Is Zao Onsen Worth It? Japanese Visitors Say the Water Is Underrated and the Town Is Half-Empty

What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 135 of 140 comments

• It would be excellent as a summer escape from the heat too. What a waste.

  避暑地としても優秀だろうに 勿体ないなぁ

  — @のら猫ういふぁみ29 likes

• Summers in Yamagata are hotter than you'd imagine, so it can't really work as a summer escape either, and soaking in a hot spring when it's hot out is a bit much anyway. Winter has its own burden, shovelling snow off roofs and so on. Although the Miyagi side of Zao didn't look all that run down to me.

  山形の夏は想像した以上に暑いから避暑地にもなり得ないし、暑い時に温泉にゆっくり浸かるのもなんだし。 冬は冬で雪下ろし雪かき等大変だし。　蔵王でも宮城県側はそこまで寂れてる風なかったんだけど。

  — @マサアキ-m4m3 likes

• My father's family home is in Yamagata, so I was taken to Zao a lot as a child. Back then it was crowded and lively. Even in summer the ski lifts ran and there were plenty of families out picnicking. When we went back a few years ago on a family trip, the whole thing had shrunk and it made me sad 😢

  父親の実家が山形なので蔵王は子供の頃よく連れて行ってもらいました。当時は人が多く賑わっていましたけど・・夏場でもスキー場はリフトは稼働していてピクニックを楽しむ家族連れも多かったです。 数年前家族旅行で久しぶりに蔵王を訪れた時に規模が小さくなってしまって寂しかったです😢

  — @aiztossy550723 likes

• Every single municipality in Yamagata Prefecture has at least one day-use hot spring. So even locals almost never go all the way to Zao just to bathe. I think that's why there's hardly anyone there in summer. In winter, the ski season used to draw about a million people a year in the bubble era, but the ski boom ended and in fiscal 2024 it was around 400,000. Skiing and snowboarding cost money to begin with. Getting boards and wear together runs to about 100,000 yen, and once you add lift tickets and meals it's a serious outlay. With the Japanese economy where it is, it's no wonder people drift away. I imagine it's the same at other ski resorts.

  山形県は、各市町村全部に日帰り温泉が1か所以上あります。 なので地元の人でも、わざわざ蔵王まで温泉に入りに行く人は殆どいません。 これが、夏場に人が殆どいない原因だと思います。 冬場の、スキーシーズンはバブルの頃は年間100万人ほど居ましたが、スキーシブームが終わり2024年度は40万人程です。 そもそも、スキーやスノボはお金が掛かります。 板やウエアなどを揃えると10万円ほど掛かりますし、それにリフト券、食事代などを含めるとかなりの出費になります。今の日本の景気では、客足が遠のくのも仕方ないのでしょうね。 他の、スキー場も同じだと思います。

  — @haohaojapanchina1 likes

• Zao in winter doesn't get the crush it did in the bubble years, but these days there seem to be a lot of inbound tourists, many from Southeast Asia where it doesn't snow, and skiers from the southern hemisphere, Australia and New Zealand.

  冬の蔵王は一時期のバブル時のような混雑はないですが、今はインバウンドの観光客（雪の降らない東南アジアからが多い）や南半球（オーストラリアやニュージーランド）等からのスキー客が多いようです。

  — @ippanjin243910 likes

• I'm local, and I used to work in Zao. These days inbound visitors come to see the frost-covered trees, so the ropeway operator is posting its highest profits ever. It's the same at places like Akakura Onsen in Niigata: earning big in winter on inbound prices and going quiet in summer is the recent pattern.

  地元ですし、以前蔵王で働いてたいました。今はインバウンドが樹氷を見に来るのでロープウェイ運航会社は過去最高益です。新潟の赤倉温泉などもそうですが冬季にインバウンド価格で大きく稼いで夏はひっそりというのは最近の傾向ですね。

  — @torumurayama32388 likes

• For the winter season it's one of the two biggest ski areas in Tohoku, but it's too far from Tokyo. Skis and boards mean gear, so the assumption is that people drive. That said, inbound numbers seem to be trending up, so the situation may change. The people coming to see the frost-covered trees are almost all inbound anyway 😶

  ウインターシーズンで考えると東北1〜2番にデカいスキー場ですが、東京から遠すぎます。スキースノボは道具があるのでクルマで行く人が前提なので。 ただインバウンドが増加傾向だと思うので状況が変わるかもしれません。 樹氷を見に来るのはほとんどインバウンドですし😶

  — @travelspoon2 likes

• Leaving the ski area aside, on Takayu-dori I do think it deserves credit that the inns that closed haven't been left to rot: they've become car parks, footbaths, EV charging spots and so on.

