Christmas in the Alps

Old May 24th, 2017, 11:36 AM
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Christmas in the Alps

Hi everyone
It's been great reading people's generous advice and trip reports on this forum, as well as the great info on japan-guide.com
We're planning a trip to Japan over Christmas. We're hoping to be in the Alps over actual Christmas. My teenage children have asked if we can stay somewhere where there's likely to be snow (we're Australian so this would be amazing for us).
Can anyone suggest a cozy place to stay in a nice town or village that's pretty easy to get to without a car? Nozawa Onsen looks cute but already pretty booked up at that time.
We will have a week to explore the alps region, including potentially a couple of days skiing if there's enough snow, but the Christmas location doesn't need to be a skiing destination.
During this time we're keen to see Magome and Tsumago and to walk between them if the weather allows, plus Matsumoto.
I look forward to your responses.
Judith_Hunter is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 12:01 PM
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Shirakawago should have snow. I went there in early January and they had "only" 4 feet of snow on the ground. I took a bus from Takaoka. I think there is now a year-round bus from Kanazawa.

There is lodging available in Nozawa Onsen. If a certain place is unavailable then you should check again later.
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Old May 24th, 2017, 02:56 PM
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Hakuba Valley is where you will find most of your fellow Aussies during winter in Japan not in Nozawa.

Sometimes quoting from Japan Guide will only get you so far in Japan. There are many other sources if you know where to look....

http://www.hakubavalley.com/en/

Aloha!
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Old May 24th, 2017, 03:03 PM
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we always stay here while in Matsumoto. Ask for a castle view room.

http://matsumotohotel-kagetsu.com/

Aloha!
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Old May 26th, 2017, 03:01 PM
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Thanks for your input and suggestions. Proximity to other Australians isn't necessarily a criteria for us!
I like the look of Nozawa because there seems more to do for non-skiers (me) as well as skiers. For skiing we're looking at a package staying in Yudanaka that includes ski gear hire, instructors etc plus transport to the best snow on the day.
I want to make sure we're somewhere lovely on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for a completely different Christmas experience. The alternative is to go shopping and eat KFC in Tokyo that day which would also be very different!
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Old May 27th, 2017, 05:01 PM
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There was a trip report on here a while back about a young family spending Christmas in Obuse. They stayed at the 'French' guesthouse, but if you wanted a splurge, the converted sake brewery would be memorable. And heading further into the mountains to see the snow monkeys on December 25 would be pretty special.
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Old May 28th, 2017, 07:26 PM
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Thank you Boveney. I haven't been able to track down the trip report you mentioned but you're right about the monkeys - I'll look into Obuse. And thank you mrwonrful I'm also looking into the Shirakawago option - it certainly looks fairytale-like if we stay overnight there.
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Old May 29th, 2017, 05:26 PM
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So sorry, my mistake. The Christmas spent at Vent Vert was on TA site.
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Old May 29th, 2017, 08:43 PM
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thank you! I'll look there.
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