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Zao Now: Friday 26th January 2024

  • Jan 26, 2024
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 20cm
Snowfall at base this season 264cm

Posted on Friday 26th January 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Morning from Zao.


Last night it continued snowing. Early on this morning there was still fog around with some very light snow falling but there is now some blue sky and sunshine peeking through the fast moving clouds. (Looks like limited visibility still higher up).


A good new layer of snow again so conditions should be fun out there.


According to the official site at time of the report the top section of the Zao Ropeway is on hold.


Ski area operations:

Zao Onsen is now mostly open with just a few restrictions.

Night skiing with the Onsen Number 2 quad (8:45pm) scheduled to be operating.


Official snow depth (reported by ski area):

Yokokura area: 65cm

Uwanodai area: 70cm

Utopia area: 135cm

Chuo area: 130cm

Paradise area: 130cm

Summit area: 150cm



Zao Now 2023-2024 season

Data as of Friday 26th January 2024 Total snowfall at base 264cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 35 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 39cm (on 25th January) November 2023 snowfall 32cm observed on 4 days December 2023 snowfall 66cm observed on 14 days January 2024 snowfall 166cm observed on 17 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.


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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