Taiheizan Opas is a ski area located in Akita City in the central region of Akita Prefecture.
This ski area is within easy reach of Akita city centre and has west-facing slopes. It has 853m quad lift and two pair lifts (1,036m and 972m).
Natural snowfall is helped along by artificial snow-making machines when necessary.
A season ticket valid at both Taiheizan Opas and Kyowa (in Akita City) is available.
Taiheizan Opas opened in 1992. Apparently, the name somehow comes from the Ainu 'upashi', which means snow.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
330
Vertical (m)
190
Bottom/base (m)
140
Beginner runs (%)
60
Intermediate runs (%)
30
Advanced runs (%)
10
Longest course (m)
2000
Steepest slope (°)
25
Number of courses
6
Ski lifts
3
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
1
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
2
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Taiheizan Opas usually plans to be open from mid- to late December until mid-March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Taiheizan Opas is normally open from 9:00am until 4:00pm in the daytime. The Number 2 pair lift only operates on weekends, holidays and over New Year (from 10:00am until 3:30pm).
Night skiing
Night skiing is normally from 5:00pm until 9:00pm. The quad lift operates for night skiing. The lifts close between 4:00pm and 5:00pm.
Families & children
Wakuwaku Land is a safe area for young children featuring a 30m moving walkway. The area is free to use.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Taiheizan Opus.
Rental
Ski and snowboard equipment & wear rental is available.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day
Adult: 3,140 yen
4 hours
Adult: 1,885 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 315 yen
11 lift coupons
Adult: 3,150 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 31,420 yen
Season ticket (night skiing)
Adult: 18,855 yen
The 4 Hour ticket is valid for four hours from the time of purchase.
The 1 day ticket includes night skiing.
Historical snow depth data
The following ski season and official snow depth data have been independently compiled by SnowJapan for publication on this website. Where available, the data is updated annually after each ski season.
First and last dates of recent seasons
2025-2026 season: 6th January - 15th March (69 days)
2024-2025 season: 21st December - 16th March (86 days)
2023-2024 season: 26th December - 20th February (57 days)
2022-2023 season: 31st December - 10th March (70 days)
2021-2022 season: 29th December - 21st March (83 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 90cm on 1st and 3rd February
2024-2025 season: 95cm on 23rd-24th February
2023-2024 season: 35cm on various dates
2022-2023 season: 65cm on 16th February
2021-2022 season: 95cm on 6th-10th February
2020-2021 season: 75cm on 10th January
2019-2020 season: 45cm on 9th-12th February
2018-2019 season: 50cm on 29th January - 1st February and 9th-19th February
2017-2018 season: 70cm on various days in February
2016-2017 season: 110cm on 12th-16th February
2015-2016 season: 55cm on 3rd March
2014-2015 season: 85cm on 10th-17th February
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Akita Prefecture is located in the Tohoku region, on the northwestern side of the main island of Japan, facing the Sea of Japan.
Akita shares borders with Aomori Prefecture to the north, Iwate Prefecture to the east, Miyagi Prefecture to the southeast and Yamagata Prefecture to the south.
The ski areas in Akita Prefecture are distributed across the mountains from north to south. Two of the more well-known ski areas are Tazawako, on the western slopes of Mt Akita-Komagatake in Semboku City, and Ani, on the southwestern slopes of Mt Moriyoshi in Kitaakita City.
Most of the other ski areas in Akita Prefecture are small local operations.
Taiheizan Opas is the only ski area currently operating in Akita City.
About the information on this page
SnowJapan independently researches, checks and updates the information on this page at least once each year, in the lead-up to every ski season. We also update it whenever we become aware of other changes. The information published on SnowJapan is based on independent research using official Japanese-language sources and is not supplied by ski areas. If you are planning to visit a ski area, we recommend checking the official ski area website for the latest operational information. We take great care to keep the information on SnowJapan accurate and up to date. However, SnowJapan accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on information published on this website.
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