Surrounding municipalities

• Nagano Prefecture
  • Iiyama
  • Kijimadaira
  • Sakae

Climate

The town has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), characterized by warm and humid summers, and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Nozawaonsen is 10.4 °C (50.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,781.7 mm (70.15 in) with January as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.3 °C (73.9 °F), and lowest in January, at around −1.6 °C (29.1 °F).^[2]

Railway

Nozawaonsen has no direct passenger railway service, although five stations on the local Iiyama Line (Kamisakai, Kami-Kuwanagawa, Kuwanagawa, Nishi-Ōtaki and Shinano-Shiratori) lie within one kilometer of the village borders. Kamisakai and Togari-Nozawaonsen Stations are the closest stations to the village center.

The closest Shinkansen rail station is Iiyama Station, located roughly 25 minutes away by road. A bus service is run by the village which coincides with the Shinkansen timetable.^[6]

Highway

• National Route 117

Local food specialities

• Nozawana (pickled vegetable)
• Oyaki Manjū (dumplings steamed over onsen water)
• Shinshu Soba
• Apples
• Mountain vegetables
• Beer (made by the Anglo Japanese Brewing Company)^[8]

Cultural attractions

There are 18 designated cultural treasures^[9] in the village; the Dosojin Fire Festival is a national cultural treasure (designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, in December 1993) while the others, including a 300-year-old cedar tree by the main shrine, are designated by the village.

Nozawaonsen Fire Festival

The village's most important festival is the Nozawaonsen Fire Festival (野沢温泉の道祖神祭り, Nozawaonsen no dōsojin matsuri) held every January 15;^[10][11][12] it forms part of a nationwide culture of honoring folk deities, particularly Dosojin.

This is a three-day event, with the most visible element being the battle to burn down a three-story wooden shrine (社殿 shadan) on the evening of January 15.^[13] It is not certain when the festival started, but records from 1863 suggest that it was already well-established by then.

The festival is organized by the men of the village who are 40, 41, and 42 years old; hence there is a three-year period when every male villager is closely involved in the festival. They are directed by a master carpenter chosen for his experience. The other group involved are the 25-year-old men of the village. The ages of 42 and 25 are unlucky ages, or ages where spiritual cleansing is needed, and are called yakudoshi. Participation in the event is a mandatory rite of passage for all males living in the village, regardless of whether they were born in the village or not, and is also a way to create bonds and relationships.

Part of the significance of the festival is to celebrate boys born during the previous year, and lucky families will create totem poles (初灯籠 Hatsuakarikago). These are elaborate 9-10m tall umbrella-like structures, made of oak at the bottom and cedar at the top. The family crest sits on top of the pole. The next layer down are wind chimes, and the lower layer consists of long strips of paper with charms and well-wishes written by relatives and friends. The structure is made in the autumn, and displayed outside the house from January 11. On January 15 it is taken to the fire festival ground, where it will form part of the final conflagration.

The wood that will make the shadan is chosen, cut, and brought down from the mountain to the village during the previous autumn. The 20m-long Japanese Beech is dragged from the Hikage ski area through the village, on January 13, by teams of chanting yakudoshi villagers. Sake is handed out to onlookers.

The shadan is built all day on the 14th, and until early afternoon on the 15th. Standing 10m high and 8m wide, construction can be dangerous so the work is carried out in silence and without sake. No nails or wire are used in the construction, and the construction is exactly the same every year.

At 7pm the representatives gather to light the fire by striking a flint, which has been handed down for generations. They sing the dosojin song while drinking large amounts of sake. The flame is used to light large torches, and the procession heads to the temporary shrine at 8pm. Sake is handed out to onlookers.

The night of January 15th

At about 8:30pm the procession reaches the grounds. The torches are used to light a bonfire, from which other torches are lit, and are used to attack the shadan. The festival organizers are the first to attack the shrine, followed by children, followed by all the men of the village. Their objective is to burn down the shrine, and the methodology is to light a large torch from the bonfire, and then run to the shadan, attempting to charge through the 25-year old yakudoshi who are stationed at the bottom of the shrine, and set fire to the structure. The 25-year old yakudoshi use physical force to prevent the attacks. The 42-year old yakudoshi are seated at the top of the shrine.

The attacks succeed in setting fire to the structure after one and a half to two hours, and the shadan burns through the night.

Safety is an issue and the 25-year old yakudoshi are assigned guardians who do not drink sake.

The festival attracts many visitors and accommodation is often booked a year in advance. Sake is handed out to onlookers.

Dosojin

Dosojin statues are common throughout Japan, but the wooden, pencil-like figures found in Nozawaonsen are unusual as (i) they are ubiquitous throughout the village (ii) they are made of wood, and painted. They represent a male and female deity. There is a folk tradition that they represent a man and a woman who were not particularly attractive, but nevertheless married and had baby boys, therefore representing the happiness of marriage. Every household in the village will have a pair, and they are often found at businesses and public places too.