Nozawa Onsen Village – Places of Interest

Atarashiya serves chicken yakitori and unagi kabayaki (grilled eel). It is a really popular place and a must visit for anyone coming to Nozawa. It’s only open for lunch and it is not located on the mountain which makes it a bit inconvenient, but it’s well worth the extra hike if you are having a slow day on the mountain.

Kuan is an authentic Japanese style izakaya which is popular with the locals. It’s probably not a great place to go for a meal, rather drop in for a few beers and some snacky type dishes.

Tsukushinbo is an authentic Japanese style izakaya. In Japan the concept of restaurants and bars is a loose one, most are a mix of the two and Tsukushinbo is a perfect example. Rather than each member ordering their own dish, at tsukushinbo you should order a few dishes and snack as you have a drink. You don’t need to order everything up front, you can drag dishes out one at a time if you like and keep the food coming all night. Tsukushinbo is a bit expensive by Nozawa standards and you should probably budget around ¥3000 for a couple of drinks and decent amount of food for one person.

Banri is mongolian style barbeque where you order plates of meat and cook it on a hotplate at your table. It’s a fun way to eat out. Order a few plates to share with your group and try it all.

Soba noodles – a Nagano speciality.

Okinomiyaki is a kansai speciality, consisting of savoury pork and cabbage pancakes topped with a delicious sweet soy based sauce, japanese mayonaisse (love that stuff!) and bonito flakes. One of two okonomiyaki shops in town, the owner claims that his are more authentic as he learnt his trade in Osaka, the home of okonomiyaki

Okinomiyaki is a kansai speciality, consisting of savoury pork and cabbage pancakes topped with a delicious sweet soy based sauce, japanese mayonaisse (love that stuff!) and bonito flakes. Akebitei has a good variety of okonomiyaki, yakisoba and even pizza. It’s a little hard to find but worth searching for.

Soba noodles – a Nagano speciality. You should definitely try soba at least once during your stay in Nozawa, and Yoshimi is probably the place.

Tatsuya is a new restaurant ran by a former chef from one of the ryokans in town. The menu is almost entirely seafood, which is all procured fresh by the owner. The style of this place is a bit different to a normal restaurant, you don’t really come for a meal but rather to have a few drinks while snacking on the beatifully prepared and presented dishes. If you want to try Japanese cuisine with a touch of class and delicacy then Tatsuya is definitely recommended. For those game enough, there is even whale on the menu which could be best described as guilt rackingly delicious!

Robota is a popular place with great yakiniku teishoku and renowned spicy noodles. The walls are lined with messages and signatures from famous skiiers from around the world.

Billiken is an izakaya with a seemingly endless menu full of variety. The western stuff is actually probably a bit better than the Japanese, especially the pizza and humungous pasta. Probably best not to attempt to polish of a plate of pasta yourself.

I couldn’t believe it the first time I had dinner at Bun Bun, the volume and quality of food is outstanding and it really is highly recommended for anyone visiting Nozawa. The cost is on the high side, but it is probably fair considering the amount of food you get. You can choose sukiyaki, shabu shabu or nabe, all of which come with a seemingly endless run of side dishes. Bun Bun is right on the slopes so pop in a day in advance while you are up the mountain to make a booking.

Jonnobi has the ambience and location to be something special, offering a class above anything else available in Nozawa. Unfortunately the service and polish doesn’t quite seem to be there yet, but it could be worth a try. It is still very cheap by international standard for a very high level of dining.

Hamacho is an authentic sushi bar where you can sit at the bar and choose which fish you would liked to have rolled into delicious nigiri sushi right in front of your eyes. The master and his assistant are classic characters.

Wanryu is one of many ramen shops in Nozawa.

Shijukara is located right across the road from 3 of Nozawas bars – the perfect stop for a late night bowl of tan tan men noodles to fill the gap. The noodles are almost legendary in Nozawa – think spicy ramen with a gelatanous meaty sauce and some Nozawa na pickles thrown in for good measure. You will either love it or hate it. If insects are your thing, Shijukara also has a few of them on the menu as well as frogs and rabbit (if you order in advance). The Yakitori at Shijukara is a less controversial choice, tender chicken peices and spring leeks smothered in a delicious sweet soy yakitori sauce go down a treat with almost everyone.

Competition for the title of best italian in Nozawa Onsen is fierce. Kaze no Ie has a great selection of pizza, an excellent tuna dish and great Calpaccio. Slightly more expensive than most places in Nozawa, Kaze no Ie has a bit of atmosphere, good beer selection and an extensive wine cellar.

You probably didn’t come to Japan to eat pizza, but Pasta di Pasta is highly recommended. They used to have a restaurant on the slopes which was so popular bookings were required on busy days.

