A traditional Japanese home in snow country, yours the whole year round.
A traditional Japanese home with shoji screens, tatami mats and futons, for an authentic Japanese stay. Sleep the traditional way on thick, comfy futon mattresses, or choose the regular Western queen bed. You have the whole house to yourselves in Mizuho, a quiet rural corner of Iiyama with open views
across the valley to the mountains. Nozawa Onsen is a 10-minute drive one way and Togari
Onsen 5 minutes the other. Three bedrooms, a lounge, a dining room and an office give you room to cook a proper dinner, catch up on work, and stretch out
after a long day on the mountain or the river.
Sleeps 6Guests
3Bedrooms
1Bathroom
10 minDrive to Nozawa Onsen
5 minDrive to Togari Onsen
Traditional home with shoji screens
Tatami-mat rooms with thick, comfy futon mattresses
Western queen bed if you prefer one
Three bedrooms, sleeping up to six
Lounge room
Separate dining room
Office for workdays
Kitchen for self-catering
Double garage for cars, skis & rods
Its own snow blower for the big dumps
Two onsen villages within 10 minutes' drive
Lawson 1 km and 7-Eleven 2 km away for quick eats on the go
Service station nearby for easy fuel top-ups
The house at sunsetMid-winterEvening lightDuskBluebird morningFrom the window
Four seasons
There's no off-season here.
Most people know Nozawa for its snow. Stay a little longer and you find trout streams, beech forests and a village that's just as good in boots or waders as it is on skis.
Winter
December – March
Skiing & snowboarding
Nozawa Onsen is one of Japan's great ski villages: long top-to-bottom runs off Mt Kenashi (1,650 m), tree-lined powder up high, and gentle groomers for beginners lower down. The resort car park is 10 minutes from the house. For a quieter day, family-friendly Togari Onsen ski resort is just 5 minutes away.
Reliable deep-winter powder
Two resorts to choose from, with terrain for every level
Dosojin Fire Festival every 15 January
Lift tickets from about ¥3,500 for a half day to ¥9,500 for a full day
The upper mountain usually skis into early May — soft snow, blue skies and quiet slopes. Meanwhile the valleys thaw, cherry blossom arrives, and the mountain streams around Iiyama come alive with iwana (char) and yamame (trout).
Ski in the morning, cast in the afternoon
Snowmelt-fed freestone streams and the Chikuma River
When the lowlands swelter, the highlands stay cool. Walk in beech forest, ride the Nozawa Onsen gondola to alpine meadows at Uenotaira, or take on a section of the Shin-etsu Trail, the long-distance ridge path that runs along the Nagano–Niigata border.
Trails from easy forest loops to full-day ridgelines
Mountain biking, trail running and river SUP nearby
Summer festivals and fireworks in the nearby villages
Early autumn is prime time on the streams: low, clear water, cooler days and fish feeding hard before the season closes. Then the beech and maple turn, and the hiking trails glow gold and red through October into November.
Late-season dry-fly and tenkara water
Lift-served mountain biking until late October
Autumn colour (kōyō) from mountaintop to valley floor
Anglers: the local trout and char season runs from 16 March to 30 September, and a day permit costs ¥800. Our fly fishing guide covers the rivers, the species, and the rods and flies to bring.
Ski resorts nearby
More than twenty ski resorts within an hour's drive.
Two resorts are on the doorstep, and the house sits in the middle of one of the snowiest corners of Japan. Between them they offer around 380 marked runs. Stay a week and ski somewhere different every day.
Nozawa Onsen · Hikage slopesTogari OnsenNozawa Onsen ski runsTogari Onsen liftsNozawa Onsen villageLooking across to Nozawa from Togari
The home mountain. Long top-to-bottom runs from 1,650 m, tree-lined powder up high, and a hot-spring village at the bottom for the après soak.
5 min
Togari Onsen
The closest lifts to the house. A relaxed local resort with quiet slopes and wide valley views, ideal for families, beginners and short days.
about 30 min
Madarao Kogen
Famous for its tree runs and ungroomed powder, and linked with neighbouring Tangram Ski Circus over the top of the mountain.
45 – 50 min
Myoko Kogen
A cluster of resorts under Mt Myoko with some of Japan's heaviest snowfall: Akakura Onsen, Akakura Kanko, Ikenotaira, Seki Onsen and the long runs of Suginohara.
about 50 min
Shiga Kogen
Japan's largest ski area. Shiga Kogen alone has 18 ski areas and 79 runs, linked across one high, cold mountain range with a long season. The furthest areas are a little further: Yakebitaiyama is about an hour and Okushiga just over.
about 20 min
Romance no Kamisama
The former Kijimadaira ski resort, renamed in 2023 after the hit winter pop song. A quieter mountain across the valley, good for a relaxed day away from the crowds.
