Facilities & Services

Zao Onsen Ski Rental Ski rental and snowboard hire are available at various shops around the village, with a concentration of rental shops near the base of the lift stations. The largest rental shop is located inside the new Zao Base Centre Jupia near the base of the Zao Sky Cable. In addition to ski and snowboard sets, they also rent out snowbikes.

Many of the hotels and ryokans also offer equipment rental.

As a guide to rates, an adult ski set will cost from about ¥3,000 per day, whilst a kids’ ski set will cost about ¥2,000 per day. A snowboard set costs approximately ¥4,000 per day for adults and ¥3,500 for children.

The quality of the rental equipment can be questionable and much of it is from the dark ages. At least the skis are carving skis, but fat skis are not on the agenda and many of the boots are rear entry. And if you’ve got big feet or want clothing in a large size, you may experience some difficulty.

Facilities for Children We are not aware of any childcare or babysitting facilities at Zao Onsen. In general Zao is not well set up for families with small children. Consider heading to the very family friendly ski resorts of Appi Kogen or Naeba instead.

Zao Onsen Ski School Zao Onsen has seven ski schools and one snowboard school. Only two of the schools offer lessons in English and these are in a private format. Both Zao Ski School and Zao Heim Ski School are located at the base of the Uwanodai Slope. Approximate prices for a private lesson are ¥14,000 per half day or ¥20,000 per day, and it costs a little bit more if it is a private lesson for a group of people.

Eating On Mountain Zao Onsen has various restaurants and cafeterias dotted around the slopes. The food is reasonably inexpensive and fairly typical for a Japanese ski resort: ramen, curries, and rice dishes. It’s also possible to get a taste of Italy with some pizza and pasta. The largest base for eating is the Zao Base Center Jupia where there are a couple of large cafeterias.

Banking Facilities The post office has an ATM that accepts international cards.