New Nozawa Onsen Gondola Set To Open For Season 20 - 21

Nozawa Onsen iis set to replace the   Nagasaka Gondola to get the skiers and boarders to the top quicker and easier.

The Original Nagasaka Gondola was built in 1979 and was a 4 person gondola. It was then rebuilt in 1990 to carry 12 people with the boom and also for the Interski and the Olympics in 1995 and 1998 respectively. This is the same Gondola above that currently stands. The Hikage Gondola was built in 1984 to carry 6 persons and is still operating, 

Nozawa Onsen Village is located at the foot of the ski resort, which spans across three main areas. The resort is a large ski area that opened over seventy years ago. Covering 297 hectares (730 acres), the southern part of the resort was used for biathlon competitions at the 1998 Winter Olympics.The Olympic venue consisted of two trails each 4 km (2.5 mi) in length along with a firing range consisting of 30 stations.

The new gondola will replace the existing system, reducing travel time from 16 minutes to just eight minutes making the resort more accessible. The gondola will comfortably seat up to 10 people and skip the existing mid-station. Nozawa Onsen ski resort in Nagano is already well set up to welcome international guests and even has a local micro brewery producing beer from the fresh onsen water. This resort has a fully preserved traditional town centre which is extremely rare within ski areas, meaning you can enjoy the Japanese culture on and off the slopes. 

A few facts on the new Gondola for Nozawa Onsen

• The New Gondola will replace the current Nagasaka Gondola running from Nagasaka Base to Yamabiko
• The speed will be 6 metres per second
• Carrying capacity is 3000 people per hour
• Manufacturer is Nippon Cable
• The middle station will be removed and the track will be straight to the top
• The total length will be about 3.1km instead of 3.5km currently
• Passengers will be sitting instead of standing in gondola cabins with seating for 10 expected
• The construction will be done before 2020-2021 Ski season starts
• It halves the travel time to the top (from 16mins to 8mins)
• It will be more user friendly for Mountain Bikers and Hikers too and run longer over the Green Season months

Work is well underway and hope will be getting close to completion by this time next year 2020. Photo by Hakunamata

Construction week under way for the new Gondola in Nozawa Onsen

All this is going to make for an even better experience skiing and boarding in Nozawa Onsen.