Shirakawago Hirase Onsen Shirayumi
A hot-spring ski area a few kilometres from the Shirakawa-go World Heritage site, open from 1969 and closed after the 2020-21 winter; its one surviving pair lift still stands.
- Region
- Gifu Prefecture
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1969
- Year closed
- 2021
- Reason for closure
- Ageing facilities and falling visitor numbers. The area opened for the last time during the 2020-21 winter.
History
The Shirayumi ski area (白川郷平瀬温泉白弓スキー場) sat at Hirase Onsen in Shirakawa Village, Gifu Prefecture, roughly 11 km south of the Shirakawa-go gassho-zukuri farmhouses inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site - skiing within sight of one of the best known cultural landscapes in Japan. It opened in 1969 with three lifts, a 520 m pair and single chairs of 600 and 550 m, and ended its life with a single 790 m pair lift fitted with a mid-station. Three courses ran from a 660 m base to a 930 m top, 270 m of vertical with a longest run of 1,000 m and a steepest pitch of 38 degrees, which is sharp for an area this size. Ageing equipment and declining visitor numbers closed it after the 2020-21 winter. The pair lift was still standing when the site was photographed in June 2023. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources; the coordinates mark Hirase Onsen.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 790 m with a mid-station; the only lift in the final configuration, still in place as of June 2023 | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 520 m; part of the original three-lift fleet | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 600 m; part of the original three-lift fleet | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 550 m; part of the original three-lift fleet |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
36.1755, 136.9030