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Wonder Valley Sado

An island ski area in the middle of Sado, worked by four hanger rope tows, which closed in 2017 as the island population shrank and the rival municipal hill got a tax-funded new chairlift.

Region
Niigata Prefecture
Country
Japan
Status
closed
Year opened
1987
Year closed
2017
Reason for closure
A falling population on Sado Island and declining visitor numbers, made worse by competition from the city-run Daira ski area, which received tax-funded investment in a brand new pair lift for the 2017-18 season.

History

Wonder Valley Sado (ワンダーバレーさどスキー場) was one of the very few island ski areas in Japan, sitting about 4 km off Route 350 in the middle of Sado Island, part of Sado City in Niigata Prefecture. It opened in 1987 and was a modest affair: five simple installations, four hanger-style rope tows and a sledding lift, over four courses with a longest run of about 500 m and roughly 120 m of vertical between a 140 m base and a 260 m top. Out of season the ground doubled as a golf practice area and for horseback riding. Two things ended it in 2017 - the long decline in Sado population and visitor numbers, and the fact that the competing city-operated Daira ski area was given tax-funded investment in a brand new pair lift for the 2017-18 season, which a privately run hill could not answer. The steepest pitch and the post-closure condition of the site are not recorded. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources; the coordinates mark Sado City and should be treated as approximate.

Lifts

NameTypeManufacturerNotes
Unnamed liftSurface liftOne of four hanger-style rope tows serving the area
Unnamed liftSurface liftOne of four hanger-style rope tows
Unnamed liftSurface liftOne of four hanger-style rope tows
Unnamed liftSurface liftOne of four hanger-style rope tows
Unnamed liftSurface liftA sledding lift, the fifth of the five installations

Sources and further reading

More in Japan

Location

38.0183, 138.3684