Nozawa Onsen lies in a beautiful natural surrounding at the foot of Kenashi-yama. Nozawa is one of the largest and most popular ski resorts in Japan. The village of Nozawa Onsen, with its 5,000 residents boasts a fair amount of history owing to its many hot springs and early skiing days, while a couple of museums, rental and repair facilities, many shops and childcare services make staying here a comfortable experience. Venue for many major tournaments the resort was host of the biathlon competitions at the Nagano Olympics. But skiing is merely one part of the broad range of winter activities offered at Nozawa Onsen. The spectrum reaches from snowshoeing, hiking, ski touring and helicopter sightseeing. Various leisure facilities such as swimming pools, sports center and saunas will help you spend the off-slope hours. 13 public hot springs can be used free of charge. With over 360 separate establishments, ranging from Western-style hotels to traditional Japanese-style pensions, Nozawa Onsen has an abundance of accommodation. While most of the Japanese hotels have a spa, the après-ski here features 25 restaurants and loads of bars.
Located in the Nagano prefecture in Central Honshu about 150 miles northwest of Tokyo there are several ways to get there. From Tokyo, the Shinkansen bullet train frequently takes you to Nagano in about 80 to 90 minutes. From there a limited express service will take you to Iiyama in about an hour. Buses and taxis run to Nozawa Onsen ski resort from there, while direct buses leave from Nagano Station to the resort. Taking the train to Nagano and switching to a direct bus to Nozawa is the easiest option. Trains from Osaka go via Matsumoto and Nagoya.
If you decide to go by car, taking the Joshinetsu expressway from Tokyo as far as the Toyota-Iiyama interchange and then following the 117 will lead you to Nozawa Onsen ski resort. Alternatively, take the Kanetsu expressway and exit at the Shiozawa-Ishiuchi interchange. The Chuo and Nagano expressways provide access from Osaka.