蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort
Ski among the snow monsters, then soak in thousand-year-old sulfur springs.
Difficulty mix
On the mountain
- Night skiing — 2 floodlit runs
- 0.1 km cross-country trails
Bonvo Score breakdown
Computed from mapped terrain data — no editorial opinion, no pay-to-rank. How the score works
Skiing Zao Onsen, told properly
Zao Onsen offers something no other ski resort on Earth quite matches: in deep winter, the fir trees along its upper mountain vanish beneath layer after layer of rime ice and wind-driven snow until they become juhyō — 'snow monsters' — a summit forest of hulking white figures that you ski between, and that glow under coloured floodlights at night. The phenomenon peaks in February and draws visitors from around the world.
The village below is one of Japan's oldest hot-spring settlements, its discovery dated by tradition to the second century AD. Steam rises between ryokan roofs, the streets smell faintly of sulfur, and the milky, strongly acidic waters of its public baths have been easing muscles for centuries — the perfect counterpart to a cold Tōhoku ski day.
The skiing itself is old-school Japan: a sprawling web of ropeways and courses down the flank of the Zao range, long meandering descents (the top-to-bottom stretches close to 9 km), and a pace that favours atmosphere over adrenaline. You come to Zao for the monsters, the baths and the feeling of skiing inside a woodblock print.
Signature runs
Juhyōgen Course
The 'snow monster field' — a gentle course threading directly through the rime-ice figures at the summit.
Zangezaka to the village
The long top-to-bottom journey, nearly 9 km winding from the monsters back to steaming onsen rooftops.
Omori course
Quiet, rolling cruising on the resort's flank — the locals' choice for uncrowded laps.
Local tips
- Visit in February for peak snow monsters; ride the ropeway at dusk for the illuminations even if you're done skiing.
- The public sulfur baths are strong stuff — remove silver jewellery unless you want it blackened.
- Zao's lifts are a patchwork of generations; study the map or you'll spend the day on connector tracks.
- Try the local konnyaku balls and Yamagata beef after skiing — Tōhoku's food quietly outclasses its fame.
Good to know
- Zao's snow monsters form when supercooled water droplets freeze onto Maries firs, building metre-thick ice armour.
- The onsen village is said to have been founded in AD 110, making it one of Japan's oldest hot-spring resorts.
- At night the monsters are illuminated in shifting colours — skiing among them feels like another planet.
Slope-by-slope analysis
Every run measured from elevation-aware map geometry: true length, vertical drop, average gradient and a 0–10 slope score that rewards long, sustained descents.
| Run | Difficulty | Length | Vertical | Avg grade | Slope score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 太平コース | Beginner | 1.8 km | 258 m | 14.2% | 3.4 |
| 黒姫スーパージャイアントコース | Beginner | 1.2 km | 250 m | 21% | 3.3 |
| * | Advanced | 1.0 km | 249 m | 24.5% | 3.4 |
| ザンゲ坂・樹氷原コース | Beginner | 987 m | 106 m | 10.7% | 1.9 |
| 連絡コース | Beginner | 975 m | 112 m | 11.5% | 2.0 |
| パラダイス迂回コース | Beginner | 818 m | 169 m | 20.7% | 2.7 |
| 大森ジャイアントコース | Beginner | 776 m | 158 m | 20.4% | 2.6 |
| 黒姫コネクションコース | Beginner | 764 m | 144 m | 18.8% | 2.4 |
| ダイヤモンド | Beginner | 736 m | 107 m | 14.5% | 2.0 |
| * | Beginner | 732 m | 93 m | 12.7% | 1.8 |
| 高鳥コース | Intermediate | 698 m | 104 m | 14.9% | 1.9 |
| 竜山ゲレンデ | Easy | 599 m | 146 m | 24.4% | 2.7 |
| ザンゲ坂・樹氷原コース | Intermediate | 550 m | 130 m | 23.6% | 2.5 |
| セーラーコース, Sailor Course | Advanced | 470 m | 167 m | 35.5% | 3.4 |
| 黒姫スーパージャイアントコース | Intermediate | 434 m | 147 m | 33.9% | 3.2 |
| 菖蒲沼ゲレンデ | Beginner | 382 m | 57 m | 14.9% | 1.5 |
| チューブスライダー | Beginner | 349 m | 56 m | 16% | 1.6 |
| ハーネンカムCコース | Easy | 257 m | 68 m | 26.5% | 2.2 |
| 見返りコース | Beginner | 253 m | 27 m | 10.7% | 1.0 |
| 竜山ゲレンデ | Easy | 236 m | 41 m | 17.4% | 1.5 |
| 横倉の壁38° | Advanced | 232 m | 109 m | 47.1% | 3.6 |
| * | Beginner | 127 m | 14 m | 11.1% | 0.9 |
| 太平コース | Beginner | 110 m | 36 m | 32.7% | 2.4 |
+ 66 more mapped runs and connectors — all of them in the free 3D map in the Bonvo Ski app.
