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Zao Now: Friday 11th April 2025

  • Apr 11, 2025
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 652cm

Posted on Friday 11th April 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Morning from Zao.


A cloudy morning with what looks like a lot of fog up in top areas. The ski area was reporting light rain earlier on.


We can probably expect some rain at times over the next few days; but maybe some sun too if we are lucky.


The information on the official website differs from the information on the daily info sheet the ski area produces. As such, the status of a few lifts on the mountain are unclear. I'll try to get beyond feelings of frustration with the conflicting information and try to find out. (How difficult can it be to produce clear information about what lifts you operate are open each morning?)


Official snow depth (reported by ski area):

Yokokura area: 30cm

Uwanodai area: 100cm

Utopia area: 185cm

Chuo area: 200cm

Paradise area: 200cm

Summit area: 210cm


The following lifts appear to be scheduled to be open (planned, subject to change, as per official site):

Zao Ropeway

Zao Chuo Ropeway

Sky Cable (*status unclear)

Chuo Number 1 pair

Chuo Number 2 pair

Utopia Number 2 pair (* may be closed, status unclear)

Yokokura Number 1 pair A

Kurohime Number 1 quad


Planned closing date (subject to change)

Tuesday 6th May 2025



Zao Now 2024-2025 season

Data as of Friday 11th April 2025 Total snowfall at base 652cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 80 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 34cm (on 6th February) November 2024 snowfall 18cm observed on 4 days December 2024 snowfall 162cm observed on 20 days January 2025 snowfall 191cm observed on 19 days February 2025 snowfall 211cm observed on 22 days March 2025 snowfall 64cm observed on 14 days April 2025 snowfall 6cm observed on 1 day




All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Zao Onsen. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report.


SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for.



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