Atago Ski Area Closed
Official name 愛宕山スキー場
Kyoto
Open 1929–1944
Atago Ski Area lay near the top of Mt. Atago (924 m) in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, north-west of Atago Shrine. In 1929 the Atagoyama Railway opened a line from Arashiyama to Kiyotaki and a long funicular up the mountain, and the ski slope opened at the top around the same time. Together with a hotel, an amusement park and a tent village it formed a mountain-top resort, and in its day it was one of the busiest ski areas in the Kansai region, also used for ski competitions. There were no lifts; skiers walked from the funicular's Atago Station to the slope. During the Pacific War the railway was judged non-essential and its rails were surrendered in 1944, and the ski area closed with the other resort facilities. An information board marking the old ski course and a stone pedestal remain beside the hiking trail.
History of Atago Ski Area
- Opened
- 1929
- Closed
- 1944
- Operators
- Atagoyama Railway (jointly funded by Keihan Electric Railway and Kyoto Dento, 1929-1944)
- Why it closed
- The Atagoyama Railway was designated a non-essential line in wartime; its rails were removed and surrendered in 1944, and the ski area and other resort facilities on the mountain closed with it. The company was dissolved in 1959 without reopening.
- The site today
- Forested mountainside on the Atago hiking trail; an information board on the 'old Atago ski course ruins', a stone pedestal and traces of the funicular remain.