Shirakawago Hirase Onsen Shirayumi Ski Area Closed

Shirakawago Hirase Onsen Shirayumi was a village-run ski area on a hillside above the Sho River near Hirase hot spring, south of the World Heritage village of Shirakawa-go in Gifu. It opened in 1964 and drew around 20,000 skiers a season during the 1990s boom, but numbers later fell to the low thousands a year. Citing financial difficulty and the upkeep of its facilities, the village closed it at the end of March 2021 after the 2020-21 season, ending 56 years of operation. The village looked for another operator to take it over, but it has not reopened.