REPORT

This season, the upper half of Nozawa has seen beautiful frost-covered trees on a regular basis! While it was raining in Nozawa Onsen Village this morning, the rain turned to snow as I rode the Nagasaka Gondola, and the upper slopes were transformed into a world of frost and mist that made it hard to believe it’s already early April. During the official Spring Season, which started on 3/31 (Mon.), the Nagasaka Gondola begins operating at 8:10 a.m., 20 minutes earlier than winter.
[Uenotaira Slope]

The Uenotaira Slope (first photo) had 2 to 3 cm of wet new snow on top of a well-packed, easy-to-ride groomed corn snow base. “It feels like mid-season again, haha,” said a lift operator at the Yamabiko No. 2 Quad Lift. On the Yamabiko D Course (pictured), roughly 10 cm of slightly moist new snow had settled atop the groomed, hard packed spring snow base, offering surprisingly good conditions for this time of year.
[Yamabiko Slope・D Course]

That slightly moist new snow made a big difference—it softened the surface just enough that even carving turns didn’t produce that usual scraping sound, making for an easy, enjoyable ride. A skier visiting from Yamanashi told me “I always check your reports! I saw the forecast for Nozawa Onsen Village and thought there might be snow, so I came out hoping for the best. The conditions are absolutely perfect today—it’s so satisfying to ski!”
[Yamabiko Slope・D Course]

The Yamabiko E Course (pictured) had about 3 cm of moist new snow on a firm, icy base of groomed spring corn snow. With the Skyline Course currently closed, there are two options for reaching the bottom: either by riding the Nagasaka Gondola down, or skiing via the Uenotaira, Paradise, and Rinkan Courses to reach the Hikage Slope. For the latter route, there’s a short walk along the road, followed by a shuttle bus from the Hikage base area back to the Nagasaka Gondola terminal.
[Yamabiko Slope・E Course]

　
＊The 2025 Group Rossignol Spring Festival will be held on 4/5 (Sat.) and 4/6 (Sun.) on the Hikage Slope.
*A 2024/25 New Model Ski & Snowboard Demo Event will be held from 4/11 (Fri.) to 4/13 (Sun.). (*Free participation, ID required.)

[Nozawa Onsen Details on 4/4 (Fri.)]
*OPEN Courses … Yamabiko A・B・C・D・E, Kokenashi, Uenotaira, Paradise, Forest, Challenge Utopia A
*Available Lifts … Nagasaka Gondola (8:30～), Yamabiko Quad, Yamabiko No. 2 Quad, Uenotaira Quad, Paradise Quad
*Fees … 3/31- Spring Fee 1-Day Pass Adult JPY5,700, Under 15 y/o JPY3,400, Over 60 y/o JPY4,600
　
*Click here to purchase photos found in this report
　
reported by Snownavi