REPORT

For today’s report, I had the privilege of being guided by Akira Mori, the chairman of the Nozawa Onsen Ski Club, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in December of 2023. Mori-san knowns the Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort inside and out, and took me around the Yamabiko area, remarking, “Today is a beautiful day for skiing and for capturing photographs.”
[Yamabiko Slope・A Course]

Thanks to the multiple dumps of heavy snow since the beginning of March, the officially announced snow depth today was 290 cm; the highest total of the season. The Yamabiko A Course (pictured) and Yamabiko D Course were groomed with moderately soft powder snow. Mori-san commented, “The groomed slopes are in great shape today, but it’s not very cold, so I’m already sweating.”
[Yamabiko Slope・A Course]

While riding the Yamabiko Quad, Mori-san told me, “The special Self-Responsibility Area is not only good for powder, but in the spring it becomes a natural bowl terrain that even children can play and have fun.” He added, “I wonder if there’s any powder left in this area.” With that we dropped into the Self-Sesponsibility Area (pictured) from the Yamabiko A Course, and were rewarded with soft, fresh snow covering a firmer base.
[Yamabiko Slope・Self-Responsibility Area]

The ungroomed Yamabiko B Course had 5 cm of dry, fresh snow, and was easy to ski with shallow, soft tracks and surface bumps. The Uenotaira Slope was groomed with a moderately firm powder snow base that was in great condition. The kicker at the beginning of the Snow Park (pictured) was small enough for even beginners to attempt.
[Snow Park]

*Chairman Mori is also the president of Ryokan Sakaya, a long-established onsen lodge that has been in operation for 18 generations. At Ryokan Sakaya, the natural sulfur spring water gushes out from the hotel grounds and is channeled as-is into the bathhouse, which was built in traditional style by a temple carpenter. Use of the onsen is limited to overnight guests.

*One-day lift tickets for elementary and junior high school students will be free of charge on 3/17 (Sun.) as part of the Ski Children’s Day event. Also, on 3/23 (Sat.), the “Great Snow Sports Day” will be held on the Hikage Slope. (*The deadline for application is 5:00 p.m. on 3/20 (Wed.)).

　　
[Nozawa Onsen Availability Information on 3/14 (Thu.)]
*Almost all courses are OPEN (Except for Hachiman, Kandahar)
*Available Lifts … Nagasaka Gondola (8:30 -), Hikage Gondola (8:30 -) and totally 14 lifts.
*Fees … Adult JPY6,800, Under 15 y/o JPY4,100, Senior JPY5,400

＊Click here to purchase photos found in this report
　
　
reported by Snownavi