“The hot springs are amazing! My skin became smooth.”
“The staff’s service was excellent, and I had a pleasant stay.”
“The room was spacious and clean. I had a comfortable stay.”
“The food was delicious, especially the Yamagata beef.”
“It was convenient being directly connected to the ski resort.”
“Seeing the frost-covered trees was moving.”
“The hotel is friendly for families.”
“The ropeway access is good, making it convenient for sightseeing.”
“The breakfast buffet was well-stocked.”
“It’s a hotel that makes you want to stay again.”
“Located in the center of the hot spring town, it’s convenient for sightseeing.”
“The view from the room was wonderful.”
“There were many types of hot springs to enjoy.”
“The staff was kind, and the service was thorough.”
“It was clean and comfortable.”
In a Word, How Was It?
Score Summary
Memorable Unusual Experience: 5 points (out of 5)
Activity Fulfillment: 5 points (out of 5)
Hot Springs/Baths: 5 points (out of 5)
Facility Fulfillment: 4 points (out of 5)
Food: 4 points (out of 5)
Overall Score: 4.70 points (out of 5)
Comments
In one word, it’s the best hotel. As expected of Zao Onsen, the hot springs are great.
Even during peak times, the hotel isn’t overly crowded.
The Zao Ski Resort has top-class powder snow, making it the best ski resort.
Zao also has the frost-covered trees, one of Japan’s top tourist spots.
The food, especially the dishes made with Yonezawa beef, is excellent.
It’s not a cheap hotel, but I highly recommend visiting at least once in your life.
There were some foreign guests and families staying, and everyone was polite. Even at the buffet, children lined up properly, and there were no noisy people, making it a very comfortable stay.
Book from Ikkyu, which is the famous hotspring luxury hotel booking system in Japan (I often use).
Memorable Extraordinary Experience (Rating 5)
First, the excitement starts when you board the Shinkansen. In March 2024, the new E8 series Tsubasa takes you to Yamagata Station. The E8 series Tsubasa seats are designed with orange and red tones, inspired by Yamagata’s safflower. This color symbolizes Yamagata’s rich nature and culture, enhancing the joy of the trip. (Note: Suitcases can be placed in the luggage area of each car, but it gets full during rush hours. If so, you’ll have to place them at your feet, which can be quite cramped. It’s recommended to place your suitcase early or use luggage that can be placed on the shelf.)
Depending on the season, the winter snow scenery is breathtaking. This is truly an extraordinary experience.
As soon as you arrive at Zao Kokusai Hotel, you can smell the hot springs. The sulfur scent is strong enough to be noticeable even outside. The hot springs might smell too strong at first, but they make your skin smooth.
The Zao Ski Resort is huge, and at the top, you can see the famous frost-covered trees.
Activities (Rating: 5)
Transportation
From Tokyo Station to Yamagata Station (a shuttle bus from Yamagata Station to Zao Kokusai Hotel is available)
The journey itself feels like an activity. The Shinkansen “Tsubasa” takes about 2 hours and 22 minutes to 2 hours and 57 minutes.
Starbucks Coffee: Enjoy coffee in a relaxed atmosphere.
Lotteria: A fast-food restaurant where you can enjoy hamburgers.
Soba-dokoro Mitsuya: Taste Yamagata’s famous soba.
Hatake Style: A café where you can enjoy dishes made with fresh vegetables.
Vie de France: A bakery café with delicious freshly baked bread.
Sakagura Sawamasamune: A restaurant where you can enjoy local sake and dishes.
Capricciosa: A restaurant where you can enjoy Italian cuisine.
Kiyokawaya: A souvenir shop with Yamagata’s specialties.
For lunch, I ordered the photogenic “Soba” at Soba-dokoro Mitsuya. Yamagata is also famous for its soba. It was delicious!
Hot Spring Tour
Zao Onsen town has several super sento and sento. I visited “Yunohana Chaya Shinzaemon no Yu.” I’ll write about this in another article.
website
Zao Ski Resort
Zao Onsen Ski Resort boasts the largest skiing area in the Tohoku region, with a variety of courses and fluffy powder snow. Below is a summary of the main courses and their features:
Snow Quality: The snow at Zao is very light and known as powder snow. It snowed every day during my visit, making the snow really fluffy. However, there was so much snow that it was easy to get stuck even on regular courses.
Slope Size: Zao Onsen Ski Resort has a total skiing distance of about 45 km, offering a variety of courses for everyone from beginners to advanced skiers. It’s really huge.
Famous Points: The Yokokura Cliff was amazing… It was closed for skiing, but it was very impressive. The Juhyo (frost-covered trees) course is a special course where you can ski while seeing the “snow monsters” up close.
