Christmas in Japan's Snow Country
This Program has Ended.
To see photos, please check our blog
- Dates: Dec 22-25
- Activities: See below
- Price: see what's included
Join us for a Christmas celebration in Japan's snow country with free skiing, snow hiking and more in Sakae Mura (a farm village in the heart of the snow country) Dec 22-25. .
This event offers free skiing at a local village-run ski hill, snow trekking in traditional wooden Japanese snow-shoes, hot baths every night, after bath drinks in a snow cave you helped build, and possible volunteer activities such as helping elderly farmers dig their crops out from the unexpectedly early snow.
Japan Snow Country Christmas Itinerary
The yukiguni (snow country) is famous in Japan for its unique traditions, lifestyle, and hardships. Our base is situated in Sakae Village - the snowiest of Japan's snow-country, where fire hydrants are 3 meters high and houses have a front door on the second floor! As of December 5th, we already have up to a meter of snow in some areas. There is no better place to experience traditional lifestyles of a snow-bound mountain village.
More of an informal get-together with organized activities than a full-service tour, our winter snow-country Christmas provides an opportunity to enjoy free skiing at the local ski-hill, and hike between villages with traditional kanjiki snow-shoes. You are invited to spend your nights at our home in the heart of a small village, or at an inn run by local a farm family. Weather permitting, the more adventurous can build their own snow-cave or igloo to spend the night in... of course, you will still be within walking distance of a hot-spring bath and a cozy Japanese pub/restaurant.
We are looking forward to introducing our guests to life in our village, and if we are blessed with abundant snow, there will beopportunities for a wide variety of snow-related activities.
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Activities
Tentative Itinerary & Possible Activities
We will be planning activities from 22-24, anyone is welcome to stay longer if you have the 25th off as well. Everyone is also welcome to stay at our home during this time, including the night of 21st if you want to be there bright and early when the lifts open on the 22nd.
Dec 22nd
- Skiing at local ski-hill: FREE LIFT TICKET Ski/snowboard rental: 2,500 yen/day This is a rather small village run ski hill - its not Hakuba, but it is very nice and a lot less crowds.
- Free lunch provided by ski-hill (tonjiru soup & BBQ of a lamb that was raised on the ski-hill during the summer)
- Hot bath at one of local baths either near ski-hill (300yen) or near our home (100yen)
- Possible Christmas dinner at our home. Potluck style. We are inviting some of our neighbors and local folks that have been nice to us, so if we are lucky there will be a good variety of local foods as well.
- Drinks around the kotatsu.
- Option to skip dinner and enjoy night skiing instead, or if there is enough demand, have dinner at the ski-hill so we can continue skiing after. Ski hours are 9:00 - 4:30 and 5:10 - 7:40
Dec 23rd
- Take a hike through some of the small local villages with traditional wood kanjiki and (hopefully) straw boots
- Mushroom picking (mushrooms that have been covered with snow taste better!)
- Helping some local elderly folks to harvest crops that have been buried by unexpected early snow. We will dig through at least a meter of snow to find what can be saved.
- Picnic lunch or (if it can be arranged) lunch at local farmhouse
- Join village year-end party (5,000 yen)
Dec 24th
Possible things to do, though no concrete plan:
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Make mochi & soba from scratch for lunch
- wake up early for some dawn photo-ops from the top of a nearby mountain
- animal tracking in the snow
- Take bus deep into Akiyama vally for a hike through remote villages and a great museum depicting traditional life in this remote vally, followed by an outdoor hot bath in a river surrounded by snow
- Help shovel the roof of some "akiya" - houses that are no longer inhabited and in danger of collapsing if the roof is not shoveled
- Help begin construction of a snow maze in one of the nearby paddy fields
- Chill out with a book all day.
- Visit Nozawa onsen village and hit all the 13 baths.
- OPTION: Skiing & snowboarding at the ski-hill is 1/2 price (1,500 yen) until Dec 26th. Anyone is welcome to take advantage of that during the days and join us in the evening for other activities.
