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Zao Now: Wednesday 30th December 2015

  • Dec 30, 2015
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 4, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 118cm

Posted on Wednesday 30th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Just a few cm of new snowfall here in Zao Onsen village since yesterday and it's another cold start to the day.


The good news is that more of the resort has opened including the Kurohime quad and associated area. The Omori and Ryuzan lifts aren't moving yet but as of this morning all other areas of Zao Onsen are now (at least part) open. There are still some restrictions and areas closed off due to the snow situation.


There may be some more snow as we enter the New Year, but right now there's no major snowfall on the forecast into the early part of next week.


I expect things to be busy over the next few days with lots of people here for the New Year holidays.


Official snow depths:


Utopia: 60cm

Chuo: 70cm

Paradise: 50cm

Uwanodai: 25cm



Zao Now 2015-2016 season

Data as of Wednesday 30th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 118cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 14 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (on 27th December) November 2015 snowfall 22cm observed on 2 days December 2015 snowfall 96cm observed on 12 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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