Beautiful shapes created by frost-covered trees! One of the largest snow resorts in the Tohoku region

A bus ride of about 40 minutes from Yamagata Station, a stop on the Shinkansen bullet train line, takes you to Zao Onsen Bus Terminal. Conveniently located just a short walk from there is Zao Onsen Ski Resort, one of the largest snow resorts in the Tohoku region, boasting a total ski run area of 127.22 hectares and a maximum run distance of 10 kilometers. The resort offers 14 slopes and 12 courses, including areas where you can ski through a field of frost-covered trees, known as “Juhyo”. 80% are suitable for beginner and intermediate levels, so skiers and snowboarders of any skill level can enjoy their time here.

Zao Onsen Ski Resort also offers a full range of ski and snowboard schools, including Zao Freizeit Skischule, which is certified by the Professional Ski Instructors Association of Japan (SIA). Experienced instructors will teach you with dedication and care, making it possible to improve your skills in a short time.

There are also more than 10 restaurants on the vast grounds of the resort that are sure to satisfy the hunger of skiers and snowboarders. Soramado Cafe 1387-ISAHANA, located inside the station building of Zao Chuo Ropeway Torikabuto Station, offers croissant sandwiches baked in the store that are both popular and surprisingly huge. You can choose from a wide range of toppings, including local flavors such as Yamagata Beef and Dadacha soybeans.

Spectacular views of frost-covered trees during the day and at night!

The beauty of the Juhyo trees at Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a sight that you absolutely cannot miss out on. Juhyo are the result of a natural phenomenon created by the special weather conditions and vegetation of the Zao mountain range, which is part of the Ou Mountains. Sub-freezing seasonal winds containing a lot of water vapor blow in from Siberia. That water vapor attaches to the Maries’ fir trees, a type of evergreen coniferous tree that grows wild in the Zao mountains, and freezes, building up to large amounts. This can only be seen in a limited area, and the best time to see the trees in this state is from January to February. You can take in a 360-degree panoramic view of the Juhyo forest on the way up to Jizo Sancho Station via the Zao Ropeway Sanroku and Sancho lines. The rooftop observation deck at Sancho Station is also a spot that offers stunning scenery.

Every year for a limited period of time, the frosted trees are beautifully illuminated. The frost-covered trees bathed in light and emerging from the darkness is a fantastic sight, and this illumination offers a different way to enjoy the view compared to the daytime.

You can also take part in a limited-time tour of the Juhyo on a snowmobile called the Night Cruiser, the Juhyo Illusion Corridor. It starts with a ride on the Zao Ropeway Sanroku Line to Juhyo-Kogen Station, and from there, you make your way into the mountains on the Night Cruiser. You can even get off the Night Cruiser along the way and see the frosted trees up close. Please note that this activity requires reservation in advance.

Stroll through the steamy Zao Onsen hot spring town

Zao Onsen Ski Resort is within walking distance to a hot spring town called Zao Onsen. The history of Zao Onsen goes back more than 1,900 years, and as you walk through the town, you can see the steam from the hot springs floating in the air all around you. You can see steam rising from Mikaeri-no-taki Waterfall, which has the nickname “Dondonbiki” - a name given to it based on the “don-don” sound that the waterfall makes when the hot spring water mixes with the mountain water.

The hot spring town is dotted with numerous bathing facilities, including four drop-in day-use facilities such as Zao Onsen Genshichi Roten no Yu with featured outdoor baths, three public bathhouses, and three footbaths, so even visitors that aren’t staying overnight in the hotels can enjoy a relaxing bath. The hot spring’s strongly acidic, sulfuric spring water is said to rejuvenate the skin and blood vessels, and have sterilizing and beautifying effects, so it is also known as “spring water for beautiful skin” and “spring water that makes women pretty”.

Zao Onsen Yutabiya Takayudo, which offers about 300 kinds of hot spring items from throughout Japan, especially the Tohoku region, is where you can also get a Zao Onsen Hot Spring Tour Pass when you buy hot spring tour items such as towels or traditional tenugui hand cloths. It allows you to get discounts on drop-in bathing at about 15 bathing facilities in Zao Onsen, and you can use it as many times as you like.

Enjoy local delicacies such as Genghis Khan and Igamochi

The area’s signature dish is a grilled mutton dish called Genghis Khan, which is offered as a specialty of Zao Onsen. A popular restaurant called Robata serves fresh, hand-cut mutton that is thick and juicy. Their tare sauce, featuring a soy sauce base with fruit and garlic flavors, is aged for more than half a year. Each restaurant makes their own tare sauce with its own distinct seasoning.

Igamochi is a local confection that has been handed down in Zao since the days of old, and the bamboo leaves it is served on are known as Kumazasa bamboo leaves, a local variety harvested in Zao. Igamochi is a glutinous rice cake filled with sweet bean paste and topped with rice that has been dyed yellow to resemble ears of rice. If you bring the bamboo leaf to your mouth as you eat the mochi cake, you can also take in the aroma and flavor of the bamboo, and it would keep you from getting your hands messy. At the coffee shop Igamochi no Sato Sanbe, you can try freshly made Igamochi and enjoy the refined taste of bean paste with its subtle sweetness that goes well together with a drink of coffee or matcha green tea.