Zao Now: Friday 23rd January 2026
- Jan 23
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 254cm
Posted on Friday 23rd January 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Yesterday we had some extreme winds around 8pm.
Moderate snow flurries throughout the day. The ski area this morning reporting 15cm though our base measurement is 5cm.
Cloudy skies but quite bright at the moment down here.
Snow might be falling at any time over the next few days and it will be remaining very cold. Might just have to look out for the winds...
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Ski lifts:
All scheduled to be operating apart from Yokokura Number 2
Ski runs:
All of the main areas are open with just a few restrictions
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
Yokokura area: 70cm
Uwanodai area: 70cm
Utopia area: 170cm
Chuo area: 150cm
Paradise area: 150cm
Summit area: 120cm
More information about the ski area: Zao Onsen
Zao Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Friday 23rd January 2026 Total snowfall at base 254cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 36 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th January) November 2025 snowfall 5cm observed on 2 days December 2025 snowfall 120cm observed on 18 days January 2026 snowfall 129cm observed on 16 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.