Iizuna Kogen Ski Area Closed
Official name 飯綱高原スキー場 · Formerly 入坂スキー場
Nagano
Open 1965–2020
Iizuna Kogen Ski Area was Nagano City's own ski hill on the south-eastern flank of Mount Iizuna, about half an hour's drive from the city centre. Opened in 1965, it spread across 1,080 to 1,480 m with runs for every level, and it hosted the moguls and aerials events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Shrinking snowfall cut the number of skiable days, the city was covering heavy annual losses, and an offer to hand it to a private operator for free drew no bids, so it closed on 16 February 2020. Volunteers now run a winter sledding area, Zunatchi Hiroba, on the lower slopes, and the city plans football training pitches on the old car parks.
History of Iizuna Kogen Ski Area
- Opened
- 1965
- Closed
- 2020
- Formerly
- 入坂スキー場 (earlier slope, moved to this site in 1965)
- Operators
- Nagano City (municipal, 1965-2020), Nagano City Development Corporation (management contractor, 1970-)
- Why it closed
- Less snow and fewer operating days, chronic losses covered by the city (about ¥100 million a year), competition from nearby areas; no bidder for a free transfer to a private operator by December 2019.
- The site today
- Volunteer-run winter sledding area Iizuna Kogen Zunatchi Hiroba on the lower slopes (since December 2020; hosted a junior wooden-sled championship in February 2026); Nagano City plans football training pitches on the former 2nd and 3rd car parks, to be completed around autumn 2027.