  スキー場関係はともかく、高湯通りに関しては廃業した旅館が廃墟化せずに駐車場や足湯やEVスポットや何かになっているのは評価したいと思います。

  — @da1n2ch114 likes

• Zao Onsen has a strong character, but the water is very good, and I recommend it to anyone who likes hot springs! It's a real shame that there are so many derelict hotels spoiling the view. I'd like public money put in to sort it out. I hear Hoshino Resorts is coming in, so I'm hoping that stirs things up and lifts Zao as a whole!

  蔵王温泉はクセ強ですがかなり泉質が良く、温泉好きの方にはおすすめ！ 廃墟ホテルが多くて景観悪いのが本当に残念。公金入れてなんとかしてほしいですね。 今後星野リゾートさんが入ると聞いたので刺激になって蔵王全体が盛り上がることを期待してます！

  — @イヤちゃん1 likes

• It isn't widely known, but the Zao Onsen ski area, and Zao as a whole, has plenty of activities: hiking courses, MTB courses, tennis courts, a skate park, spots where you can catch largemouth bass. It's been floated as a future candidate to host X Games Winter. Hoshino Resorts is also due to be finished soon.

  あまり知られてないのですが、蔵王温泉スキー場(蔵王全体)にはハイキングコース、MTBコース、テニス場、スケートパーク、ブラックバスが釣れる所等のアクティビティが沢山あるのです。 X Games winterの開催地として将来的に候補として上がっています。 星野リゾートも近々完成予定です。

  — @Hide-r8q17 likes

• I don't ski, but it's a compact, calm hot spring town and I love it. It's a good place to go and soak at your own pace. The big open-air bath, which you can't get into during the winter ski season, is genuinely amazing, so I'd love people to try it once.

  スキーはしないのですが、コンパクトで落ち着いていて大好きな温泉地です。 のんびり湯治をするには良い場所なんですよね。冬場のスキーシーズンには入れない大露天風呂が、本当に凄いのでぜひ一度入ってもらいたいです。

  — @きるきる-s4m1 likes

• Thirty-odd years ago I went with friends on a bus tour in high summer 🎶 Even in midsummer it was almost cold. The sulfur is strong: my friend just walked around outside wearing a silver ring and it discolored 😓 My skin is sensitive, so it stung and I couldn't soak much 💦 Fond memories 😌 I think I remember we stayed at Oomiya Ryokan.

  三十数年前、真夏に友達とバスツアーで行きました🎶 真夏でも寒い位でした。 硫黄が強く、友達がシルバーの指輪をして外を歩いていただけで変色しました😓 私は肌が弱いので、ピリピリしてあまりお湯に浸かれませんでした💦懐かしいです😌 確か、おおみや旅館に泊まった記憶があります。

  — @ゆきこ-n7g5 likes

• For anyone fed up with overtourism, this might actually be fun. In these hot summers, "somewhere cool to escape to" is a strong selling point as well. It looks like a good place to go and take it slow.

  オーバーツーリズムにげんなりしている方には逆に楽しいかもしれませんね。例年の酷暑には「避暑地」というのもポイント高い。のんびりしに行くには良さそう。

  — @kigisu-34q14 likes

• Empty is exactly what I like about it.

  逆にガラガラがいいですね。

  — @gu58005 likes

• I passed Sangoro-goya on Zao Onsen's central slope the other day and it was busy with people who'd come for lunch and with hikers.

  この前、蔵王温泉中央ゲレンデにある三五郎小屋通ったでランチ食べに来ていたり登山する人で賑わっていた。

  — @ktakahashi66852 likes

• Zao's hot spring isn't water, it's broth. It really is something.

