Zao Now: Friday 12th December 2025
- Dec 12, 2025
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 13cm
Snowfall at base this season 65cm
Posted on Friday 12th December 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
We got some rain yesterday but it turned into snow late evening with heavy snow around 9:30pm. Windy too.
The lifts will officially open from tomorrow. Up until now it has been that 'pre-open' thing!
The forecast is looking fairly good for consistent snowfall on and off across the coming week.
Hopefully more of the mountain will soon be open.
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The information below is manually checked with official sources and updated for every report.
Please note that details can change quickly and all information is subject to change.
Ski lifts operating (planned):
Chuo Number 1 pair (via Zao Chuo Ropeway)
Ski runs open (planned):
Chuo (part)
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
Yokokura area: 30cm
Uwanodai area: 20cm
Utopia area: 50cm
Chuo area: 30cm
Paradise area: 20cm
Summit area: 30cm
Zao Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Friday 12th December 2025 Total snowfall at base 65cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (on 4th December) November 2025 snowfall 5cm observed on 2 days December 2025 snowfall 60cm observed on 5 days |
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.