 138°29′ E1,087 m vertical40 runs41.9 kmNight ridingSeasonal
Nozawa suits riders who want a big, varied mountain above a hot-spring village with free public baths, and it sits outside both the Ikon and Epic passes.
Photo Fin 22 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
- Beginner17.1 km
- Intermediate12.9 km
- Advanced11.9 km
Figures the resort does not publish are measured from the map data.
OpenStreetMap maps 40 named runs and 17 lifts at Nozawa Onsen, and the guide measures each one against the elevation model.
Open the 3D map ↓Fly the mountain in 3D立体地図
Ride every run at Nozawa Onsenコース
| Avg | Faces | Map | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karasawa柄沢ゲレンデ | 2,636 m | 408 m | 12.5° | 8.8° | W | ||
| Uenotaira上の平ゲレンデ | 1,774 m | 184 m | 10.2° | 5.9° | N | ||
| Paradiseパラダイスゲレンデ | 1,021 m | 149 m | 12.3° | 8.3° | W | ||
| Nagasaka長坂ゲレンデNight | 656 m | 123 m | 17.1° | 10.6° | W | ||
| Hikage A日影ゲレンデAコース | 543 m | 120 m | 16.6° | 12.5° | W | ||
| Uenotaira Family上の平ゲレンデファミリーレーン | 1,113 m | 118 m | 11.8° | 6.1° | NW | ||
| Isemiya伊勢宮ゲレンデ | 591 m | 107 m | 17.3° | 10.1° | W | ||
| Kumatakaクマタカコース | 932 m | 82 m | 17.2° | 4.7° | W | ||
| Mizunashi B水無ゲレンデBコース | 475 m | 70 m | 12.9° | 8.4° | NW | ||
| Usagiウサギコース | 606 m | 65 m | 15.8° | 5.5° | SW | ||
| Karasawa Link柄沢連絡コース | 970 m | 59 m | 20.7° | 3.4° | NW | ||
| 奥志賀公園栄線 | 798 m | 59 m | 13.7° | 3.8° | NW | ||
| Kitsuneキツネコース | 544 m | 48 m | 18.9° | 5° | N | ||
| SkylineスカイラインコースNotes | 2,513 m | 546 m | 22.6° | 12.2° | W | ||
| Challengeチャレンジコース | 1,576 m | 403 m | 28.9° | 14.4° | NW | ||
| Yamabiko AやまびこゲレンデAコース | 1,228 m | 277 m | 21.5° | 12.7° | NE | ||
| Yamabiko DやまびこゲレンデDコース | 1,111 m | 250 m | 18.3° | 12.4° | N | ||
| Yamabiko EやまびこゲレンデEコース | 1,464 m | 210 m | 23.1° | 9.5° | N | ||
| Yamabiko BやまびこゲレンデBコース | 669 m | 166 m | 21.1° | 13.9° | NE | ||
| Yamabiko CやまびこゲレンデCコース | 1,259 m | 152 m | 17.9° | 9.8° | E | ||
| Kamoshikaカモシカコース | 900 m | 130 m | 16.9° | 8.2° | SW | ||
| Tanukiタヌキコース | 956 m | 76 m | 17.4° | 4.3° | SW | ||
| Rinkan - Short Cut林間コース（ショートカット） | 406 m | 68 m | 16.6° | 9.5° | W | ||
| Kokenashi B小毛無ゲレンデBコース | 253 m | 51 m | 19° | 10.8° | NE | ||
| Kokenashi A小毛無ゲレンデAコース | 224 m | 48 m | 17.5° | 12.1° | N | ||
| Kandahar Eastカンダハー西コース | 904 m | 303 m | 27.2° | 18.5° | S | ||
| Kandahar Westカンダハー東コース | 899 m | 303 m | 25.4° | 18.6° | S | ||
| SchneiderシュナイダーコースNotes | 663 m | 286 m | 35.4° | 23.3° | W | ||
| Kurokura黒鞍コースNotes | 719 m | 262 m | 31° | 24.3° | NW | ||
| Ushikubi牛首コースNotes | 743 m | 240 m | 28.2° | 17.9° | W | ||
| Mizunashi A水無ゲレンデAコース | 1,406 m | 215 m | 29.5° | 8.7° | W | ||
| Mizunashi B水無ゲレンデBコース | 950 m | 202 m | 26.1° | 12° | W | ||
| Grand PrixグランプリコースNotes | 661 m | 198 m | 28.9° | 16.7° | NW | ||
| Skyline CourseスカイラインコースNotes | 782 m | 196 m | 20.6° | 14.1° | NW | ||
| Bunabayashiブナ林コース | 1,158 m | 153 m | 14.4° | 7.5° | NW | ||
| Jumpingジャンピングコース | 340 m | 150 m | 33.3° | 23.8° | N | ||
| Hachimanはちまんコース | 365 m | 142 m | 30.7° | 21.3° | SW | ||
| Utopia AユートピアA コースNotes | 304 m | 130 m | 28.9° | 23.2° | NW | ||
| Mukoubayashi向林コース | 293 m | 113 m | 30.6° | 21.2° | N | ||
| Hikage-no-kabe日影のカベ | 441 m | 80 m | 29.1° | 17.6° | N |
Lengths, vertical, pitch and aspect are measured from OpenStreetMap run lines and the elevation model. Steepest is the hardest 60 m pitch. Read them as a guide and follow the signs on the hill.