Frost-Covered Trees / Snow Monsters
Zao is famous for its frost-covered trees, and by the end of December, they had started to form. However, due to a blizzard, I couldn’t see them very well. Here’s a photo taken during the blizzard.
What are Frost-Covered Trees? Frost-covered trees are a natural phenomenon where supercooled water droplets freeze onto Aomori fir trees due to cold winds from Siberia. This phenomenon can only be seen in places with specific weather conditions.
Why Zao? The Zao mountain range is positioned to receive seasonal winds from Siberia, and it has many Aomori fir trees, creating an environment conducive to the formation of frost-covered trees.
Access by Ropeway: You can use the Zao Ropeway to access the Juhyo Kogen Station from the Zao Sanroku Station, and then to the Jizo Sancho Station. The ropeway ride takes about 7 minutes from Sanroku Station to Juhyo Kogen Station, and about 10 minutes from Juhyo Kogen Station to Jizo Sancho Station.
Comments from Overseas Visitors: Many international tourists are moved by the beauty of the frost-covered trees, calling them “snow monsters.” The night illumination is especially magical and unforgettable.
Important Comment!!
The ropeway gets extremely crowded. It’s really crowded. So, buy a priority pass. You can buy it here. Please book here. This can save you from waiting in the freezing cold for 2-3 hours. Only in Japanese but
for who don’t have ski lift ticket. 5000 JPY https://www.asoview.com/channel/ticket/8hvIeM61G3/ticket0000035832/
for who have ski lift ticket. 1000 JPY https://www.asoview.com/channel/ticket/8hvIeM61G3/ticket0000036110/
Unfortunately, the day I went was forecasted for snow… When I got there, it was a blizzard, and I could barely stand outside for 30 seconds… Be sure to go on a sunny day. Then you should be able to see a view like this
Hot Springs/Bath（Rating: 5）
Onsen of Zao Kokusai Hotel, let’s first summarize the characteristics of the hot spring water.
Characteristics of ZAO’s Hot Spring Water:
Sulfur Content: The strong sulfur smell is a notable feature, and it has a smoothing effect on the skin. This scent is particularly strong near the hotel front desk and the large public bath (but not in the rooms).
Temperature: There are both hot and lukewarm baths available, so you can choose according to your preference.
Healing Effects: The water smooths the skin and thoroughly warms the body. Even while enjoying the snowy scenery, your body won’t get cold. However, it can sting if you have any cuts. It’s perfect for relieving ski fatigue.
Public Baths: The onsen at Zao Kokusai Hotel isn’t extensive, but it includes the following facilities:
Large Public Bath
Open-Air Bath (both hot and lukewarm)
Foot Bath
Despite the limited number of baths, the overwhelming sulfur scent and the unique texture of the water, which makes your skin feel slippery, are very appealing. It really warms you up, and even after enjoying the snowy scenery, your body doesn’t get cold at all. However, it can sting if you have any cuts.
What’s great is that even during the busiest time of the year, the New Year’s holiday, there were only about 7-8 people in the evening, and around 2-3 people when I went at 7 AM. It was almost like having the place to myself. The combination of the snowy scenery and the onsen is just amazing.
Private Baths: Zao Kokusai Hotel has three private baths.
You can use the private baths by contacting the front desk and paying a fee. This time, I rented the “Forest Blessing Bath.” Private baths are really nice. You can bathe at your own pace, step out onto the terrace naked, and then get back into the bath. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed.
Zao no Kaze Group: Actually, Zao Kokusai Hotel is part of the Zao no Kaze hotel group, which includes two other wonderful nearby hotels whose onsens you can also use. And they even provide shuttle bus service! However, it’s only available between 09:00 and 16:00, so be mindful of the time.
Zao no Kaze
Zao Shiki no Hotel
Zao Onsen Omiya Ryokan (founded 1000 years ago?)
Facilities (Rating: 4)
The lounge after the onsen is a delight. You can enjoy water, drinking yogurt, ice candy, and some snacks (which are quite tasty). The building itself has a historical feel, but it is well-maintained and clean. The East Wing, where I stayed, was newly renovated and very clean.
Meals (Rating: 4)
The photos should convey how delicious the food looks, so I won’t go into too much detail! Yamagata is one of Japan’s top gourmet prefectures. My favorite rice variety, Tsuyahime, along with Yonezawa beef and mountain vegetables, were all meticulously prepared and absolutely fantastic.
Breakfast was incredibly luxurious. There was curry, nameko mushroom soup, mountain vegetables, salted salmon, Tsuyahime rice, ochazuke (rice with tea), and more. There was so much to choose from, but I couldn’t eat it all because I was too full.
Book from Ikkyu, which is the famous hotspring luxury hotel booking system in Japan (I often use).
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