Gassan
月山スキー場38°31′ N 140°00′ E269 m vertical2 runsSeasonal
Gassan suits skiers who want to keep riding into early summer on a huge open snowfield, and it closes for the whole of winter.
Photo Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Figures the resort does not publish are measured from the map data.
OpenStreetMap maps 0 named runs and 1 lifts at Gassan, and the guide measures each one against the elevation model.
Open the 3D map ↓Fly the mountain in 3D立体地図
Ride every run at Gassanコース
Named runs from the trail map
Large Slope大斜面コース
Gassan's famous open slope, with bumps growing on its middle and lower sections as spring goes on.
Good for moguls, views
Valley沢コース
A groomed run down the valley with banks on both sides to play on.
Good for groomed snow, terrain at the sides
Know the zones before you goエリア
Large Slope大斜面
zoneAdvanced
The huge open bowl on Mt. Ubagatake, served by the T-bar on weekends and reached by a 15-minute hike to the summit.
Good for moguls, spring snow
Valley course沢コース
zoneIntermediate
A snowcat-groomed line through natural terrain, lapped from the pair lift.
Good for groomed laps
Beyond the ropes · Open inside the boundary
Gassan's managed area covers only the slopes west of the lift, including Mt. Ubagatake. The Gassan local rules leave everything else, from the climbing trails to the backcountry lines, to the rider's own judgement, and they ask every party to file a mountain entry form.
- File a mountain entry or climbing form before leaving the managed area. The forms are at the lift's bottom station.
- Plan any route that returns by lift around the last ride down at 16:30.
- Patrol works only during lift hours, 8:00 to 16:30. Outside those hours or outside the managed area, call the police on 110, who pass the call to the Gassan-Asahi mountain rescue committee. Search costs outside the managed area are billed at cost.
- Inside the managed area, out-of-hours help costs ¥2,000 an hour for each worker, with at least five on duty to run the lift. Snowcats and snowmobiles cost ¥10,000 an hour each.
- Gassan recommends insurance that covers skiing and mountaineering.
1 lifts on the map
Know the liftsリフト
Season 2026/27
Buy the right ticket
Gassan hadn't announced its 2027 spring prices on 11 October 2026. In 2026 an adult day ticket cost ¥5,800, a morning or afternoon ticket ¥4,600, a single ride ¥1,200, a return ride ¥1,800 and a seven-ride book ¥5,300. Opening-week day tickets dropped to ¥5,000. Primary-school children paid less and preschoolers rode free. The T-bar costs ¥200 a ride in cash.
Get thereアクセス
From Tokyo Station
- Drive
- About 20 minutes from Gassan IC on the Yamagata Expressway, or 40 minutes from Sagae IC
- Bus
- From Nishikawa, walk to the Nishikawa IC stop for the town bus to the Ubasawa car park. On Gassan's 2026 timetable the 7:23 bus from Yamagata Station reaches Ubasawa at 9:39.
- Train
- Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa from Tokyo to Yamagata, then the highway bus toward Tsuruoka to the Nishikawa bus stop.
From Sendai Station
- Bus
- Highway bus from Sendai Station to the Nishikawa bus stop, then the town bus from Nishikawa IC to Ubasawa. On the 2026 timetable the 9:00 from Sendai reached Ubasawa at 11:35.
The nearest station is Yamagata. JR Yamagata Shinkansen. Highway and town buses connect to Ubasawa.
Ubasawa holds about 300 cars and the Shizu overflow car park about 100. Each asks a ¥1,000 daily contribution per car toward toilets, patrols and the shuttle.
Gassan opens in April as other ski areas close, on 10 April in 2026. The 2026 ski season ran to 14 June, and the town's tourism site says skiing lasts into July. A 1,000 m pair lift climbs to about 1,500 m, and a T-bar on the big slope runs on weekends and holidays.
The Large Slope is the reason to come. It's a huge open bowl that turns into moguls in its middle and lower parts as the season goes on. Hike about 15 minutes from the top of the lift to the summit above it, or traverse across to the middle of the slope. The Valley course is the groomed alternative, cut through natural terrain by snowcat.
Mt. Gassan is one of the Dewa Sanzan, three mountains of living Shugendo worship, and Gassan Shrine stands on its summit. Climbers reach it in about two and a half to three hours from the top of the lift. In April and May guides lead long ski tours from the summit area toward the villages below. Book a guide for that, since the Gassan local rules leave everything outside the lift area unmanaged.
In 2026 a day ticket cost ¥5,800. Parking at Ubasawa costs a ¥1,000 contribution per car per day, and a free shuttle runs from the Shizu overflow car park when Ubasawa fills.
Worth knowing
- Check the 2027 opening date on Gassan's site in March. The ski area opened on 10 April in 2026.
- The road from Shizu Onsen to Ubasawa closes from 19:00 to 7:00 while there's a risk of ice. Plan to be off the mountain by evening.
- The car park is a 15-minute walk from the lift. Until late in the season you can ski back down to it at the end of the day.
- Asian black bears live on Gassan. The visitor centre asks walkers to carry a bell or radio, which matters most once the trails melt out.
- Treat the summit and its shrine with the care any place of worship deserves, and keep to every trail closure.
Quick answers about Gassanよくある質問
How big is Gassan?
Gassan has 2 runs and 2 lifts over 269 m of vertical, from 1,231 m at the base to 1,500 m at the top.
Can you ride off-piste at Gassan?
Gassan's managed area covers only the slopes west of the lift, including Mt. Ubagatake. The Gassan local rules leave everything else, from the climbing trails to the backcountry lines, to the rider's own judgement, and they ask every party to file a mountain entry form.
How do you get to Gassan from Tokyo Station?
Gassan is about 20 minutes from Gassan IC on the Yamagata Expressway, or 40 minutes from Sagae IC by car from Tokyo Station. By bus: From Nishikawa, walk to the Nishikawa IC stop for the town bus to the Ubasawa car park. On Gassan's 2026 timetable the 7:23 bus from Yamagata Station reaches Ubasawa at 9:39.
When is the season at Gassan?
Gassan usually opens early April 2027; the date isn't set yet (the 2026 season opened on 10 April) and closes the 2026 ski season ran to 14 June, with single and return rides on the lift after that.
Within 35 km
Towns and neighbourhoods nearby町
Within 80 km
Ski resorts nearby山
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