Kuriyama Town Ski Area Closed
Official name 栗山町スキー場
Hokkaido
Open 1971–2019
Kuriyama Town Ski Area was a small, family-oriented municipal hill in the Sakuragaoka district of Kuriyama, central Hokkaido. Opened in 1971 with a single lift, it served local school ski lessons and the town ski club's classes for decades. An inspection in 2018 found serious decay in the lift's foundations and towers, so the 2018-19 season was cancelled. Rebuilding the lift and lodge would have cost about 300 million yen and fewer children were expected, so the town assembly voted in September 2019 to abolish the hill after 48 years. The entrance was closed and the lift and lodge were slated for demolition.
History of Kuriyama Town Ski Area
- Opened
- 1971
- Closed
- 2019
- Operators
- Kuriyama Town (town-run, 1971-2019)
- Why it closed
- The 2018-19 season was suspended because the lift foundations and towers had badly deteriorated. Rebuilding the lift and lodge would have cost about 300 million yen, nearby ski areas were available, and the falling birth rate was expected to reduce users, so the town assembly passed an ordinance abolishing the ski area in September 2019.
- The site today
- The entrance was closed, and the lift and lodge were to be demolished from fiscal 2020 onward (as of October 2019).