Zao Now: Monday 5th January 2026
- Jan 5
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 154cm
Posted on Monday 5th January 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Cloudy skies at the start of the day with earlier snow easing off for now but it might be back. (Update as I am about to post... it has started again)
Visibility is generally ok at the moment.
A few cm to report from lower down and the ski area is reporting 10cm on the mountain. Gradual.
Not much else to report really. Today should be less busy with New Year holiday folks mostly gone now, but school trips will be starting up!
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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 some restrictions
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
Yokokura area: 30cm
Uwanodai area: 45cm
Utopia area: 70cm
Chuo area: 60cm
Paradise area: 60cm
Summit area: 60cm
More information about the ski area: Zao Onsen
Zao Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Monday 5th January 2026 Total snowfall at base 154cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (on 4th December) November 2025 snowfall 5cm observed on 2 days December 2025 snowfall 120cm observed on 18 days January 2026 snowfall 29cm observed on 4 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.