How Do You Get to Zao Onsen from Tokyo?

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors travelling from Tokyo to Zao Onsen, the hot spring village on the Yamagata side of the Zao mountains. Zao Onsen is part of Yamagata City. The guide covers the Yamagata Shinkansen, the local bus from Yamagata Station, the airport option and a winter shuttle from Kaminoyama Onsen.

We used timetable pages from JR East, the bus operator Yamagata Kotsu, Yamagata Airport, Yamagata Prefecture's official tourism site and the Zao Onsen Tourism Association. All were read on 2026-10-04. Timetables change by season, so check the operator's page again before you travel.

The short answer: Shinkansen to Yamagata, then a bus

The usual route has two legs:

• Tokyo to Yamagata Station on the Yamagata Shinkansen, whose trains are called Tsubasa.
• Yamagata Station to Zao Onsen on the Yamagata Kotsu route bus bound for Zao Onsen.

Yamagata Kotsu says the bus takes about 40 minutes. The prefecture's tourism site gives the same time for the trip to the end of the line at Zao Onsen.

The train: Tsubasa from Tokyo

JR East's weekday timetable for Tokyo Station lists Yamagata Shinkansen departures from 06:12 to 20:44. Every train on that list runs to Yamagata or on to Shinjo, so all of them stop at Yamagata. Some are marked as running only on certain days.

Two examples from the October 2026 timetable:

• Tsubasa 121 leaves Tokyo at 06:12 and reaches Yamagata at 08:59.
• Tsubasa 129 leaves Tokyo at 09:00 and reaches Yamagata at 11:38.

So the ride is roughly two hours and forty to fifty minutes. Both trains also stop at Ueno, Omiya, Utsunomiya, Koriyama and Fukushima. From Fukushima they continue to Yamagata, with stops such as Yonezawa and Kaminoyama Onsen.

On the Tokyo list, many departures are shown as both Yamabiko and Tsubasa. The Yamabiko part goes to Sendai, while the Tsubasa part goes to Yamagata.

JR East lists both example trains as all-reserved. Between Fukushima and Yamagata, a special limited express ticket lets you use any free seat in an ordinary car. With that ticket you cannot reserve a seat.

The bus from Yamagata Station

Buses to Zao Onsen leave from bus stop No. 1 at Yamagata Station. Yamagata Kotsu's timetable on the day we checked showed these times:

• To Zao Onsen: 13 departures, from 06:50 to 18:55. The 06:50 bus arrives at 07:26, and the 18:55 bus arrives at 19:32.
• Back to Yamagata Station: from 07:00 to 19:50. The last bus reaches the station at 20:27.
• The 07:00 from Zao Onsen does not run on Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays or 29 December to 3 January.

The adult fare is 1,200 yen one way and the child fare is 600 yen. There is no return discount, and no reservation is needed.

Yamagata Kotsu asks riders to follow these steps:

1. Buy your ticket at the Yamagata Kotsu information centre at Yamagata Station. You can pay in cash or by card.
2. Queue at bus stop No. 1. It can be very busy, so the company suggests lining up 20 minutes early.
3. Put the ticket in the fare box when you get off. On some buses, tickets are collected before boarding.

Eating is not allowed on these buses, and neither is drinking alcohol. Smoking is banned.

The Zao Onsen Tourism Association's English access page still shows a fare of 1,000 yen and an older timetable. We used the bus company's own page for the figures above.

From the bus terminal to the ropeway

The bus ends at Zao Onsen Bus Terminal. If you are heading for the Zao Ropeway, the walk to its base station is about 10 minutes, according to Yamagata Kotsu. The prefecture's tourism site says about 15 minutes. Allow extra time on snowy days.

Flying to Yamagata Airport

Yamagata Airport is in Higashine City, not in Yamagata City itself. On the day we checked, its flight board listed two Japan Airlines arrivals from Tokyo Haneda, at 08:15 and 18:30.

