These are my top things to do in Nozawa Onsen that doesn’t involved snowboarding or skiing! Nozawa Onsen is one of those surprising places where there’s actually a lot to do in town so you don’t even need to be a skier or snowboarder to come and visit. Also, after staying here a week, I found this place to be more culturally enriching and educational than more western places like Niseko or Hakuba. So, let’s get to my top things to do in Nozawa Onsen!

• Related Article: The Ultimate Solo Snowboarder’s Guide to Traveling to Nozawa Onsen, Japan (without a car)
• Related Article: Snowboarding Around the World: Where Did I Stay (Part 1: Europe)
• Related Article: Snowboarding Around the World: Where Did I Stay (Part 2: Japan)

 

Top Things To Do in Nozawa Onsen, Japan

1. Dōsojin Fire Festival (One of Three Great Fire Festivals)

If you are visiting in January, the Dōsojin Fire Festival is an absolute must. It’s held every year on January 15th and it’s one of Japan’s most famous and dramatic winter festivals. Men ages 25 and 42 (considered unlucky ages) play an important part in the ceremony. Both age groups are in charge of building and protecting a wooden shrine while villagers try to attack it. Once the battle is over, the shrine is ceremonially set on fire.

If you plan to attend the Dōsojin Fire Festival, there are a few important things to know. You must either be a resident of Nozawa Onsen or be staying in town during the festival, as your free ticket is issued through your accommodations. This means you can’t simply visit on a day trip to watch. Accommodations also sell out incredibly fast, often nearly a year in advance, so if this festival is on your bucket list, it’s best to start planning well ahead of time.

 

2. Soak in All 13 Free Public Onsens

One of the most unique things about Nozawa Onsen is its 13 free public bathhouses/onsens, known as soto yu. These onsens are scattered throughout the village and are maintained by local residents. Each one has a slightly different mineral composition and atmosphere. The famous Oyu Onsen sits right in the center of town and is the largest and most iconic, making it a great place to start your onsen hopping journey.

During my week stay, I got to try out maybe 3-4 onsens and all of them vary in water temperate greatly. Some were nice and warm and others were scalding hot. You accommodations should provide you with a basket, shampoo, conditioner, soap, towel, etc. for you to take with you to the onsens. If this is your first time visiting an onsen, please read up on onsen etiquette here. 

 

3. Walk the Stamp Trail Around Town Where You Can Collect Stamps

Exploring Nozawa Onsen becomes even more fun with the Stamp Trail. This is probably the best way to get to know the town in my opinion. It’s also a great family-friendly activity if want to try something besides snowboarding or skiing. You can pick up a stamp booklet at the Nozawa Onsen Tourist Center and it cost me ¥550 (~$3.50 USD). There’s a map in the back (all in Japanese though) and you can go on a treasure hunt around town collecting stamps along the way. It’s a super cute souvenir to take home at the end. If you’re wondering, I did NOT find all the stamps unfortunately,

 

4. Eat Local Food

If there’s one thing everyone tells you to try in Nozawa Onsen, it would be oyaki. Oyaki are steamed dumplings filled with vegetables or sweet red bean paste and are perfect after a cold day outside. You can find them easily in front of the Haus St. Anton hotel. I believe they only do it during the winter months where they set up a stand outside. They make multiple flavors you can try,  but I personally like the savory ones more than the sweet ones. They’re pretty affordable so you could just buy and try as much as you want.

If you’re looking for other Japanese snacks, there’s a cute walk-up snack shop called Miyuki Shoten. There are savory snacks and sweet snacks. This is where I got my agemochi (deep fried mochi on a skewer). I took it home and microwaved it a little and it was absolutely heaven, especially on a cold day.

 

5. Make Your Own Onsen Tamago

If you don’t know what an onsen tamago is, you’re missing out! If you can’t tell by now, Nozawa Onsen is a hot springs town so there’s hot water running everywhere. At certain onsens, there are wooden boxes outside with hot spring water where you can boil your eggs. The typical routine is to put your eggs in a net and leave them in the box for about 20 mins. That gives you enough time to take a dip in the indoor onsen while you wait for your eggs to cook. I did this at two locations and I maps them out down below for you. I also added the location where you can buy the egg net.

Also FYI, the internet (aka A.I.) likes to say that you can cook the eggs at Ogama Onsen (see #6) but you CAN’T. That onsen is used by locals only and it’s completely roped off. You can still go visit it but you just won’t be able to cook there.

 

 

6. Visit Ogama Onsen

Even though foreigners can’t cook here, Ogama Onsen is worth visiting for its cultural significance. This sacred hot spring area is a reminder of how central onsens are to daily life in Nozawa Onsen. I guess you can think of it as the town’s watering hole where people bring their food to cook. Again, tourists are not allowed to enter the area or cook their food. It’s for the locals only. I still went to visit since it was part of the Stamp Trail and it’s worth checking out and at least taking pictures in my opinion. 

 

7. Award-Winning Gin Tasting at Nozawa Onsen Distillery

For something a little stronger than your typical Japanese beer or sake, there’s an award-winning gin distillery in town called Nozawa Onsen Distillery. For ¥1,000 (~$6.50 USD), you can sample four different types of gin. Nozawa Onsen Distillery uses the local mountain spring water and botanical so you truly are getting to taste something local to the region. I am not a gin fan at all, but I still thought this was a cool experience, especially since it is local to the area. They also offer seasonal gins that you can pay extra for.

 

8. Check Out Beautiful Shrines and Tori Gates

The town of Nozawa Onsen is full of shrines, temples, tori gates, etc. that you can easily go visit on foot. I highly recommend having crampons if you are going in the winter though. A lot of these places are in the snow and even though it might be easy getting up, it’s definitely a lot harder (and slippery) getting down.