Article

20563 ／のざわおんせんむら

Nagano Prefecture 下高井郡

Nozawaonsen Village

The village kitchen is in the hot pools.

Ogama, the shared kitchen

Photo by Miya.m (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Oyu

A bathhouse with a roof to drive out steam,kept up by the village's bath fellowship.

Oyu, at the center of the hot-spring town, is a wooden bathhouse built by Nadachi carpenters from local cedar, with an upper roof that drives out the steam, the tourism bureau writes. The outdoor baths have been a shared asset of the villagers, protected since the Edo period by a bath-fellowship system, and villagers maintain and manage all 13 of them.

13 outdoor baths
Bath fellowship since the Edo period
Wooden bathhouse by Nadachi carpenters

02 ／ Nozawa-gumi

Since the late Edo period, the villagers' own bodyhas looked after forests, water and hot springs.

The Nozawa-gumi is made up of one sodai (chief representative), two deputies and about 20 council members, with eight committees. One reviews and studies the old documents long kept in the sodai's document storehouse, and another manages weirs and irrigation channels. It is now incorporated as a community association approved by the village mayor.

1 chief representative, 2 deputies
About 20 council members
8 committees

03 ／ Akebi Vine Craft

Since the early Edo period, a winter side job:toys and baskets of akebi vine.

Designated a Traditional Craft of Nagano Prefecture (August 23, 1984), with its main production area in Nozawaonsen Village and elsewhere, the prefecture writes. Around the village, toys and baskets have been made from akebi vines grown in nearby fields and hills. The vines are gathered from October to November and softened in hot spring water before weaving, the tourism bureau writes. The hatoguruma, a pigeon on wheels, is a well-known folk craft.

Designated by the prefecture on August 23, 1984
A winter side job since the early Edo period
Vines gathered October to November

Nozawaonsen Village from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot July–October 2022)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

A village with no station, 25 minutes by bus from Iiyama Station.

about 3,000 people
Rural district town

The village has no railway station. From Iiyama Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus reaches Nozawaonsen (Chuo Terminal) in 25 minutes. The tourism bureau writes that the village is made up of seven districts: Toyosato, Higashi-Otaki, Maezaka, Nanagamaki, Mushiu, Hirabayashi and Tsuboyama.

People living here: 3,279people
Area: 57.96km²
Households: 1,153households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 4 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —1 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Nozawaonsen Village in Japan36.923°N 138.441°E

to IiyamaLocal bus25min

Travel times follow 野沢温泉村公式「野沢温泉ライナー【Nozawa Onsen Liner】バス時刻表」（更新 2026年3月10日）の添付PDF『2026年3月30日〜2026年11月30日運行（Summer ver.）』と『2025年12月13日〜2026年3月29日運行（Winter ver.）』、および同ページの GTFS-JP（のざわ温泉交通株式会社・feed_version 2026/03/30改正・calendar は全日月〜日 2026-03-30〜2026-11-30） (checked 2026-10-20). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Nozawaonsen Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

11.5km

Iiyama City, Sakae Village, Kijimadaira Village

Nozawaonsen Village isthis kind of town.

01Ogama, designated by the village, is a set of five hot pools where water of nearly 90 degrees Celsius wells up at about 500 liters a minute, and the tourism bureau describes it as a shared kitchen where neighbors boil vegetables and eggs; only villagers may enter
02The bathhouse of Oyu at the center of the hot-spring town and the bath-fellowship system, running since the Edo period, protect the 13 outdoor baths, while the Nozawa-gumi, a self-governing body running since the late Edo period, protects the forests, water sources and hot springs
03Akebi vine craft, made as a winter side job since the early Edo period, is a Traditional Craft of Nagano Prefecture, and the village also holds the Dosojin Festival, a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, every January 15

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Nozawaonsen Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes