Reviews - Nozawa Onsen

Nozawa House 3 bedroom

April 2012

We had two families (4 adults 5 children) stay at Nozawa House in the first week of April 2012.

The location is great with everything being walking distance, and I think it would be even better earlier in the ski season when you can ski back directly to the house. Because we were there pretty much in spring, the road had just been cleared and also the Hikage Gondola was no longer running. Still, Gabriel our host was very helpful in providing all of us a lift every morning to the main gondola that was still running so there was plenty of fresh snow and good skiing.

There was a starter food pack when we first arrived which was handy indeed but Gabriel also took us to the supermarket to get more supplies and provided good advice on restaurants and the local onsens.

As for the house itself, it suited our families very well. The kids loved being together in the bunk room. We preferred the very roomy Japanese style room and our friends slept in the bedroom on the top floor. The lounge is cozy, the dining area has stunning views and the selection of movies available is endless.

The place is highly recommended.

Melissa 

 

Nozawa View Hotel Shimataya

 

 

Mid January 2020 

Accommodation was good at Nozawa. 
 
Shimitaya was the same quality as a few years ago albeit 50% dearer which was very disappointing. Overpriced.
 
Disappointingly Nozawa has really changed in the 3 years since we were there. The traditional village vibe has gone and the place is over run with Australian package tour groups with many yobos amongst them.
We could never recommend Nozawa to our friends these days. So sad that its quaintness has led to popularity which has in our view now ruined it.
Restaurants are harder to get into and dearer as well too.
 
Every hotel and every restaurant we went to was all Australian and Chinese. No Japanese apart from the staff. . 
 
Regards
 
Guy
 
 
 
 

Early Feb 2018

Had a great time at Nozawa Onsen. The Nozawa View Hotel was a great place to stay, clean a good Onsen and the staff were more than helpful.  My room had a great view of the morning. It was only an 8-10-minute walk to a ski lift. Breakfast each morning was great and plenty of food to start the day’s skiing (the scrambled eggs would be better hot, but I suppose that is the Japanese way)
 
All the accommodation that Japan SnowAccommodation  booked for us was of a very good standard and I would recommend your company to all my friends
 
Regards
Peter Damaso
 
sacramento

 

 

Late January 2017

We had a great experience thanks and all the accomodation booking etc went perfectly smoothly.Nozawa View hotel is really good. Couldn't fault it and we loved the traditional rooms. Too many Australians at the resort though and on a fine day there were decent lift queues which was unfortunate but nonetheless a gorgeous village and some great skiing particularly up the top of the mountain where the snow conditions were less susceptible to temperature changes.Your assistance in this trip was fantastic. Thanks so much again.

Guy

 

 

 

Seisenso

 

 

Mid February 2014

Trip was great, thanks very much. I think we lucked into the best week of the season for snowfall. No trouble with your service, found it excellent. Seisenso was OK. It was run by a very nice woman and she was very helpful. The pension itself though is quite old and could do with a bit of a renovation. There are only two or three western style toilets in the whole building. The common area is very small and not heated. Drying room was too small for the number of people who needed to use it. Location was good - very central in the town. The included breakfast was good - good variety of japanese/western options. Onsen was good.

Damian

Ryokan Jon Nobi

 
Late January 2017
 
We loved our time in Japan thank you Hisae.  Your assistance with bookings was very efficient and helped make the process seamless. We really enjoyed our stay at Ryokan Jon Nobi and the staff and locals we encountered throughout Nozawa Onsen were friendly, efficient and helpful. We would definitely recommend a stay for families. And importantly, the snow was incredible! A couple of pics attached for you. Thank you again Hisae for your help in making our trip so enjoyable.
 
Regards,
Alison
 
 
 
 
 
 
Late December 2015
 
Ryokan Jonnobi is ideal for a family who want to experience Japanese style accommodation, in the heart of Nozawa Onsen village. Great location, handy to shops and cafes, and very close to the Yu Road [a travelator “road”] which delivers you to the Hikage ski trail. Our 2 rooms accommodated our family of 6 comfortably, in tatami rooms with ensuites. The staff were friendly and helpful. The breakfast was extensive, catering for both Japanese and western foods experiences. Jonnobi has 2 hot spring rooms which are open to the public, as well as 2 private hot spring rooms for exclusive use by the guests; the latter 2 are open to the sky, so that the snow fell languidly through the opening onto our steaming bodies – a great thrill. Jonnobi ticked all our boxes. The Hikage ski trail was a great family place, well organized with good instructors, ski equipment hire and plenty of eating choices. The staff of Japan Snow Accommodation [read Hisae] gave great tips in the planning stages of our visit. eg. Take the bullet train from Tokyo to Iiyama Station and a bus from there to Nozawa Onsen village. Ryokan Jonnobi is a 5 minute walk from the bus station. The whole experience satisfied all members of our family aged 10 to 74 years.
 
Laila
 
 
 
 
 
Mid January 2015
 
Many thanks for all your time and assistance with booking our Nozwa Onsen experience staying at Jon Nobi Ryokan.
 
We found the accommodation at Jon Nobi very warm, quiet, with comfortable beds after a full day of skiing and the breakfast selection of Asian and western foods each morning contained plenty of choice for both adults and children.
 
There were two private onsens that could be used exclusively plus a male and female onsen open for all to use. These were all kept very clean and neat. Toiletries and hair dryers were also supplied in the private and public onsen areas that added a lovely touch. Kimonos and slippers were also supplied in our rooms for going to and from the onsens which were quite a novelty for the children. Jon Nobi is situated in a great location at the top of the town and such an easy walk to the ski field via the moving walkway (Yu Road travelator).
 