From the airport there are two ways on:

• The airport shuttle to Yamagata Station. Its timetable for 29 March to 24 October is set around the flight times. For the 08:15 Haneda arrival, it leaves at 08:30 and reaches JR Yamagata Station at 09:08. From there, take the Zao Onsen bus.
• A shared taxi straight to Zao Onsen. The airport runs a sightseeing liner to Zao Onsen. It is a shared taxi and works by reservation only. The prefecture's tourism site gives the booking line as Tendo Taxi, 023-652-0757.

Winter only: the shuttle from Kaminoyama Onsen

Kaminoyama Onsen Station is a stop on the Yamagata Shinkansen, 10 minutes before Yamagata on Tsubasa 121. In winter, a reserved shuttle bus has run from there to Zao Onsen.

For the 2025-26 season, the prefecture's tourism site gave these details:

• It ran from 10 January to 8 March 2026.
• There were two round trips a day between Kaminoyama Onsen and Zao Onsen.
• The one-way fare was 2,000 yen.
• Booking was required, and same-day bookings closed at 07:30.

We did not find dates for the coming winter. Check before you plan around it.

By car

The prefecture's tourism site puts Zao Onsen about 35 minutes by car from Yamagata-Zao Interchange on the Yamagata Expressway. We did not find an official page on winter tyre rules for this road.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• Shinkansen fares and seat charges from Tokyo. JR East's fare pages blocked automated reading, so we give no train prices.
• The current fare for the airport shared taxi. The fare table on the airport's page is an image, and its text was not readable.
• Buses from Sendai Station or Sendai Airport. The only page we found was the tourism association's English page, which shows an older timetable.
• Whether the bus terminal or the ropeway base has luggage storage.
• Winter driving rules, such as chain or winter tyre requirements, on the roads to Zao Onsen.

Related guides

• What are Zao's snow monsters, and when can you see them?
• How do you stay safe in Zao? Volcano, snow, bears and 110/119

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. 時刻表 東京駅 山形新幹線 (JR East) — (weekday Tokyo departures 06:12 to 20:44; Yamagata or Shinjo; Yamabiko and Tsubasa; certain-day marks)
2. 時刻表 停車駅一覧 つばさ121号 (JR East) — (Tokyo 06:12, Yamagata 08:59; stops; Kaminoyama Onsen 08:49; all-reserved; Fukushima to Yamagata free seat rule)
3. 時刻表 停車駅一覧 つばさ129号 (JR East) — (Tokyo 09:00, Yamagata 11:38; all-reserved)
4. Yamagata - Zao Line (No reservation required) (Yamagata Kotsu) — (bus stop No. 1; timetable; 07:00 exception; fares; ticket, queue and fare box steps; rules on board)
5. zao (Yamagata Kotsu) — (about 40 minutes to Zao Onsen; about 10 minutes on foot to the ropeway)
6. Zao Onsen / Zao Hot Springs (STAY YAMAGATA, Yamagata Prefecture official tourism site) — (40 minutes by bus to the final stop; 35 minutes by car from Yamagata-Zao IC)
7. 蔵王の樹氷 (やまがたへの旅, Yamagata Prefecture official tourism site) — (about 15 minutes on foot from the bus terminal to the ropeway)
8. Access (Zao Onsen Tourism Association) — (older fare of 1,000 yen and older timetable shown)
9. 現在の発着状況 (Yamagata Airport) — (Haneda arrivals at 08:15 and 18:30 on the day checked; airport address)
10. 空港シャトル(山形市内) (Yamagata Airport) — (shuttle timetable 29 March to 24 October; 08:30 departure, JR Yamagata Station 09:08)
11. おいしい山形空港から『蔵王温泉』直通アクセス運行中 (Yamagata Airport) — (shared taxi to Zao Onsen; reservation only)
12. おいしい山形空港観光ライナー（蔵王温泉行き） (やまがたへの旅, Yamagata Prefecture official tourism site) — (shared taxi booking line, Tendo Taxi)
13. 蔵王シャトルバス (やまがたへの旅, Yamagata Prefecture official tourism site) — (Kaminoyama Onsen shuttle: dates, round trips, fare, booking deadline)