More named runs from the trail map
Challenge 39チャレンジ39°ウォール
Nozawa's steepest run drops from the top of Schneider into Challenge. It stays out of the sun and wind but can crack across the middle.
Good for steepest pitch
Hikage Wall日影の壁
A short shaded pitch off the Hikage triple for quick laps.
Good for fast laps
Out of five
How it rides
- Powder
- 4 out of 5
- Trees
- 3 out of 5
- Steeps
- 4 out of 5
- Park
- 3 out of 5
- Beginners
- 4 out of 5
- Quiet
- 2 out of 5
- Value
- 5 out of 5
- Après
- 4 out of 5
- Family
- 4 out of 5
- Sidecountry
- 3 out of 5
Know the zones before you goエリア
Yamabikoやまびこ
zoneIntermediate
The top of the resort, with the A to E courses and the two backcountry access points beside the Yamabiko No. 4 lift summit station.
Good for powder, trees between runs, backcountry gates
Uenotaira上ノ平
zoneBeginner
A broad gentle plateau on the middle of Mt. Kenashi, reached by either gondola, with the snow park and halfpipe.
Good for families, park and pipe
Hikage日影
zoneIntermediate
The base area at the top of the Yu Road walkway, with the Hikage gondola and the Hikage Wall above it.
Good for village access, short laps
Nagasaka長坂
zoneBeginner
The Nagasaka gondola base and centre house, where the night session runs on the Nagasaka quad.
Good for gondola base, night riding
Beyond the ropes · Through gates
Nozawa allows backcountry access only through two gates at the top of the Yamabiko area, beside the Yamabiko No. 4 lift summit station. Three people died in the backcountry here in 2023, and the resort asks every rider to prepare properly before going out.
- Leave the managed area only through access point 1 at the top of course A or access point 2 at the top of courses D and E, and close the gate behind you
- Ducking under the ropes is strictly prohibited
- Patrol does not rescue beyond the gates, and you may not come back into the ski area after operating hours
- Drop a mountain entry report at a patrol station or the Nagasaka information centre; the resort recommends it but does not require it
- Under the ski area rules, anyone rescued from outside the ski area must repay the search and rescue costs
- Read the Japan Avalanche Network bulletin before you go out
17 lifts on the map
Know the liftsリフト
Season 2026/27
Buy the right ticket
- Adult day
- ¥7,800, about CAD 70 or USD 49 (October 2026 rates)
- Night
- ¥2,850, about CAD 26 or USD 18 (October 2026 rates)
- 2 days
- ¥14,500, about CAD 130 or USD 92 (October 2026 rates)
- 3 days
- ¥21,200, about CAD 191 or USD 134 (October 2026 rates)
Fares cover 28 November 2026 to 5 May 2027. Children (junior high and younger) pay ¥4,700 a day and seniors over 60 ¥6,300; one preschooler rides free with each paying adult. The 4-hour ticket costs ¥6,700 and the downhill gondola ride is free. Nozawa is on neither the Ikon nor the Epic pass. Its season pass belongs to the NAGANO 7 joint season pass group for 2026/27.
