Introducing unique gems of Zao! !

Public bath houses

There are three public bath houses, which anyone can enjoy.
The temperature varies depending on the venue, so it is recommended to try all of them.
● Uwanoyu public bath house
● Shimonoyu public bath house
● Kawaranoyu public bath house
Open: All year
Hours: 6:00~22:00
Admission: 200 yen for adults, 100 yen for children
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Tel. 023-694-9328 (Zao Onsen Tourism Association)

Onsen hopping vouchers

This is a voucher for day trip baths at 26 inns and hot spring facilities of Zao Onsen.
Price: 1,000 yen (for 2 bathing vouchers)
* Each facility has different bathing times and usage methods.
For details, please see the Zao Onsen Tourism Association website.

You can also purchase a plain kokeshi doll and experience painting it.
Kokeshi doll painting: 240 yen * Kokeshi doll fee is required separately.
Tel. 023-694-9386 (Tanaka Kokeshi shop)
Please call first if you want to do the kokeshi painting activity.

Footbath

There are three foot baths that you can enjoy during your walk.
● Shimoyu foot bath
● Robata-mae foot bath
Open: All year
Hours: 6:00~22:00
Fee: Free
● Yunohana Teahouse Shinzaemon's foot bath
Open: all year except winter
Hours: Weekdays 10:00~18:00 Weekend and holidays 10:00~21:00
Fee: Free

Igamochi

Igamochi is a traditional and popular souvenir from Zao.
The three mochi rice cakes are on a leaf of kuma bamboo grass from the mountains of Zao.
They contain strained bean paste with a mild sweetness and decorated with yellow rice grains in the image of rice ears.

Make sure to eat them on the day you bought them as no additives are used.
Otherwise they will harden.
So please enjoy the freshly made ones at Zao!

Jingisukan

Many people think that the jingisukan dish (lamb BBQ) comes from Hokkaido, but in fact there have been shops offering it Zao for quite a while now.

The jingisukan of Zao Onsen uses soft lamb meat with little of the strong peculiar taste of lamb.
The helmet-shaped grill made from Yamagata casting provides even cooking and removes excess fat, giving the dish its popularity.

Yamagata Sake Museum

You can enjoy sake from 49 breweries of Yamagata Prefecture at the Yamagata Sake Museum and local food at the Yukemuri Yatai Tsumami eatery.

Prices range from 300 yen to 900 yen (50 ml), of which 42 types are 300 yen.
You can compare sake from Yamagata prefecture and if you are lucky, you can also try famous sake which are difficult to obtain, like the Juyondai.
Come find your favorite sake or choose one as a gift.

Kokeshi

Currently, there are three styles of kokeshi doll in Yamagata: Hijiori, Yamagata and Zao.

The Zao kokeshi is characterized by its thick body and sense of volume.
It is said there is now an unprecedented kokeshi boom, and many people are once again addicted to their charms.
It might be interesting to take this opportunity to rediscover them.

Snow monsters & ropeway

About 18 minutes by the Zao Ropeway from the hot spring village there is a large panoramic area of snow monsters.
At night, the trees are illuminated and you can see the rime of the trees rising up fantastically up close.
The best time to see them is from late January to early March.
Come appreciate these art works created by nature.