Nozawa Onsen / Nagano

Nozawa Onsen village is located at the foot of Mt. Kenashi. The snow resort offers modern facilities to skiers and snowboarders but Nozawa Onsen village strives to maintain a traditional atmosphere. 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.

In the centre of Nozawa Onsen you can see white steam rising up from almost everywhere, enabling you to feel the warmth of this village of hot springs. There are more than 30 sources of natural hot springs in Nozawa Onsen. The 13 cooperative spas called 'Soto-yu' are assets shared by the village and have been protected since ancient times by a system known as 'Yu-nakama' which means spa group. Remarkably 'Soto-yu' are free of charge, so enjoy!