Onishika
A single 300-metre rope tow on a coastal rise in northern Hokkaido, barely 45 metres of vertical and absent from the official ski guides, which gave up after the 2021-22 season because the equipment had worn out.
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- closed
- Year closed
- 2022
- Reason for closure
- Ageing facilities. The 2021-22 season was announced as the last and the area closed permanently.
History
Onishika (鬼鹿スキー場) was about as small and obscure as a lift-served ski area can be: a single rope tow of roughly 300 m serving one course of about the same length, on a rise around 2 km inland from the Sea of Japan coast in the Onishika neighbourhood of Obira Town, northern Hokkaido, beside Prefecture Road 853. The base sat at around 25 m above sea level and the top at about 70 m, giving some 45 m of vertical - and yet it had floodlighting for night skiing, and an adult lift ticket in its later seasons cost 500 yen. It was so minor that it does not appear in the official Hokkaido ski guides and publications at all, which is precisely why it is worth recording here. The town announced that the 2021-22 season would be its last, citing ageing facilities, and the infrastructure is still visible in satellite imagery. Its opening year, the steepest pitch and any course name are unrecorded; the coordinates mark the Onishika district of Obira rather than the tow itself.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | A rope tow of roughly 300 m, the only lift on the hill |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
44.1049, 141.6859