Overview
Zao Shiki no Hotel gives you a quiet mountain stay in Zao Onsen, surrounded by forest scenery and the changing colors of the highlands. You can enjoy Zao through the seasons, from winter skiing and snow monsters to fresh green views and autumn leaves. The hotel sits about a 10-minute walk from Zao Onsen Bus Terminal, and Yokokura ski slope is about a 3-minute walk away.
Inside, you find a warm resort-style atmosphere with lounges, natural views, hot spring bathing, Yamagata cuisine, and easy access to the outdoor experiences that make Zao a favorite mountain destination.
Accommodation
Your room at Zao Shiki no Hotel gives you a calm, comfortable place to rest after exploring Zao’s mountain scenery. All rooms were renewed by winter 2024, and every room is non-smoking with free Wi-Fi. From the windows, you can enjoy seasonal highland views, the old hot spring town, or natural scenery with trees, though some rooms have more limited views.
The Junior Suite offers the most spacious stay, with about 63 square meters, a Ryukyu tatami living area, a flooring bedroom, Simmons beds, a workation desk, a large TV, and a massage chair. It also includes a private stone view bath, giving you a private place to bathe while enjoying the room’s refined atmosphere. Please note that the bath in the room is not hot spring water.
The Japanese Modern Deluxe Twin is one of the most appealing choices if you want a room with a stronger sense of Japanese design. It uses Ryukyu tatami and has a calm, warm feel, with Simmons beds, a sofa set, a massage chair, and a spacious bathroom where you can look out at the changing seasonal scenery. This room bath is also not hot spring water.
The Japanese Style Deluxe Twin gives you about 40 square meters of space with Ryukyu tatami, Simmons beds, and a massage chair.
The Japanese Twin offers about 33 square meters with Ryukyu tatami and a clean, simple layout. These rooms are comfortable choices if you want a relaxed Japanese-style setting without choosing the larger suite category.
Dining
Dinner brings you a seasonal Japanese kaiseki-style meal built around local Yamagata flavors. You can enjoy dishes that change by season, with local ingredients and carefully prepared courses served in the restaurant or dining room. Every main dinner dish includes Yamagata beef, and meals are not served in your room.
Yamagata beef is one of the highlights here, known for fine texture, balanced marbling, softness, and rich sweetness. You can also enjoy Tsuyahime rice, a Yamagata-grown rice praised for its shine, sweetness, and umami. Local sake is available to pair with your meal.
Breakfast is served buffet style from 7:00 to 9:00 on the first floor. You can start the day with local dishes, Yamagata mountain vegetables, pickles, freshly baked bread, made-to-order fried eggs, and gentle rice porridge.
Onsen and Wellness
Bathing is a major part of your stay at Zao Shiki no Hotel. You can enjoy two different bathing areas: Hanare Yu Hyakuhappo and Shirakaba no Yu.
Hanare Yu Hyakuhappo is the natural hot spring bath, reached by walking 108 steps from the hotel. The bathhouse uses free-flowing spring water with no added water or heating. The spring quality is an acidic sulfur spring containing aluminum, sulfate, and chloride. You can soak in wooden indoor baths and a stone open-air bath while looking out toward the Zao mountain scenery. It is open from 6:00 to 23:00.
Shirakaba no Yu sits inside the hotel and offers a bright large public bath with big windows, open-air baths, and a sauna. This bath uses a mildly alkaline mineral spring and is not a natural hot spring. The large bath and open-air bath are available 24 hours a day, except during cleaning times, and the sauna is open from 14:00 to 21:00.
After bathing, you can cool down in the post-bath rest area, where you find two free massage chairs and a cold-water machine.
Guests with Tattoos
If you have tattoos, you cannot use the public baths and public bathing areas.
If you book a room with its own bath, such as the Junior Suite with a stone view bath or the Japanese Modern Deluxe Twin with a spacious view bathroom, you can use your in-room bath privately. However, these room baths are not onsen and do not use hot spring water.
Facilities
Zao Shiki no Hotel offers a lobby and lounge, a free drink service with coffee, juice, and ice candy during set hours, a souvenir shop, restaurant spaces, a post-bath rest area, ski locker room, ski and snowboard rentals, smoking room, free Wi-Fi, free parking, wheelchair rental, accessible toilet, room service, paid massage arrangement, paid ski and snowboard rental, and free shogi and go.
The shop sells local souvenirs such as Jyuhyo Roman sweets, cherry sweets, La France pear sweets, and pickles. In winter, you can store skis and snowboards in locked lockers and rent ski sets, snowboard sets, clothing, children’s ski sets, and sleds.
Activities
You can enjoy Zao in every season. In winter, you can ski, snowboard, and see the famous snow monsters. The hotel sells discount lift tickets at the front desk, and Yokokura ski slope is about a 3-minute walk away.
You can also visit Zao Ropeway for mountain views, trekking, and seasonal scenery. In warmer months, you can explore hiking routes, visit Okama crater lake by car when the roads are open, or enjoy the hot spring town with souvenir shops, restaurants, and local Tamakon snacks.
For another bathing experience, you can buy discount tickets at the front desk for Zao Dai-Rotenburo, a large open-air bath about 8 minutes away by car, though it closes during winter.
Additional Features
- Free Wi-Fi throughout the building
- All rooms non-smoking
- Free parking with 50 spaces on a first-come, first-served basis
- Free shuttle service between Yamagata Station and the hotel with advance reservation
- Natural free-flowing sulfur hot spring at Hanare Yu Hyakuhappo
- In-house baths and sauna at Shirakaba no Yu
- Seasonal Japanese dinner with Yamagata beef
- Breakfast buffet with local dishes
- Ski locker room and ski rentals
- Free massage chairs in the post-bath rest area
- Wheelchair rental and accessible toilet available
