Anyone on here know which might have been the first ski resorts to open in Hokkaido.

Getting conflicting responses from Japanese friends here!

Thanks

Good question that - don't really know the answer. Certainly a fair few old lifts hanging around in Hokkaidough. I bet a few of them have changed a bit the last 5-10 years.

Sapporo area I think. Not sure which resort.

Some Austrian came over in about 1912 and started it all, by all accounts.

Was it the same Austrian guy you hear about who went and did the same at Nozawa (and others*, perhaps) or a different one?

That's a very good question... I'll have to do some research.

Asked around yesterday. So far the consensus that it was somewhere near Asahikawa.

He will surely have skied down there in a fine suit though, as you do.

Probably a dandy woolen suit! Probably also rather tight by today's standards too...

I would hope for a Tyrolean hat too, but that might be asking or too much!

Still trying to find out more. From what I can gather, the military had a ski training/arctic warfare training camp in Asahikawa before the war. Not sure yet where the first resort was.

Would it also be the oldest in Japan?

I'm guessing not. I would think the first commercial ski field would have been on Honshuu somewhere. Granted there's a lot of snow up North, but I don't think anyone thought of it in the recreational sense - it was a more adversarial relationship!

From Wikipedia and some slow research,
First ski resort in Japan was Goshiki Onsen in Yamagata 1911, it didn't have a ski lift. The first ski lift was on the Moiwayama 1946, but it was just for occupation forces. Shiga Kogen also set up ski lift for them next year. The first resort set up civilian use ski lift was Kusatsu in 1948.



I'm trying to find out the oldest ski resort in Hokkaido... Ofcourse there were some skiers in the mountains already..., and Moiwayama got the ski lift for occupation forces, but Otaru Tenguyama 1952 was the oldest civilian use ski lift in Hokkaido, so we can say Otaru Tenguyama is the oldest ski resort in Hokkaido??


I also found very interesting picture of first ski jump competition in Japan.
It was in Tokyo 1938 -Korakuen, now Tokyo Dome. They brought snow from Ishiuchi on the overnight train, what a hard work!

Interesting wow that last pic! Bringing snow on the train!

That is wild. I bet there was no shinkansen then as well!

That back-to-back chairlift looks like it would be... challenging!

especially on a board!!!

nah, boarders had not devolved then.

Perhaps the back to back lift turns to let the gentleman on the back off after the first gentleman skiier has descended from the 'infernal contraption'

Curse those newfangled mechanical abominations!

I still picture the "backwards" gent getting off then heading down the slope backwards with his arms madly fanning the air! ...probably shouting something colorful too.

Tally ho dear chap, or something similar.

Great pics, very interesting.