By car

Arriving by Car…

Nozawa Onsen can be reached from Tokyo by car in about 4 to 6 hours depending on traffic and route. Especially driving out and in of Tokyo can be time consuming with lots of traffic. Whenever possible we recommend leaving your car at home and jump on the convenient bullet train which gets to Iiyama station in under 2 hours from Tokyo station. Check out our Train/Bus page for more details. You can also send luggage ahead of time to make travel easy. See our luggage forward page for more on this topic.

Depending on road and snow conditions it can be very tricky to drive into town. Nozawa Onsen is one of the snowiest places on earth and on snowy days it can be difficult to reach your destination. Winter tyres are a must. We highly recommend having a 4 wheel drive car or chains as a back up if you are arriving with a 2 wheel drive.

Best route from Tokyo is over Nagano instead of driving through Gunma and Yuzawa. The route over Yuzawa is quiet mountainous and can be closed due to heavy snowfall. Head out of Tokyo Nerima on the E17 and head towards Takasaki. @Takasaki take the E18 and drive to Ueda, Nagano and all the way to the Yoyota Iiyama exit close to Iiyama. From Iiyama it is only another 20 minutes to Nozawa Onsen.

Book your Accommodation now and reserve your free undercover car park at Akari House.

Rent a car

Renting a car in Nozawa Onsen could be an option if you would like to explore some of the nearby ski resorts during your stay. The closest car rental service is right next to the Shinkansen bullet train station in Iiyama. Check out the English page here.