Kamihiruzen Ski Area Closed
Official name 上蒜山スキー場
Okayama
Open 1964–2016
Kamihiruzen Ski Area was a small hill on the south-west foot of Mt. Kamihiruzen on the Hiruzen Plateau in Maniwa, Okayama. Run by the Kyukamura Hiruzen Kogen holiday village, it lay a few minutes from Hiruzen IC on the Yonago Expressway and had a single pair lift over gentle slopes of up to 18 degrees, popular with beginners and families. The lift was extended and replaced in 1996 for about 100 million yen, and there was a ski school, rentals and a snowshoe nature trail. In summer the slope served as grazing land for the neighbouring Yurihara ranch; its smooth ground could open on little snow, but many winters still lacked it. The area closed in 2016 because its facilities had aged; the lift and rest house were removed, and the site is now pasture and a car park for Kamihiruzen hikers.
History of Kamihiruzen Ski Area
- Opened
- 1964
- Closed
- 2016
- Operators
- Kyukamura Hiruzen Kogen (Kyukamura Association)
- Why it closed
- Closed in 2016 mainly because the facilities had aged; the area had also suffered repeated snow shortages (only 18 operating days in 2006, and the last 2015-16 season could not open until 20 January 2016).
- The site today
- Lift and rest house removed and nothing remains; the slope is grazing land of the Yurihara ranch and the car park serves hikers climbing Mt. Kamihiruzen. Kyukamura then opened a kids' snow park (now Hiruzen Kids Snow Park) in front of its hotel.