From Sendai: Ginzan Onsen& Zao Frost-Covered Trees& Fox Village Tour

Our tour guide, Ashley, was very friendly and provided detailed explanations! We were able to use the fast pass lane for the cable car, avoiding the long queues to go up the mountain! The guide mentioned that the snow had started melting two days prior, leaving only branches. Luckily, the day before our trip, strong winds blew the snow back, so the weather was perfect! ❄️🌲 We were so fortunate to see beautiful ice-covered trees ❄️ even though it was very windy and cold at the summit. The sun even came out as we were leaving! We were truly lucky! It's definitely worth seeing!

Many thanks to our tour guide, Ashley, for meticulously planning our perfect itinerary today. In the morning, we ascended Mount Zao and witnessed the stunning "snow monsters" (Juhyo), an absolutely breathtaking sight! In the afternoon, we visited Yamadera Temple, where we had ample time to hike and experience the serene tranquility of the mountain temple, as well as admire the panoramic beauty of the surrounding mountains. It was a truly perfect day! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Overall the tour was great and the guide was lovely. It was a shame the visibility wasn’t fantastic so I could barely see the snow monsters, but you can’t control the weather. One thing that I’d suggest changing is spending a little bit more time at Risshaku-ji Temple. We only had about 45 minutes which isn’t enough time to go to the top and actually enjoy the views. I ended up running down the mountain to make it back to the bus in time. I also went on the Ginzan Onsen tour on a different day which was magical!

Joining a tour group eliminates transportation inconveniences, and the stay at Ginzan Onsen is a suitable length. There are also 2 hours there. Due to heavy snow, the tour guide constantly reminded us to be careful of slippery roads when entering Ginzan Onsen.

(26.02.26) I bought a one-day trip package at the meeting point. The tour company didn't have a sign showing the meeting location. Luckily, I walked over and asked the guide who was at the front of the bus. I'm deducting 1 point for that. But overall, I was impressed. The shuttle was on time, all the tour participants arrived early, the bus was clean, and the guide explained the places and the meeting point clearly.

Although we couldn't go to the Fox Village, at least we were able to thoroughly explore the Zao snow monsters. There was plenty of time, and we experienced a different kind of snowy landscape that was very beautiful.

Finally made it to the long-admired Ginzan Onsen ♨️! The tour leader is a girl from Hong Kong, working hard in Japan! The service is very thoughtful! It's a shame Ginzan Onsen didn't have snow, a minor imperfection!

The tour guide said he had just been assigned to this group, so he didn't know anything. He didn't introduce any attractions throughout the day, basically just communicated with the driver, took us to the destination, and asked us to return to the bus within the specified time. The arrangements for the day were very chaotic. Why would Klook arrange for an inexperienced tour guide to lead us? The experience was very poor. Fortunately, we had enough time to visit both the Great Kannon and Ginzan Onsen - because the tour guide didn't know that we needed to queue in advance for the shuttle bus, he gave us a lot of time to explore Ginzan Onsen, so we were able to see the lights at 4:30 pm, which were very beautiful. Of course, the result was a delayed itinerary, and he was scolded by the driver (we knew he was scolded by the driver because we booked Klook's day tour for two consecutive days. The first day was the Great Kannon + Ginzan Onsen, and the second day was the Zao Ropeway. After Ginzan Onsen on the first day, we were joking about whether we would meet the same tour guide again the next day, and sure enough, it was the same tour guide + driver combination on the second day. The driver was very impatient on the second day and had very strict control over the itinerary time, which resulted in our itinerary time being shortened on the second day, and the end time of the itinerary was even one or two hours earlier than planned).

Even though there was a blizzard that day, the tour guide also reminded us to be careful of tree branches and potential hazards.

Tour guide Li was very kind and polite, and shared his life in Japan. Although we couldn't reach the fox village due to the weather, we saw very beautiful snow scenery.