Matsuyama is a ski area located in the southern region of Sakata City in the northern region of Yamagata Prefecture.
This ski area features a 'schlep lift' surface-type lift, where skiers and snowboards are dragged up the slope (i.e. no chair).
The car park and other facilities are at the top of the slope.
There has traditionally been a summer slope at Matsuyama (serviced by another simple surface lift), as seen in the Google Earth image below. However, that does not appear to be open in 2023.
Matsuyama Ski Area is operated by (and shared a website with) the nearby Hirata Ski Area, which was more suitable for beginners. Or, at least, it was...
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
270
Vertical (m)
65
Bottom/base (m)
205
Beginner runs (%)
40
Intermediate runs (%)
50
Advanced runs (%)
10
Longest course (m)
300
Steepest slope (°)
23
Number of courses
3
Ski lifts
1
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
0
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
0
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
1
Information
Normal season dates
Matsuyama usually plans to be open from late December until early to mid-March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Matsuyama Ski Area opening times are as follows:
8:30am until 8:30pm on Saturdays
8:30am until 4:30pm on Sundays and holidays
1:00pm until 9:00pm on weekdays (when not a holiday)
Facilities
There is a dry slope on one side of the ski area, along with a simple surface lift.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day
Adult: 2,510 yen
Child: 1,680 yen
Senior: 1,890 yen
4 hours
Adult: 1,680 yen
Child: 1,050 yen
Senior: 1,260 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 110 yen
Child: 50 yen
Senior: 110 yen
11 lift coupons
Adult: 1,050 yen
Child: 520 yen
Senior: 520 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 19,910 yen
Child: 9,950 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: 1st January - 4th March (63 days)
2024-2025 season: 24th December - 9th March
2023-2024 season: Actual dates unconfirmed
2022-2023 season: 24th December - 12th March
2021-2022 season: Actual dates unconfirmed
Deepest recorded snow depth
Data is not available for this ski area.
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.
Matsuyama is the only ski area currently operating in Sakata 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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