Ibi Kogen
A three-sector Gifu area open since 1963 that managed zero operating days in 2017 and three in 2018 before shutting for good; the base is now a campsite and lifts still stand in two sectors.
- Region
- Gifu Prefecture
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1963
- Year closed
- 2018
- Reason for closure
- A long struggle with declining snowfall. The Kaitsuki and Sakauchi sectors had already closed in 2009; the area recorded no operating days at all in 2017 and only three in 2018, and permanent closure followed in 2019.
History
Ibi Kogen (揖斐高原スキー場) opened in 1963 in Ibigawa Town in south-western Gifu Prefecture, and unusually for an area of its size it was spread across three connected sectors - Hisaka, Kaitsuki and Sakauchi - with eight courses between them, a longest run of 1,500 m and a steepest pitch of 30 degrees. The recorded base and top elevations of 700 m and 750 m give only 50 m of vertical, which must refer to a single sector rather than the whole area, and no fuller figure survives. Kaitsuki and Sakauchi closed in 2009. What remained then ran out of winter: no operating days at all in 2017, three days in 2018, and permanent closure in 2019. The lift count is uncertain - at least six are confirmed, four pair lifts and two singles, while a 1989 guide describes seven including sledge-type and star lifts - so the entries here are recorded as unnamed types rather than pinned to specific machines. The base area now runs as the Ibi Kogen Kaitsuki Resort campsite, and ski lifts still stand in the Hisaka and Kaitsuki sectors. The coordinates mark Ibigawa Town.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | One of at least four pair lifts recorded across the three connected sectors; lifts remain in place at the Hisaka and Kaitsuki areas | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | One of at least four pair lifts across the three sectors | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | One of at least four pair lifts across the three sectors | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | One of at least four pair lifts across the three sectors | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | One of two single lifts recorded | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | The second of the two single lifts |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
35.4873, 136.5686