Day 12 was pretty relaxed for me as it snowed a lot in the village so my outside wandering were brief. B also had a lesson with nozawa ski school and was really positive about the experience. Not cheap but definitely worth it from his point of view to help correct a few bad habits he’s started up with since it’s been 6 years since he last did the snow thing…and the teacher gave him some secret stamp book hints for me! So I’m a fan lol. If anyone has found these posts and is reading about the secret stamp trail locations, the bonus ones she gave us to keep an eye out for in Jan 2026 were:
- Corona pop up bar near hikage gondola
- The ski museum
- The one outside the tourist office (I got that one on day 1)
- One just down from the Nagasaki gondola
- We found another one on our random wanders at the Nozawa grand hotel!
You know if they are secret ones because they don’t have a number in the bottom right corner.
We went to the local food court for dinner which has some info included here https://www.nozawaholidays.com/news/nozawas-new-night-food-market/
Totally acknowledge it was easy and convenient but the food quality wasn’t great. I can see the attraction as you don’t have to line up or get turned away as all the restaurants are tiny and full. This place seats 100 people and has been here since 2019 when their overseas tourist numbers took off and it certainly meets a town need.
On Day 13 I enjoyed my daily outdoor onsen at Furasoto no yu before a steamed bun for lunch (i got the pork which was $5 AUD).
I attempted to continue my tourist stamp journey today using the tips from Bs ski instructor yesterday but I am definitely struggling to get over 20 as so many are now buried in snow!! I eventually found one that was partly under cover so I am now up to 16. I’m trying to get to 20 so I can choose between two prizes.
B had a very snowy day today up on the mountain as well. I was whinging in the village about my stamps being impacted by snow but it was a lot snowier further up!
Before dinner, B came with me to try and find 4 more stamps to get me to 20! We found 3 at Onsens and then couldn’t find one on the map….but luckily found a surprise secret one at Nozawa grand hotel! Which was amazing as it means I hit 20! So sometime next week I’ll go collect my prize. He was a good egg wandering around in the freezing cold with me.
Tonight is a Friday and it is buuuuusy in the village! Everywhere is completely booked out so we decided to take the “we didn’t get the memo about booking a week ahead for weekends” approach and show up early to a place that doesn’t take bookings. We lined up for Okonomiyaki at Aketibai for dinner which is on the other side of Nozawa Onsen. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese teppanyaki savory pancake dish consisting of a flour batter and other ingredients cooked on a teppan (flat griddle). Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include okonomiyaki sauce (made with Worcestershire sauce), aonori (dried seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and the suoer tasty triple stripe of Japanese mayonnaise. It’s mostly found in Osaka regions.
The place we went to had a line half an hour before he opened and we were second in it. If you miss the first seating of around 15 people, you wait 90 mins in the cold for the next seating.
It was delicious! Not sure it was 90 mins outside in freezing cold and snow level delicious….but it was definitely arriving 20 mins before opening and queuing up level of delicious (oishii desu!). The mother and son team do a great job with very limited resources and the price of $10-$14 AUD each made it well worth the walk.
Also, B just keeps sending me more adorable dog photos from up on the mountains. I wish I was as cool as these dogs.
Mel's Travel Blog 