Zao Liza World is a ski area in the northeastern region of Kaminoyama City in southeastern region of Yamagata Prefecture.
This ski area is located by the Zao Echo Line road, in an area known as Zao Bodaira Kogen. Some people know the ski area by that name, though the official name is Zao Liza World.
Zao Liza World has one quad 753m lift and two pair lifts (546m and 708m), and the longest run is just under 2,000m. It describes itself as being a family ski area.
There is also a cross-country ski course.
Zao Liza World is closed on some days in the late season (see below).
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1446
Vertical (m)
386
Bottom/base (m)
1060
Beginner runs (%)
24
Intermediate runs (%)
43
Advanced runs (%)
33
Longest course (m)
1950
Steepest slope (°)
26
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
Zao Liza World usually plans to be open from mid-December until late March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Zao Liza World is normally open from 8:30am until 4:00pm (until 4:30pm on weekends and holidays in peak season).
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at Zao Liza World.
Families & children
There are a number of children activities available at Zao Liza World including sledging.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Zao Liza World.
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: 4,800 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 1,000 yen
A season ticket for high school children is 20,000 yen.
A season ticket for college students is 25,000 yen.
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: 19th December - 29th March (101 days)
2024-2025 season: 20th December - 30th March (101 days)
2023-2024 season: 20th December - 31st March (103 days)
2022-2023 season: 16th December - 26th March (101 days)
2021-2022 season: 17th December - 27th March (101 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 150cm on 9th-10th February
2024-2025 season: 215cm on 18th February - 1st March
2023-2024 season: 140cm on 5th-7th, 10th-11th and 13th March
2022-2023 season: 170cm on 5th-6th, 11th, 15th-17th February
2021-2022 season: 200cm on 18th February - 17th March, 19th-26th March
2020-2021 season: 160cm on 11th-13th and 18th-21st February
2019-2020 season: 105cm on 11th-12th February
2018-2019 season: 150cm on 2nd-4th February
2017-2018 season: 200cm on 14th-28th February
2016-2017 season: 190cm on 22nd February
2015-2016 season: 135cm on 4th March
2014-2015 season: 200cm on 12th-15th March
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwestern corner of Tohoku, facing the Sea of Japan. Yamagata is bordered by Akita Prefecture to the north, Miyagi Prefecture to the east, Fukushima Prefecture to the south, and Niigata Prefecture to the southwest.
There are quite a lot of ski areas across the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture. In fact, after Hokkaido, Nagano Prefecture, and Niigata Prefecture, Yamagata is home to the fourth-most ski areas in the country. However, many are small and have only one or two ski lifts (some of which are surface rope-tow type lifts).
The larger ski areas in Yamagata Prefecture are located in the mountainous eastern and southern regions, close to the borders with Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture.
The largest ski area in Yamagata Prefecture, by far (and one of the largest individual ski areas in Japan), is Zao Onsen in Yamagata City.
Zao Liza World is one of 2 ski areas currently operating in Kaminoyama 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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