Yokote Koen
The oldest ski area in this dataset, running in a city park below Yokote Castle from 1929, wrecked by two landslides in the summer of 2017 and formally abandoned in 2020 when the repair bill was totted up.
- Region
- Akita Prefecture
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- 1929
- Year closed
- 2017
- Reason for closure
- Record rainfall in the summer of 2017 triggered two landslides that caused significant damage. Permanent closure was announced in 2020 when repairs were costed at around 87 million yen, potentially reaching 200 million yen if the lifts were upgraded.
History
Yokote Koen (横手公園スキー場) opened in 1929, which makes it the oldest ski area recorded anywhere in this dataset - two years older than Oana in Gunma. It sat inside Yokote Park in Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, about 3 km from the railway station and in the grounds that also hold Yokote Castle, an urban ski hill in the truest sense with floodlights for night skiing. It was small: three courses, a longest run of 650 m, a steepest pitch of 30 degrees and only 65 m of vertical between a 100 m base and a 165 m top, served by a 491 m single chair and a short rope tow. It was renovated in 1981. What killed it was not snow or economics but the ground itself - record rainfall in the summer of 2017 set off two landslides that did significant damage, and after three years of assessment the city announced permanent closure in 2020, with repairs costed at about 87 million yen and up to 200 million yen if the lifts were to be renewed as well. Both lifts have been removed and the land remains part of Yokote Park. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 491 m; removed after closure | |
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | A rope tow of roughly 100 m; removed after closure |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
39.3263, 140.5720