What's on in Nozawa Onsen (Nozawa), Japan through the year

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Dosojin Fire Festival

• Festival

  Dosojin Fire Festival

  15 JanLights & fireCrowdedBook early

  Men of twenty-five and forty-two defend a wooden shrine on the night of 15 January while the rest of the village attacks it with burning torches. One of the three great fire festivals, and the village is full for it. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually)), New Year in the village (28 Dec – 3 Jan)

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Busy — Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Busy — Golden Week in Japan

• Season

  Between the seasons

  10 May – 30 Jun · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Lifts stopped and a good share of the inns and restaurants closed until the summer. The public baths stay open, which is most of the reason to be here anyway.

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Between the seasons (10 May – 30 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Opening

  Summer gondola season

  15 Jul – 25 Oct · usuallySummer season opens

  The Nagasaka gondola reopens for walkers from mid-July, with a picnic area, guided alpine-flower walks and a few evening stargazing rides from the top station. Source ↗

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Summer Bon Odori

  14–15 AugMajor festival

  Two evenings of circle dancing in the village to live shamisen and taiko during Obon; visitors in yukata from the inns are welcome to join. Source ↗

Still on: Summer gondola season (15 Jul – 25 Oct (usually))

Busy — Toro Matsuri (Lantern Festival), school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Toro Matsuri (Lantern Festival)

  8–9 SepLights & fireCrowded

  The Yuzawa Shrine festival: on the night of 8 September lantern processions climb to the shrine for lion and court dances, and more than a thousand fireworks go up over the village. Source ↗

Still on: Summer gondola season (15 Jul – 25 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Nature

  Autumn colour

  10 Oct – 5 Nov · usually

  The gondola keeps running into October for the beech woods on Kenashi. Between the seasons the village is at its quietest and the baths are yours.

• Season

  Nozawana harvest

  25 Oct – 25 Nov · usually

  The turnip greens the village is named for are pulled in late autumn and washed in the hot-spring water before pickling. You can smell it in the lanes for weeks.

Still on: Summer gondola season (15 Jul – 25 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Ski season

  28 Nov – 5 May · usually

  One long mountain above a working hot-spring village, usually open from the end of November to early May. The top runs hold snow well after the base has gone.

Still on: Autumn colour (10 Oct – 5 Nov (usually)), Nozawana harvest (25 Oct – 25 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — New Year in the village, Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan

• Holiday

  New Year in the village

  28 Dec – 3 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The Japanese holiday week fills every inn in the old village. The thirteen free public baths are busiest at this time of year and the etiquette is not optional. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (28 Nov – 5 May (usually))