Akasawa
A three-lift village area in Minakami with two single chairs and a rope tow, closed on 10 March 2024 after 44 seasons; its base building may become part of a UNESCO eco park.
- Region
- Gunma Prefecture
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- 1980
- Year closed
- 2024
- Reason for closure
- Ageing facilities, falling visitor numbers and declining snowfall. The area shut permanently after the 2023-24 season, closing on 10 March 2024.
History
Akasawa (赤沢スキー場) opened in 1980 in Minakami Town in northern Gunma, close to the boundary with Yuzawa in Niigata. It was a small local hill running two single chairlifts of 545 m and 260 m plus a rope tow, over three courses from an 800 m base to a 1,050 m top - 250 m of vertical, a longest run of 1,000 m and a steepest pitch of 35 degrees, with terrain half beginner. Single chairlifts of this kind were once standard across Japan and are now increasingly rare, which makes the survival of these two worth noting. Ageing equipment, falling visitor numbers and declining snowfall ended it after 44 seasons and the area closed on 10 March 2024. The lift infrastructure remains in place and the base building may be repurposed as part of the Minakami UNESCO Eco Park, though nothing has been decided for the lifts. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources; the coordinates mark the Akasawa district of Minakami.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 545 m | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 260 m | |
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | A rope tow, the third of the three lifts |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
36.8219, 138.9896