After a day with the snow monkeys we drove about 30 minutes north to Nozawa Onsen. We booked accommodation, rental gear and 1.5 day lift passes through Mark at Lodge Nagano . Although his lodges were full, Mark found us a place at Maruji Guesthouse just around the corner.

It was good to be back on the board if only for a couple of days. There hadn’t been any fresh snow for a while, but there were not really any bare patches on the mountain. Lower areas were a little choppy and slushy at times but you can’t be guaranteed of  powder snow if you go at the end of February for just a couple of days.

Strapping in to a K2 162cm rental from Lodge Nagano.

I liked the fact that at the top of the mountain there were areas that were “ski at own risk” rather than completely out of bounds. It is a sensible decision to provide some off piste areas, as by providing a relatively safe area it should reduce the chance of boarders going off exploring and finding themselves stuck on a cliff ledge or at the bottom of gully. The signs were a little confusing  as to which were off piste and which were out of bounds but as with most things it’s a good idea to follow or at least ask a local.

Nozawa Onsen Ski Area - "Warninng"

And here’s another example why it’s nice to have a compact waterproof camera as well as a Gulliver sized behemoth. Set camera to video mode. Hold in glove.  Snowboard down mountain. Post to You Tube.

It’s a little unfair to compare Nozawa Onsen to other ski areas having spent only a couple of days there in spring conditions.  Niseko (Hokkaido) is still my favorite place for boarding in Japan, however Nozawa Onsen is just an overnight bus ride from Tokyo, or get the shinkansen to Nagano then the local train to Togari Nozawa Onsen. Well worth a visit.

(If you were wondering what my favorite resort in the world is check out Red Mountain, B.C., Canada. Spent three months there many years ago. Small mountain, steep slopes, lots and lots of snow.)