A 7-Day TOUHOKU Adventure: Meeting the Zao Monsters and Adorable Foxes

MaiRie
Jan 29, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Jan 27, 2024

We're finally on the fourth day of our winter trip to Touhoku!

If you're traveling to Yamagata during winter, don't miss the chance to explore Zao, located on the border of Yamagata and Miyagi prefecture. Zao Onsen, a hot spring town on the Yamagata side, boasts some of Japan's most acidic thermal waters. In winter, this becomes a leading ski destination where you can see "Zao Monsters." On the Miyagi side, is a small 'village' of foxes, where you can interact with the adorable canines.

Where to stay: Stay near Zao Sanroku Station

During the peak season, we were fortunate to secure a room at Pension Puutaro, located only a few minutes away from the ropeway station. The pension is situated in a convenient location, making it ideal for exploring the nearby onsen town, going on walks, and trekking. Our room was warm and cozy, and reasonably priced. The only downside was that the pension did not have an elevator, which meant that we had to carry our belongings during our stay.

Explore: Going up to Mt. Zao

Zao Monsters

Zao Monsters, also known as 'juhyo', are snow figures formed by a unique phenomenon. From late December to mid-March, strong winds from Siberia blow across the North Japan Sea and the western plains of Yamagata, causing heavy snowfall in the Zao area. The freezing winds deposit two to three meters of snow on the ground and also create a layer of frozen condensation on the fir trees in the region.

We had a pleasant drive to Zao Onsen as the weather was fine. We enjoyed the beautiful snowy scenery against a backdrop of clear blue skies from Ginzan Onsen. After driving for 90 minutes, we reached the Zao Ropeway Sanroku Station. However, due to the number of skiers, the parking lot was nearly full, and the lift queue took some time.

The area boasts of several skiing resorts, making it possible for you to find numerous ropeways. However, the only ropeway that can take you to the top is Zao Sanroku Station. The ride from Zao Sanroku Station to Jugyo Kogen Station (middle station) takes about 7 minutes. At Jugyo Kogen Station, you'll have to transfer to another ropeway to reach Zao Peak Station (top) which takes about 10 minutes (17 minutes in total). Roud trip tickets costs ¥3,800, but you might find discounted tickets from Yamagata Station like this.

If the weather's on your side, I recommend visiting the Zao Jizoson, a Jizo statue is enshrined on Mt. Jizo, located about 100 meters from the Zao Ropeway Jizo Sancho Station building. The Snow Monsters are illuminated at night during the season, providing a different perspective of the juhyo. I also recommend trying the Night cruiser tours are also available for an enhanced experience- unfortunately, it wasn't available the night of our visit.

How to get here:

Ginzan Onsen ↔ Yamagata Station

I suggest not to rely too much on the bus, but you can ride the bus from Ginzan Onsen Station to Ooishida Station. From there, hop on a train to Yamagata Station.

Yamagata Station ↔ Zao Onsen Bus Terminal

https://travel.yamakobus.jp/en/guide/zao.html

https://zaoropeway.co.jp/summer/en.php

Zao Fox Village

The following morning, we took a drive to Miyagi Prefecture to visit the adorable foxes at Zao Fox Village - Japan's biggest zoo with a fox theme. The village is situated a 90-minute drive from Zao Onsen (an hour's drive from Sendai). Over a hundred foxes are free to roam around in a garden surrounded by nature.

After purchasing your admission ticket, you will be provided with a set of guidelines that you need to follow while inside the premises. Unlike the usual zoos, the foxes are allowed to roam around freely. Hence, you are responsible for ensuring your safety once you enter the gate.

We were greeted by over 100 foxes that are allowed to roam freely. There were six different types of foxes in total: the familiar Ezo red foxes, the less common silver foxes, the Arctic foxes (blue and white), the platinum foxes, and the red foxes.

The village is situated in a forest where you can take a walk and observe the fascinating life of foxes. As we explored around, some foxes followed us, while others pulled at our clothes (one did). There is a place where you can feed these adorable creatures through a fence. If you time your visit right, you may even get a chance to cuddle a baby fox!

How to get here:

(JR) Sendai Station to Shiroishi Station

(Bus) Shiroishi Station East Exit to Zao Fox Village

Unfortunately, means of transportations that connect Zao Onsen and Zao Fox Village.