Wakagiri is the first stop for many people when they visit Nozawa, there is a wide selection of teishoku sets and sushi, as well as English menus and kids menu.

Soba noodles – a Nagano speciality

Chicken Sticks, Oden and Sake, all served by your friendly Yakitori man and his trusty assistant

A cool locals bar, ran by pro snowboarder and ex model Sano san and his friend Noji.

Himatsuri raises the bar to a new level for Nozawa Onsen. It was built a few seasons back and obviously a lot of money was spent with the goal of creating atmosphere and ambience. They did a really good job, possibly too good as it isn’t the sort of place where you feel comfortable walking in with an onsen basket and towel hanging around your neck, which probably alienates around 50% of their potential walk-in customers. If you want to have a night out in a trendy Japanese bar, Himatsuri is definitely worth the trip.

A newcomer in Nozawa, exiev has a pool table and darts

Modern cool Japanese style standup bar with foozball table and big screen TV playing sporting events and snowboard DVDs

Popular with foreigners for the cheap happy hours. There is a band setup if you want to play a few tunes and English speaking staff.

Open bar area and private karaoke rooms which you can rent by the hour and croon away with a group of friends.

The Kenkokan also has a variety of different onsens including an outdoor rotemburo, the place is getting a bit tired though so the Grand Hotel is probably a better choice.

The Nozawa Onsen Arena used to be a big pool complex complete with hydroslide, the pool made way for a carpark but the onsen remains. It’s a good place to go if you have a family, as the changing rooms are warm and the baths are not too scalding hot.

Many people are a bit surprised when they get to Nozawa Onsen and realise the onsens are not much more than a hole in the ground with concrete flooring and buckets. If you want to try a more luxurious onsen experience, the Grand Hotel is well worth a visit. There is a huge bathroom with lots of different kinds of baths, and even an outdoor bath where you can sit and watch the snow piled up. The Grand Hotel onsen is opened only for a limited time to non hotel guests.

Try the banana boat or several different varieties of cake.

Big Mouse is a convenience store located on the way into town. They have quite a wide selection of alcohol, snacks, and some food as well.

Nanja Monja on the main street of town offers a selection of souvenirs/postcards and lots of t-shirts hoodies, hats etc. You can even get your original design printed overnight.

Yamazaki is a centrally located convenience store, which sells all kinds of drinks, ice creams, chips and lollies, as well as cup noodles and bento box type food, which you can pick up for quite cheap on a night where you just want to stay in.

Tommis bottle shop is a well stocked bottle store with good selection of wine, beer and of course sake. Stop by on a Saturday night to sample local sake which is often provided by the sake reps.

Dimension is a small but well stocked snowboard shop run by Takeshi, a Nozawa local who board during the day and runs his shop in the evening. He really knows his snowboards and has a good selection including plenty of fish and other powder machines. The prices are not what you would expect for a small shop at the end of the road in a ski resort, and everything seems to be eternally on sale for 20% off. If you have an equipment malfunction Takeshi will do what he can to help you out. The shop is particularly well stocked with woolen hats and goggles.

The best place to go if you are buying grocerys or stocking up on snacks.

Another place to get hearty Japanese ski field grub, Popeyes is distinctive for it’s boldly painted slogan – “we like it on top”. Drinks, cheese and friendly owners make it a great place to stop by if you are taking the slow route down.

Decent Japanese ski field grub with friendly owners (related to the owners of Masazo). The tonkatsu don is excellent.

Quiet place where you can get the famous Nozawa Na tan tan men – a good option if you don’t want to stay out until Shijukara opens.

Slightly out of the way near the Nagasaka Gondola, Ohtaki offers slightly refined Japanese ski food and the katsu is famous. The son is an ex world cup skier and occasionally teaches at the ski school.

New cafe at the bottom of the covered Yamabiko lift, not a great selection but it’s the only place in that area if you need some respite from the elements

Small cafe at the top of the Nagasaka Gondola, central location and free drink refills makes it a great meeting point or pit stop.

The Japanese answer to Macdonalds, quite pricy for small servings but worth a try once as the burgers are really nice. Gets quite busy at peak times so try to go early or late

The Nozawa na pork bowl with onsen egg is excellent. A little bit out of the way so usually this place is pretty quiet.

New restaurant run by friendly Aussie Chris. The only place in Nozawa to get a proper coffee.

Excellent curry which you can have with your favourite toppings. The kimchi pork bowl is also very good. The views from Buna are excellent which makes it a great place to sit and enjoy the view.

Good selection of set menus including the famous garlic steak. Has gone downhill slightly in the last few years but is still quite popular for its location and size

Above Tommi rentals is a great little cafe called cafe step. The coffee leaves a lot to be desired both in terms of cup size and quality, but the toasted sandwiches are something else.