Urasa Ski Area Closed
Official name 浦佐スキー場
Niigata
Open 1958–2011
Urasa Ski Area stood on the hill about a kilometre from Urasa Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen in Minamiuonuma. It opened in 1958, and its ski school, started in 1960, became famous across Japan as a training ground where skiers came to polish technique and take badge tests. At its peak it had five lifts, eight runs and night skiing. A slope collapse in 1966 crushed the base lodge, and a memorial statue stands on the hill. Falling visitor numbers, thinner snow and rising costs ended operations in 2011. The lifts are gone, but floodlights and the summit building remain.
History of Urasa Ski Area
- Opened
- 1958
- Closed
- 2011
- Operators
- Urasa Ski Kanko (ceased operations in 2011 due to bankruptcy)
- Why it closed
- Operations ended after the 2010-11 season due to fewer visitors, lack of snow and rising operating costs (Japanese Wikipedia says the operating company went bankrupt)
- The site today
- Lifts removed; floodlight poles, the summit building and the lift centre building remain