Aizubange Choei Ski Area Closed
Official name 会津坂下町営スキー場
Fukushima · 220–340 m
Open 1976–2006
Aizubange Choei Ski Area was a small local hill on an east-facing slope at the western edge of the Aizu basin, close to the Aizubange interchange of the Ban-etsu Expressway. It opened in 1976 and offered five runs from about 220 m to 340 m, served by two single chairlifts and two rope tows, with night skiing at weekends and views over the basin to Mount Bandai. Visitor numbers peaked around 1990 and by 2005 had fallen to about a fifth of that level; with less snow as well, the town ended public operation in 2006. The rope tows were kept running for school use for a while, and the two single chairlifts still stand on the old slope.
History of Aizubange Choei Ski Area
- Opened
- 1976
- Closed
- 2006
- Operators
- Aizubange Town (town-run)
- Why it closed
- Falling visitor numbers (a local newspaper reported 2005 skier numbers at about a fifth of the peak around 1990) and decreasing snowfall.
- The site today
- Public skiing ended; the rope tows were kept for educational use for a time. The two single chairlifts remain in place.