Japan: Nozawa-onsen [Part 1 - how to get there and accommodation]

I'm a December child and I've always loved the snow, but my parents did not appreciate the cold much so they refused to travel to places that snowed. So, when I finally had the chance to travel on my own, I wanted to find a place that had a 100% chance of snow. There is no better way than to find a location that's famous for skiing and snowboarding!

In Asia, there are mainly 2 places people go to for that - Korea and Japan. I've been to Korea 3 times and can travel like a local since I can somewhat speak the language and understand it (I'll post about that later). At that point in time, I hadn't actually experienced Japan much, so Japan it was! As mentioned in my earlier posts, I don't usually like extremely touristy places and would rather move around with locals, so Nozawa-onsen was good. It's a rather small town (you could walk through it in a short amount of time) and many Japanese locals go there during the winter season to ski and/or snowboard. 

How to get from Tokyo to Nozawa-onsen:

1. Fly in via Narita Airport.
2. Take the Narita Express to Tokyo Station [30 min].
3. Take the Shinkansen to Iiyama Station [1 hour 45 min].
4. Transfer to a bus that goes to Nozawa-onsen at the bus interchange [20-30 min] (you can approach the bus conductor or the customer service counter to get them to point you in the direction of the correct bus).

Some things to note about taking public transport in Japan:

• Buses leave the interchange at fixed schedules. They also have fixed timings to reach certain bus stops.
• Intercity trains such as Narita Express and Shinkansens are extremely punctual. They do not wait for any passenger. These trains are also very expensive. Be prepared to pay about 200sgd. 
• If you are travelling to many cities, my advice would be to buy the JR pass. You can feel free to purchase it from any website that offers it at a cheaper price.
• Their subways are pretty much the same as any other country. They use various cards to get on - Suica or Pasmo. I personally use Suica and it's widely accepted by different lines. For the Shinkansen, you should purchase the tickets from counters though.

Nozawa-onsen: Accommodation and Around the Town

Most of the accommodation there are ryokans (Japanese-style inns) and I would like to suggest that you try staying in one! But be prepared to sleep on futon mattresses. Ryokans are also strict about taking off your shoes at the front door. Thereafter, they will provide slippers for you to wear while walking around the inside of the inn. However, no slippers are allowed on tatami mats. 

Breakfasts at Ryokans have specified timings since the chef needs to cook quite a spread and they will prepared the food for you before you arrive. All the breakfast timings are early (8am, 8.30am). 

Typical Ryokan breakfast

You can take a walk around the town area. There are plenty of family-run restaurants, which are cheaper and really good.

Around the town - all snowy!

Very generous serving of a barachirashi don with umeshu

Stay tuned for Part 2: Snowboarding in Nozawa-onsen!