The secret to a better Japanese ski trip? Think spring, not winter

After a couple of days in ski boots, I know this is going to feel good. Peeling off my socks, I lower my feet into the steaming, spring-fed foot bath, looking out towards the snow-capped mountains in the distance. The water is almost unbearably hot, and I last mere seconds before pulling them out again. My eight-year-old son Oliver, who is perched on the bench beside me, turns it into a competition, challenging me to see who can keep their toes submerged the longest.

The foot bath lies in the centre of Nozawa Onsen, a snowball's throw from the village's Ogama cooking pools, where locals can often be seen boiling eggs and the leafy green nozawana vegetable that has been cultivated in the area for centuries.

In winter, the baths disappear beneath thick snowdrifts and, without anyone to maintain them, close for the season. Had we arrived a week earlier, we would have missed the experience entirely. It's one of the many rewards of travelling in spring, along with bluebird skies, quieter slopes and more affordable accommodation in a resort that, during peak season, is often dismissed as being "overrun with Aussies".

While I had been tempted by the ease and family-friendly appeal of resorts such as Club Med when deciding where to book, I really wanted our Japanese snow holiday to offer my son an authentic cultural experience, which kept drawing me back to Nozawa Onsen - a traditional village of narrow, winding alleys lined with family-run izakayas and public bathhouses fed by natural hot springs first discovered by a Buddhist monk in the 8th century.

At the resort's Japan Ski Museum - the only one of its kind in the country - we learn that the first ski lifts were installed in 1950, making this one of Japan's oldest resorts. Its story began earlier, when Austrian alpine pioneer Hannes Schneider visited in the 1930s and introduced the Arlberg technique. It feels fitting, then, that Oliver's instructor, Milya, from the resort's English-speaking Canyons Snowsports School, also comes from Austria.

With her guidance, he is soon carving confidently down the wide, cruisy mid-mountain green run Paradise, and even attempting jumps on the Uenotaira course. But he's still not quite ready for Nozawa Onsen's ultimate challenge - the longest continuous ski run in Japan - which stretches 10 kilometres from the summit of Mount Kenashi to the village below.

There are still traces of European influences throughout the village, from the odd chalet-style building to places like Haus St Anton, a family-run hotel and cafe known for the crates outside selling one of the village's signature treats - cinnamon-infused dumplings made with Nagano's large, juicy apples.

In Nozawa Onsen, eating is almost as much a sport as skiing and snowboarding, and in the evenings we make it our mission to explore the village's many dining spots. First on the list is the eclectic Food Village Kongou, a food-hall-type affair in a former steelworks factory, where tables are spread around a replica of the towering wooden shrine that's built for the village's famous fire festival each January.

Soba Daimon in the main street is a traditional family-run soba house with only a handful of tables, an open kitchen and historic ski photographs lining the walls. We settle at a large carved wooden table in the centre of the room, sharing it with fellow diners as we tuck into tempura prawns and handmade buckwheat noodles.

The most authentic meals are often found in cosy izakayas, their glowing red paper lanterns signalling that they're open for the evening. Tucked just off the main tourist strip, Izakaya Sakai is one such gem. Run by an elderly woman dressed in a kimono, the intimate space offers counter seating along the bar and a few tables. The menu is designed for sharing, with dishes ranging from gyoza and ramen to horse sashimi and grilled pork tongue skewers.

After dinner each night we return to our accommodation, Toemu Nozawa Lodge, which is housed in an unassuming blonde-brick building, to play board games or cards on the lounge beside the slow-combustion fireplace. The lodge has traditional and Western rooms, as well as its own gender-separated bathhouses.

While Nozawa Onsen may not feel as overtly kid-friendly as some other Japanese resorts, another appealing aspect for families is its proximity to Jigokudani Monkey Park, which is less than an hour's drive away.

We watch transfixed as the adorable primates huddle together for warmth, eyes closed in apparent bliss. We see a baby nursing, others hopping across rocks, and groups playfully wrestling and preening one another.

Although part of me wishes I had seen the famous "snow monkeys" soaking in the springs as snowflakes drifted around them, knowing the park is one of the many Japan attractions buckling under the weight of overtourism in peak season makes me feel like I've earned a small pat on the back for travelling more thoughtfully.

The writer travelled with assistance from Nagano Prefecture Tourism