Zao Snow Monsters 2026-27: Light-Up Nights & Ropeway Fares

Booking choice: The Zao snowcat night tour, from $172 per person. Check dates Tour details

Every winter the firs near the top of Mount Zao freeze into the shapes the Japanese call juhyo and visitors call snow monsters. On selected nights the Zao Ropeway keeps running after dark and lights them up.

The ropeway released its 2026-27 flyer in October. The night fare has gone up, there are fewer light-up nights than last winter, and most of them fall on weekends. Plan around that.

The quick answer

Light-ups run on 31 nights between 26 December 2026 and 23 February 2027, from 17:00 to 21:00, with the last ride up at 19:45. The night ropeway costs 4,600 yen for adults and 2,300 yen for children aged 6 to 11, up from 4,400 and 2,200 last winter. The rime is usually thickest in February, so aim for the run of nights from 5 to 23 February.

When are the 2026-27 snow monster light-up nights?

On 31 nights from 26 December 2026 to 23 February 2027, mostly Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

The official 2026-27 light-up flyer lists every date. Last winter there were 36 nights, according to Visit Yamagata, so this season has five fewer. Weeknights are rare: the New Year run and two holiday weeks in February are the exceptions.

Month	Light-up nights	Count
December 2026	26, 27, 30, 31	4
January 2027	1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31	14
February 2027	5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23	13

How much is the Zao Ropeway in 2026-27?

4,400 yen round trip by day and 4,600 yen on light-up nights, for adults, to Jizo Sancho station.

By day the Zao Ropeway fare page lists 4,400 yen return to Jizo Sancho (1,661 m) for adults and 2,200 for children, or 2,200 yen return to Juhyo Kogen (1,331 m), the halfway station. The night ticket is a round trip only: 4,600 yen for adults and 2,300 for children aged 6 to 11. That is roughly $30 a head.

Day service on the lower line runs from 8:30 to 17:00, the upper line from 8:45 to 16:45, and the last car up to the summit leaves the base at 16:00. On light-up nights the cars run 17:00 to 21:00 and the last one up leaves Zao Sanroku station at 19:45. Groups of 20 or more must book.

Ticket	Adult	Child
Day, return to Jizo Sancho	4,400 yen	2,200 yen
Day, return to Juhyo Kogen	2,200 yen	1,100 yen
Light-up night, return to Jizo Sancho	4,600 yen	2,300 yen (6 to 11)

When are the snow monsters at their best?

February. The rime builds through January and is usually at its fattest from early to late February.

In late December the trees are often still thin and green-flecked. They grow with every cold, windy week, which is why the peak sits late in the season. The run of nights from 5 to 23 February is the best bet: thirteen light-ups in under three weeks, with 10 to 14 and 19 to 23 February running five nights in a row.

Weather decides the rest. The flyer warns that the light-up is cancelled in bad weather or if the rime collapses, and that you may not see the trees at all in cloud. Keep a spare evening.

A snowcat parked among snow monsters lit up at night on Mount Zao — A snowcat among the lit trees on the Miyagi side of Zao.

Are there snowcat tours to the snow monsters?

Yes, on both sides of the mountain. The one bookable from Sendai on Viator is non-refundable.

On the Yamagata side, the ropeway company runs its own night snowcat, the Juhyo Genso Kairo tour. Last winter it cost 7,500 yen for adults and 6,000 yen for children, per Visit Yamagata; the 2026-27 price is not on the ropeway site yet, so watch the Zao Ropeway fare page before you plan on it.

On the Miyagi side, heated snowcats leave from Sumikawa Snow Park, which stays reachable by road after the Echo Line winter closure. The H.I.S. snowcat night tour packages this from Sendai: noon departure from Sendai station, the Kanahebisui shrine, strawberry picking, the Zao roadside station, then the snowcat after dark, 10 hours in all, $172. The listing says it is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. Book it only when your dates are firm.

Snowcat to the snow monsters at night, from Sendai station. Non-refundable: book only with fixed dates.

New · 10 hours · from $172

Explore the Zao snowcat night tour Tour details

How do you get to the Zao snow monsters from Sendai on your own?

Train or highway bus to Yamagata, then the bus to Zao Onsen, about 40 minutes, and the ropeway from there.

Sendai to Yamagata is a little over an hour by the JR Senzan line or the highway bus. From Yamagata station, buses run to Zao Onsen in about 40 minutes, and the Zao Ropeway base station is in the village. A day visit works fine.

A light-up visit is harder as a day trip, because the last ride up is 19:45 and you still have to get back to Sendai. Sleep in Zao Onsen. Then you get the lit trees, a soak in the sulphur baths, and the summit by day the next morning. Our Zao and Ginzan winter guide compares the routes.

What should you wear for the snow monsters at night?

Ski-level clothing. The ropeway warns that it is around minus 10 degrees at the top, with strong wind day and night.

Think thermal base layer, fleece, a windproof shell, insulated trousers, a hat that covers the ears, and gloves you can keep on for photos. Boots with grip matter: the viewing area is packed snow. You cannot take skis or a board up at night, and the viewing area is limited to the ropeway and the area around the station.