A huge plus at the end of each day was the ability to leave our skis at the St. Anton Ski hire rooms. This made the end of a long day skiing with kids so much more pleasurable than having to cart skis and poles back to our accommodation. The slopes at Nozwa Onsen are great for families wanting to ski together and there is a variety of slopes depending on your skill level and ability with plenty of connecting lifts. There was also a large children's play park at the base of the slopes near St. Anton ski hire centre with rubber tyres and sleds that the children could use.
 
The only issues we had whilst in Nozwa Onsen was that the Ryokan style of accommodation was probably a bit too small to accommodate a family of 4 all with ski clothing to dry at the end of each day in our room plus all of our luggage. If there had been a drying room on the premises we would have had more room to move. In saying this, we wanted to try the Ryokan style of accommodation to experience a more traditional Japanese style of accommodation. Knowing the layout of a Ryokan and taking into consideration the amount of stuff we all had, we should have booked two rooms side by side. The only other disappointing issue was as a guest of Jon Nobi we thought that we would have been able to dine in the restaurant at least one night during our stay, however we were told that the restaurant was fully booked during our stay. We since found out that the bookings were from people staying else where and not at Jon Nobi. We thought as guests staying at the Ryokan, we would have had first option to restaurant bookings. That was a bit sad 
 
However, the overall experience was wonderful and we enjoyed staying in a different location for part of our holiday. Many thanks again Hisae for all your assistance and for making our holiday in Nozwa Onsen very enjoyable.
 
Regards
Colleen Wyer
Australia
 
 
 
 
 
 

Shikinoyado Kawahiro

Late Feb 2017

My son previously had a ski accident and after two hours of travel to Nozawa he really needed to rest. Sam at Shikinoyado was very helpful and able to accommodate us straight away, which I appreciated very much. The location is excellent for skiers so that you don’t need to walk around the hilly town in ski boots.Adrian

Late January 2017Our time in Nazawo onsen was fantastic. Kawahiro was great and the total Japanese immersion that we wanted. A bonus was that it is located by the gondola. Thanks,Marita 

Early January 2015

We LOVED Nozawa. Love the ski in ski out accommodation. The only downside of Kawahiro is the smoking in the foyer which can travel up to the rooms. Next time we will request 100% non smoking.We prefered the wider runs as 3 of us board and the others ski. This was only the second time the kids have skied and they did 10 days straight which was impressive. I would like to book 3 of them in for a lesson on our first day this next time. We really enjoyed the cultural experience when we travel. Loved Tokyo too as you can see we took kids to zoo and we also went to the sumo tournament which we all throughly enjoyed.We flew direct with jetstar last time and stayed overnight at the Airport hotel and then traveled the following day which was great.  Next year we were thinking 5 days skiing in one place and 5 days skiing in another then back toward Tokyo for 2-3 days before heading home. Would love to see the Geisha museum,  Hiroshima and anything else you recommend. Thanks in advance for next year..Rhonda Davies

Early January 2015

Kawahiro could not be closer to the Nagasaka Gondola (a few metres?).Definitely ski in and ski out and it made it very easy for our family to come in from the slopes whenever and head out skiing multiple times throughout the day if needed.It is further from the main street for restaurant dinners though and the walk back up is steep-ish and can feel long if it is snowing heavily and you are trudging up with a full belly. We have tried the onsite restaurant set dinner (hot pot) and it was yummy but probably better for adults who can appreciate the large and complicated array of dishes, rather than kids (we asked for the more basic katsu don for the boys). Japanese breakfast is included (we also had cornflakes and milk with ours - possibly only included for foreigners?), which was a great novelty at the start but there were days when we probably just felt like toast! :)The place is very traditional Japanese with tatami mats that can take some getting used to if you prefer softer beds. There is a clean and spacious onsen on site and while we also explored the village onsens, the onsite onsen (open from 4-10pm) made it very convenient if we didn't feel like heading out till dinner.If you are looking for a ski lodge then this is not the place for you as other than the onsen and a smoking area on the ground floor, there is really no common areas to hang out in other than your actual room. Our room was a relatively spacious one for our family of 5 on the 3rd floor (the stairs will keep you fit!). Bathrooms are shared and the staff will give you a daily supply of hot water thermos for making tea etc.This last one is looking out from our window!Your service - top notch and smooth as usual. We will contact you next time we are in Japan again. :)Nozawa the resort - even better than last time as there was more snow and lifts open (we were spring skiing in late March on our first visit). Hope this helps. :)Cheers Mel

"Was honestly one of the best holidays I have ever had!

A perfect mix of a new exciting cultural experience, and some of the best powder I have ever ridden!!!!!Accommodation was great, Authentic Japanese accomodation, within meters of main Nozawa gondola. Nice clean accomodation. Authentic rooms (small, with futon beds).Breakfast authenic Japanese (takes some getting used to, but proivdes plenty of energy for big day on the slopes!).Extremely close to nagasaka gondola, and 10min walk down hill to town.Shared onsen bathroom (no private showers, again takes bit of getting used to, but the heat and healing of onsen water is well worth it!).Good accomodation for the price. ). Already saving the pennies for a trip back there next year"By Dale

"Traditional ryokan that was great to experience, 1 minute form the chairlift, very traditional food( may not want to eat it everday), tatami room (being a western person I would have liked a seat)but it was all part of it."By Pete

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