What lift tickets cost
Adult tickets across these Nagano resorts run from about ¥3,500 for a half day at the small local hills to ¥9,500 for a full day at the biggest. Most resorts sit in between.
Half day or 4 hours, smaller resortsSakae Club about ¥3,500 · Togari Onsen ¥4,800
Full day, smaller resortsKomaruyama about ¥4,000 · Iizuna ¥4,800 · Togari Onsen ¥5,800
Full day, major resortsNozawa Onsen ¥7,800 · Madarao ¥9,000 · Shiga Kogen ¥9,500
Buy online or earlyShiga Kogen is ¥8,500 online · early-bird and multi-day tickets cost less
Adult window prices, mostly for the 2026–27 season; a few smaller resorts are last season's figures. Prices change every year, and children and seniors pay less, so check the resort's own site before you go.
Every resort within about 70 minutes: around 380 runs in all
Togari Onsen16 runs · 5 min
Nozawa Onsen44 runs · 10 min
Romance no Kamisama Kijimadaira10 runs · 20 min
Sakae Club9 runs · 25 min
X-JAM Takaifuji9 runs · 25 min
Kita-Shiga Komaruyama6 runs · 25 min
Madarao Kogen32 runs · 30 min
Ryuoo Ski Park11 runs · 30 min
Yomase Onsen11 runs · 30 min
Tangram Ski Circus19 runs · 35 min
Kurohime Kogen12 runs · 40 min
Ikenotaira Onsen Myoko16 runs · 45 min
Akakura Kanko Myoko9 runs · 45 min
Akakura Onsen Myoko17 runs · 50 min
Suginohara Myoko16 runs · 50 min
Seki Onsen Myoko3 runs · 50 min
Shiga Kogen 18 ski areas79 runs · 50 min
New Greenpia Tsunan5 runs · 50 min
Iizuna Resort7 runs · 50 min
Lotte Arai24 runs · 55 min
Matsunoyama Onsen5 runs · 55 min
Togakushi19 runs · 60 min
Okushiga Kogen part of Shiga Kogen70 min
Drive times are from the house by Google Maps on clear roads, rounded to the nearest five minutes; allow extra on snow days. Run counts are the number of marked courses each resort publishes and can change from season to season. Okushiga Kogen's runs are included in the Shiga Kogen total.
Ten minutes away
Nozawa Onsen: a real hot-spring village.
A 10-minute drive from the house, Nozawa Onsen has been a hot-spring village for centuries. Steam rises from the street drains, locals boil eggs and vegetables in the Ogama spring, and the lanes are lined with small restaurants, bars and steamed-bun stalls.
13 public bathhouses
The village's soto-yu are free to use and cared for by local families. Ō-yu, in the centre, is the most beautiful.
Eat & drink
Izakaya, soba, ramen, craft beer and hot oyaki dumplings — all packed into a few walkable streets. Our restaurant guide →
Old lanes & shrines
Cobbled streets, wooden inns and cedar-shaded shrines to wander between soaks.
Getting here
Under two hours from Tokyo by bullet train, then a short drive.
1
Shinkansen to Iiyama
Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station direct to Iiyama — under two hours.
2
Drive to the house
The house is a short drive from Iiyama Station by hire car or taxi. A car is the easiest way to get around during your stay. Where to hire one →
3
Settle in
Nozawa Onsen ski resort car park is 10 minutes away and Togari Onsen 5. We'll send directions, parking details and check-in instructions with your booking.
Hiring a car
A car makes the stay: it gets you to the ski resorts, rivers, trailheads and restaurants on your own schedule. The easiest plan is to take the bullet train and pick the car up at Iiyama or Nagano Station, where winter driving is routine.
Closest · our pick
Iiyama Station
Step off the Shinkansen and drive a short way to the house. Offices are small, so book early for winter and holidays.
All the major brands have airport counters. Handy with lots of luggage, but it is a long expressway drive with tolls, and in winter you must add snow tyres when you book.
These compare several rental companies at once and are often cheaper than booking direct. Search by pickup point: Iiyama Station, Nagano Station, Haneda or Narita.
Winter tyres are essential from December to March. Ask for studless tyres and, ideally, 4WD. From Tokyo airports they are a paid extra that has to be booked in advance.
Bring the right licence. Most visitors need an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, carried with their home licence. A few countries use an official Japanese translation instead.
Ask for an ETC card if you are driving from Tokyo, to pay expressway tolls without stopping.
Book early for New Year, January weekends and Golden Week, when station offices sell out.
Fuel is easy. There is a service station near the house for top-ups before a day out or returning the car full.
Snacks for the road. Lawson is 1 km from the house and 7-Eleven 2 km, for coffee, onigiri and a quick breakfast on the way to the lifts.
Book your stay
Tell us when you'd like to come.
The house sleeps up to six. Send your dates and group size and we'll reply with availability and a price, usually within a day. No payment is taken until we've confirmed.