- OPTION: Nozawa Onsen Ski Area is a thirty minute drive away. If you are looking for a more resort-ish ski experience, but still a nice village with lots of hot baths, this is a great place.
Accommodation Options & Costs
- Stay at our home (free + donation for meals) We have futons for about 10-12 people. If by some miracle more people come, we will ask some to use sleeping bags. We have a few spare.
- Local farmhouse inn (noukaminshuku) from 5,500 yen with 3 meals. There are several in the area - basically just locals who let guests stay at their home. If you stay at the inn, you should have your own transportation to get to and from activities that may be happening near our home.
- Snow cave or tent near hot-spring bath. FREE. We will build a cave or snow-hut near our local onsen bath one night for after-bath drinks, but anyone is welcome to sleep there as well. We recommend a warm sleeping bag and outer shell.
Getting here
Your destination will be Morimiyanohara Station (森宮野原) in Nagano Prefecture. There are a few travel options using bus and train which we are happy to help you figure out based on your schedule.
- From Tokyo by Car: 216km; Estimated Time: 03:00 hrs; Cost: 4,750 JPY
- From Tokyo by Train / Bus: Estimated Time: 03:15 hrs; Cost: 6,740 JPY
The best option to arrive on 22nd morning by tain/bus is
- Tokyo - Echigo Yuzawa 7:13 - 9:18 Shinkansen Train
- Echigo Yuzawa - Morimiyanohara 09:30 - 10:33 Bus
If you have other needs, or would like to come the night before, let us know and we will try to help you make travel arrangements.
If people are coming by car, we will help to coordinate a car-share with other people if possible.
Cost & What's Included
Because we can not be certain of the amount of snow this early in the season, we are taking this opportunity to try out some new activities and locations. Considering this is a "test" run, we are offering three days for only 10,000 yen per person. This price is to cover our time and effort for coordinating the event, guiding, as well as some gear such as snow-shoes.
This is not an all-inclusive tour. As such, prices depend on the activities you opt to take part in over the weekend. We estimate that the entire weekend should come to around 40,000 - 45,000 yen including train transportation to and from Tokyo. We will do our best to keep costs down by trying to arrange a car-pool among people coming from the same area, but there is no guarantee.
| Base Price: Includes:
|
10,000 yen |
| Does Not Include | |
| Lift Ticket (12/22) | Free |
| Lift Ticket (12/23-26) | 1,500 |
| Ski / Snowboard Rental | 3,000 / day |
| Ski wear | 3,000 / day |
| Meals & Drinks | (everyone is expected to chip in for shared meals) |
| Join Village Year End Party | 5,000 (includes drinks) |
| Transportation to and from Sakae Mura | One way train from Tokyo: 6,740 / One way car from Tokyo: 4,750 |
| Some transportation in Sakae Mura | We will help to get people to and from group activities - however, we cannot offer rides to and from the ski-hill for those who opt to ski after 12/22. Taxi service is available, or you can rent a bike from us (20 - 30 minute ride on plowed roads). |
| Accommodation at Local Inn (includes 2 meals) | 5,500 / night |
| Hot Spring Bath | 100 - 300 yen |
| Accommodation at Our Home | Free (shared rooms with all guests / futon or sleeping bag) |
| Guarantee of deep snow | Sorry, I wish we could... |
Join Us
If you are interested in this snow-country Christmas event, please email the following information to info@onelifejapan.com
- Name
- Cell Phone
- Date you will come / leave
- Prefered Accomodation
- What activities you are interested in?
- Are you interested in joining the Village Year End Party? (5,000 yen all you can eat and drink)
- Would you rather have a Christams dinner on the night of 22nd, or take advantage of free night-skiing instead?
- Where you are coming from and how will you get here?
- If you are coming by car, are you willing to give others a lift?
- Show size (for ski / snow walking boots)