Houshou Ski Area Closed
Official name 宝生スキー場
Niigata
Open 1963–1976
Houshou Ski Area was a ski area on the Otokoro River at the southern tip of Itoigawa, Niigata, close to the border with Otari, Nagano. A local company, Hosho Kanko Shisetsu, built it near Hiraiwa Station on the JR Oito Line to bring more visitors to Himekawa Onsen, which had opened in 1958, and its completion ceremony was held in December 1963. Two single chairlifts served about 230 m of vertical, with pitches up to 40 degrees. It was abolished in March 1976. The lifts are gone, a check dam now covers part of the site, and only some lift foundations remain in the regrown forest.
History of Houshou Ski Area
- Opened
- 1963
- Closed
- 1976
- Operators
- Houshou Kanko Shisetsu (founded August 14, 1963)
- The site today
- Lifts removed, some concrete lift foundations remain beside the Otokoro River along Prefecture Road 505; a check dam built after closure covers part of the site, the rest is overgrown.