Hanase Ski Area Closed

Hanase was a small ski area in the mountains of northern Sakyo Ward, within Kyoto City. Opened in 1929, it was one of Japan's early ski grounds and the nearest snow for people from central Kyoto; at its peak several thousand skiers came on a single day and queued for the lift. The slopes lay low, at roughly 630 to 720 m, and once snowfall became unreliable the area closed. The former slope is now fenced against deer and used by the city and local groups to regrow chimaki-zasa bamboo grass for the Gion Festival.