It started with a photo I saw on Tik Tok with yearning music. It was scene of an old village set in snow with romantic electric lights illuminating flurries of snow. I stared at the image, thinking it looked magical. I wondered where this dreamy snow world was, and why it looked so beautiful.

IS GINZAN ONSEN WORTH VISITING?

In a word 'yes' with the caveat that it is prettier at night and you can only visit at night if you are staying in one of the local ryokans.

BOOKING A RYOKAN

Booking a stay in Ginzan Onsen isn’t easy. 

Most popular ryokans in regional Japan work on a 180-day rolling calendar. Some let Japanese speakers book by phone, which can bypass the online release schedule. I hired someone to make those calls for me, and eventually we found a hotel with availability. 

It was decided we would concentrate on gettng a room at Kosekiya Annexe.

Kosekiya releases one-night stays every 180 days. If you want more than one night, you go on a waitlist. As extra nights are released, they contact people on the list. We tried six times and managed to book one night—in the middle of February.

GINZAN ONSEN TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

It is worth noting that Ginzan Onsen has become so popular that the Yamagata Prefecture  implemented a series of visit restrictions this winter( 2025) to tackle the growing issues of over tourism. These measures included limiting the number of visitors to 100 per hour during regulated hours (5 pm to 8 pm), prohibiting private vehicles from entering (8 pm to 9 am), and requesting tourists to use a park-and-ride system with shuttle buses to access the hot spring area during specific times.

There were so many tourists when we arrived and it seemed like more and more buses arrived. If you were claustrophobic, I would avoid this scene. The pathways are narrow and icy. People were falling over.

GINZAN ONSEN AFTER HOURS

After all the tourists and buses left, a calm settled over the village. The lights came on and, as if on cue, it began to snow—light, perfect snow. Paired with the old buildings and glowing lamps, it felt like a fairytale had come to life.

It felt like a party. Everyone was in a good mood, chatting to strangers, smiling and taking photos for each other.

We also got up at 5.30am to see the sun rise. It was very peaceful and pretty but to be honest the best photos were at night, as the lighting from the old gas lights plus the snow is astonishingly pretty. Everything seemed to be glowing.

GINZAN-SO ONSEN

Ryokan Kosekiya gave us access to another hotel: Ginzan-so which was much fancier.

The onsen in Ginzan-so is amazing. There is an indoor bath, then there is a large outdoor balcony bath. Below that is another balcony which is at tree line. Imagine standing facing snow covered pine trees. Beyond that was a snowy valley with a little river winding through it. It looked like you were bathing in the most splendid snowy painting.

HOW TO DO I GET TO GINZAN ONSEN FROM JAPAN

Take the Yamagata Shinkansen from Tokyo or Omiya to Oishida Station via Sendai.

We went from Omiya to Sendai, then changed to a local train. The trip is scenic and easy, but don’t expect English signage everywhere once you’re off the shinkansen.

From Oishida Station our resort said they would send a shuttle bus to get us but as were waiting I saw a bus and I instinctively knew it was going to Ginzan Onsen, so we hopped on that. People are so nice in Japan no one rolled their eyes, even though we had all of our luggage blocking up the ailse.

The local bus dropped us off 400 metres from our ryokan and we had to walk down an old road covered in snow; if you aren't fit I recommend letting your ryokan pick you up

CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

It was hard to get to Ginzan Onsen, especially for just one night. But one night was enough unless you were staying at Ginzan-so.

It felt like a bucket list trip for Japanese visitors too. Some had full media rigs—tripods, lighting, coordinated outfits. Everyone chasing their perfect shot.

Even at the onsen, there was a kind of unspoken competition. Viewing positions at tree line were sought after. We can't speak Japanese fluently but there was clearly some territory marking going on. We ended up standing behind the group who were hogging the views. That shifted the dynamic. They instantly moved. A power move for sure but worth it. The view was sublime.

A once in a lifetime experience to be bathing with snow covered trees in your immediate line of vision.