Wonder Valley Sado Ski Area Closed

Wonder Valley Sado was a small, privately run ski hill in the middle of Sado Island, in former Kanai town, now part of Sado City. Its owner opened it in 1987 with money from 15 friends, building the lodge and grooming the slopes himself. Four rope tows and a sledding tow served about 120 m of vertical, and floodlit night skiing made it popular with locals; outside winter the land was used as a golf practice range and for horse riding. Visitor numbers, never more than about 2,000 a season, fell as the island's population shrank, and when the city-run Daira ski area nearby gained a new pair lift and lodge, the owner closed it in 2017.