  蔵王の温泉は、水じゃなくて汁よ。 ほんとにすごいわよ。

  — @納豆屋由美1 likes

• For hot springs in Yamagata I end up going to Ginzan or Hijiori, which have more character. I pass Zao on the way to the Okama crater but I just drive straight through. In winter I used to go with the frost-covered trees as a set, but in summer, well... And the shinkansen coming was good, but past the station it's a car anyway, so for people from the Kanto area anything not on the shinkansen line is a bit hard to get to.

  山形の温泉だともっと特徴がある銀山とか肘折に行っちゃうなぁ 蔵王は御釜に行くときに通るけどそのままスルーしてしまうよ 冬なら樹氷とセットで行ってたけど夏はねえ・・ あと新幹線が通ったのは良いんだけど、その先が結局車なんで 新幹線沿いの温泉地以外は関東人には少し行き辛いんだよね

  — @gogoo06176 likes

• I go to Zao often enough, but there are a lot of problems, so I tend to end up staying at Bodaira or around Yamagata city and coming to Zao for the baths, the hiking and the skiing.

  蔵王はそれなりに行くけど問題が多く坊平や山形市周辺に泊まって蔵王で温泉・登山・スキーするパターンになりがち

  — @echizen7361 likes

Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you book through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Which places appear here is decided by the source comments only.

• SaveZao Onsen Dai-rotenburo (big open-air bath)↗蔵王温泉大露天風呂Zao Onsen, Yamagata City

  The bath a commenter says you cannot get into during the ski season and should try once. Open late April to early November; 850 yen for adults. Take off metal jewelry, the water is strongly acidic.

  Sources: jupeer-zao.com — checked 2026-09-09

• SaveOomiya Ryokan↗蔵王温泉 おおみや旅館Zao Onsen, Yamagata City

  Where a commenter remembers staying on a midsummer bus tour, when it was almost cold even in high summer (5 likes).

  4.54★ from 1,343 guest reviews on Rakuten Travel (as of Sep 2026)

  8.6/10 from 282 international guests on Agoda · Check rates and availability on Agoda↗

• SaveSangoro-goya↗三五郎小屋Zao Onsen central slope

  A lodge and restaurant on the central slope that a commenter passed recently and found busy with lunch customers and hikers (2 likes).

• SaveGinzan Onsen↗銀山温泉Obanazawa, Yamagata

  One of the two Yamagata hot springs a commenter drives to instead, for more character (6 likes).

• SaveHijiori Onsen↗肘折温泉Okura, Yamagata

  The other one in the same comment (6 likes).

• SaveOkama crater lake↗蔵王 御釜Zao mountains

  The crater lake the same commenter drives past Zao Onsen to reach (6 likes).

• SaveZao Bodaira↗蔵王坊平Kaminoyama, Yamagata

  Where a regular stays instead, along with central Yamagata city, coming up to Zao for the baths, hiking and skiing (1 like).

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

Is Zao Onsen worth visiting?

For the water, yes; for the town, manage your expectations. Commenters call the spring quality the best they know, and one puts it above Nyuto, Sukayu and Tamagawa. But the ski crowds are gone and a returning visitor (23 likes) found the whole place shrunken. If an empty onsen town appeals, 14 likes say it is a plus.

Can you use Zao Onsen's big open-air bath in winter?

No. The Dai-rotenburo is a summer-season bath: the 2026 season opened on 25 April and it runs to around early November, closed through the ski months. Admission is 850 yen for adults and 400 yen for children, 9:30 to 17:00 on weekdays and to 18:00 at weekends and holidays.

Sources: jupeer-zao.com — checked 2026-09-09

Is Zao Onsen water hard on skin and jewelry?

It can be. The tourism association lists the open-air bath water as a strongly acidic sulfur spring at pH 1.9 and tells bathers to take off all accessories because precious metals corrode and blacken. One commenter's friend discolored a silver ring just walking around town, and she found the water stung her sensitive skin.

Sources: jupeer-zao.com — checked 2026-09-09

When is Zao Onsen busy, and what is changing?

Winter carries the town, and commenters say the frost-covered tree crowd is now mostly overseas visitors, with a former local employee reporting record profits at the ropeway operator. Summer is the quiet season. Hoshino Resorts opens Kai Zao, a 49-room ryokan, on 15 October 2026, its first property in Yamagata.

Sources: hoshinoresorts.com · prtimes.jp — checked 2026-09-09