Snow & Stay Japan

Kominka Kozumi · Chino, Nagano

140 years of history. Nobody else in it.

Timber beams, tatami, and absolute privacy. A fully restored 140-year-old Japanese house in Chino, Nagano — open to your group of two to six alone.

Snow out the front door.

What a whole house gives you

Snowy peaks seen through the window of the kominka

Wake up inside the snow.

No rushing downstairs before breakfast service ends. Make coffee in your pyjamas and have the Yatsugatake snowfield to yourselves.

A bedroom under century-old timber beams

A 140-year-old soul, with modern warmth.

You sleep under century-old beams on traditional tatami — and behind them sit a modern heating system and a proper bathroom.

The old post town at Narai-juku under snow

Snow on the way out, home on the way back.

Twenty-five minutes by car from Chino station. Ski, soak at Lake Suwa, walk the old post town — then come back to somewhere that is yours.

The hours that are not on snow still count.

Wide beginner slopes at Kurumayama Skis

Big, gentle slopes. Nobody watching you fall over.

Kurumayama SKYPARK is wide open with no trees in the way.

The snow-covered lava plateau at the top of the ropeway Doesn’t ski

Cable car to the 2,237 m viewing deck. No skis required.

Seven warm minutes up, and you’re standing on a snow-covered volcanic plateau.

Both of you are back at the house before dark, at the same table.

The days in between

Lake Suwa in winter

Lake Suwa

30 min away

A hot spring town on the water, an easy lakeside walk and a very old shrine.

Narai-juku street under snow

Narai-juku

About an hour

A whole street of 400-year-old wooden inns, under snow, with almost nobody in it.

Each one gets its own day. No rushing back for a 3pm lesson.

Before you ask

The three things everyone asks first.

Isn’t an old house freezing?
It was, before we insulated it. The whole building has been upgraded for a Nagano winter.
How do we get there with all the ski luggage?
You do not carry it anywhere. We meet you on the platform at Chino and drive you and the bags to the front door.
There’s no hotel restaurant. What about dinner?
The kitchen is fully equipped and the supermarket is on the way home from the slopes.

Getting there is the easy bit

One train out. One train back.

  1. Shinjuku, Tokyo

    Hop on the Azusa express. No changes, about 2 hours.

  2. Chino station

    Your nearest station. We meet you here and drive you the last 25 minutes to the door.

  3. The house · all week

    Ski days, onsen days, and dinner back at the house.

  4. Back to Tokyo

    We drive you to the station. Same easy train, about 2 hours.

What the week looks like

Day 1 → 7

  1. Day 1

    Train from Tokyo up to Nagano. Settled in before dark.

  2. Day 2

    First ski lesson. Everyone else takes the cable car up for the view.

  3. Day 3

    A day at Lake Suwa — a walk and a hot spring. Dinner back at the house.

  4. Day 4

    Back on snow — and suddenly the kids are linking turns.

  5. Day 5

    The old post town in the snow. Bring a camera.

  6. Day 6

    Last ski lesson, then something hot on the summit terrace.

  7. Day 7

    Back to Tokyo, in time for lunch.

A sample week only — we build the days around your group.

Give your family a different kind of winter this year.

Ask about 26/27 whole-house dates and pricing

Tell us your dates, how many of you, and how many have never stood on skis.