Get thereアクセス
From Tokyo Station
- Train
- Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Iiyama, then the Nozawa Onsen Liner from bus stop 4 on the Chikuma River side of the station, about 25 minutes. The slower Nagaden town bus from stop 2 takes about 40 minutes.
Buy Nozawa Onsen Liner tickets at the machine beside the stop; pay the Nagaden bus as you get off.
The nearest station is Iiyama, 25 minutes from the first lift. Hokuriku Shinkansen; minutes are the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus time.
Nozawa runs a free village shuttle bus between the lodgings and the lift bases in winter.
Nozawa Onsen is a farming and spa village first, and the ski area grew up on Mt. Kenashi behind it. The Yu Road moving walkway carries you from the top of the village to the Hikage base, and the Nagasaka gondola climbs from its own base and centre house. In the evenings you walk the lanes between the free public bathhouses.
The best snow sits at the top. The Yamabiko A to E courses mix groomers with ungroomed sections and open trees between them, and they all funnel back to the same lift. Lower down, Schneider gives one of the fastest ways off the mountain and turns steep and ungroomed halfway. Challenge 39 is the steepest run in Nozawa, short and sheltered from sun and wind.
A day ticket costs ¥7,800 for 2026/27, among the cheapest for a mountain this size. The season runs from 28 November to 5 May, and the Dosojin fire festival from 13 to 15 January fills the village, so book well ahead for mid-January.
Nozawa has gates for the backcountry at the top of Yamabiko and nowhere else. The resort is blunt about the danger: patrol does not go beyond the gates, and three riders died out there in 2023.
Worth knowing
- Ride Schneider and Utopia A early. Both soften and get chopped up by the afternoon sun.
- Hachiman and Mukobayashi at the bottom of Skyline face south, so ride them in the morning.
- The night ticket is separate from the day ticket, and night riding runs only on set dates.
- Leave a mountain entry report at the patrol station before you head through the Yamabiko gates.
Quick answers about Nozawa Onsenよくある質問
How big is Nozawa Onsen?
Nozawa Onsen has 40 runs and 16 lifts over 1,087 m of vertical, from 563 m at the base to 1,650 m at the top. OpenStreetMap maps 41.9 km of piste there.
Can you ride off-piste at Nozawa Onsen?
Nozawa allows backcountry access only through two gates at the top of the Yamabiko area, beside the Yamabiko No. 4 lift summit station. Three people died in the backcountry here in 2023, and the resort asks every rider to prepare properly before going out.
How much is a lift ticket at Nozawa Onsen?
An adult day ticket at Nozawa Onsen costs ¥7,800, about CAD 70 or USD 49 (October 2026 rates) in the 2026/27 main season.
When is the season at Nozawa Onsen?
Nozawa Onsen usually opens 28 November 2026 (start of the 2026/27 fare period, snow permitting) and closes 5 May 2027. The deepest, most reliable snow comes 19 December 2026 to 28 March 2027 (regular ticket period).
Within 25 km
Places to stay nearby宿
Within 30 km
Hot springs nearby温泉
Within 35 km
Towns and neighbourhoods nearby町
Within 80 km
Ski resorts nearby山
In the journal and guides
Read more about Nozawa Onsen特集
Snow feature · 9 min read
Should you stay in Nozawa Onsen instead of Hakuba?
Nozawa suits riders who want to walk from the inn to the lifts in the morning and to a free village bath at night, on one big mountain at ¥7,800 a day. Hakuba suits anyone who wants ten resorts on one ticket and Epic Pass days.
Comparison · 10 min read
Which ski-hill onsen towns are best for a soak after the last lift?
Nozawa puts thirteen free public baths a short walk from the lifts. Kusatsu is the clearest answer for tattooed riders, and Shibu and Ginzan give their best baths to the people who stay the night.
Practical guide · 10 min read
How do backcountry gates and rescue costs work at Japan's ski resorts?
Japanese resorts let riders out only through designated gates once a climbing plan is filed, and every resort here that publishes a rescue rule bills the rider. Zao bans riding off its courses altogether.
Practical guide · 8 min read
How much does a ski trip to Japan cost?
One adult sharing a room spends about ¥90,000 on a budget week in Yuzawa and from about ¥178,000 for a mid-range week in Hakuba, before flights and rental. A ryokan-hotel week in Myoko runs to about ¥286,000.