Lift network
34 mapped lifts.
| Lift | Type | Capacity/h | Ride time | Length | Vertical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 竜山ペアリフト | Chairlift | — | — | 516 m | 130 m |
| 竜山ペアリフト | Chairlift | — | — | 516 m | 133 m |
| 4 蔵王スカイケーブル (Zao Sky Cable) | Gondola | — | — | 1.6 km | 344 m |
| 蔵王中央ケーブル | Cable car | — | — | 1.7 km | 521 m |
| 温泉第３ | Chairlift | — | — | 461 m | 93 m |
| 6 温泉第２クワッド | Chairlift | — | — | 921 m | 225 m |
| 5 温泉第１ペア, 5 Onsen 1st Pair | Chairlift | — | — | 447 m | 79 m |
| 37 温泉第４クワッド, 37 Onsen No. 4 Quad | Chairlift | — | — | 938 m | 267 m |
| サンライズペア | Chairlift | — | — | 458 m | 137 m |
| 中森第１トリプル | Chairlift | — | — | 581 m | 125 m |
| 中森第２ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 552 m | 144 m |
| 32 国体ペア, 32 Onsen Zao Kokutai Pair | Chairlift | — | — | 633 m | 201 m |
| 14 中央第１ペア, 14 Chou No.1 Pair | Chairlift | — | — | 333 m | 84 m |
| 12 中央第２ペアA,B, 12 Chuo No.2 Pair | Chairlift | — | — | 411 m | 98 m |
| 16 片貝トリプル | Chairlift | — | — | 412 m | 37 m |
| 33 見返りペア, 33 Mikaeri Pair | Chairlift | — | — | 415 m | 95 m |
| 菖蒲沼第１第２ | Chairlift | — | — | 340 m | 56 m |
| パラダイス第３ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 452 m | 89 m |
| 17 パラダイスペアA,B, 17 Paradise Pair | Chairlift | — | — | 542 m | 173 m |
| 2 蔵王ロープウェイ山頂線, 2 Zao Ropeway Sanchosen | Gondola | — | — | 1.8 km | 334 m |
| ユートピア第２ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 478 m | 92 m |
| ユートピア第１ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 304 m | 66 m |
| 黒姫第１クワトロ(bubble) | Chairlift | — | — | 1.6 km | 411 m |
| 黒姫第２クワトロ | Chairlift | — | — | 1.3 km | 259 m |
| 大森クワトロ | Chairlift | — | — | 1.3 km | 345 m |
| 1 蔵王ロープウェイ山麓線, 1 Zao Ropeway Sanchosen | Cable car | — | — | 1.7 km | 469 m |
| 横倉第１ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 604 m | 137 m |
| アストリア第１ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 680 m | 144 m |
| 横倉第２ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 594 m | 123 m |
| アストリア第２ペア | Chairlift | — | — | 492 m | 150 m |
蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort — quick answers
How many ski runs does 蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort have?
蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort has 89 mapped downhill runs totalling about 40.5 km of pistes, with the longest single run measuring 1.8 km.
What is the vertical drop at 蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort?
The mapped skiable terrain spans 876 m of vertical, from 790 m at the base to 1666 m at the top.
How many lifts does 蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort have?
蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort operates 34 mapped lifts.
Ski 蔵王温泉スキー場, Zao Onsen Ski Resort with the map in your pocket
Every run and lift on this page, rendered in interactive 3D — and it keeps working in airplane mode at the top of the mountain. Free on the App Store.
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