The impressive snow wall on the 11km road to Gassan’s ski area.
© @iam_saki912The impressive snow wall on the 11km road to Gassan’s ski area.
While most ski resorts across the Northern Hemisphere are winding down operations, Gassan, Japan, has just started its season last month. Tsukiyama Ski Area at Mount Gassan opened for its 2025 ski season on Friday, April 11, offering one of the world's rare opportunities to ski in summer. Located in the town of Nishikawa in central Yamagata Prefecture on Japan's main island of Honshu, the resort lies about six hours north of Tokyo and attracts skiers well after most resorts have closed. The access road to the resort is covered in too much snow during the winter months and only gets cleared in April. The road alone is a popular sightseeing destination, as the impressive snow walls tower higher than busses.

Unusually deep snowfall during Japan's 2024 - 25 winter means that this year is no exception and not only is the pass road lined by towering masses of snow, but more importantly the resort kicked off the season with an incredible snow depth of 950 centimeters (374 inches). The resort is known for accumulating massive snowpack in winter, which delays its ski season until the spring thaw makes access and lift operations possible, but this year's snow depth is well above average for this time of year. It also marks the highest snow depth anywhere in the world right now. The snow depth has reduced in the last three weeks since the opening weekend but is still measuring an impressive 890 centimeters (350 inches) as of May 3.


Operated by the Tsukiyama Lift Company, the resort is expected to run lifts from April 11 through July 5, depending on snow conditions. This seasonal window aligns with past years, including the 2024 season, which began on April 12 and concluded on July 5 for t-bar lifts.

The ski area is set on the southern slopes of Mount Ubagatake, southwest of Mount Gassan's main peak, and reaches an elevation of 6,509 feet (1,984 meters), making it Japan's third-highest mountain. Infrastructure includes one 1-kilometer (0.62-mile long) double chairlift and two t-bar surface lifts, whose locations may shift depending on snow conditions.

The skiable area spans approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) and features four beginner runs and two advanced runs. Unlike many Japanese resorts, Tsukiyama's terrain is open and largely treeless, making it a haven for backcountry skiers and ski tourers. Its appeal grows even more in late spring and early summer, when most other Japanese ski areas have closed for the season.