Ohara
A two-lift Niigata area near the Fukushima border that struggled for years to keep opening and finally did not appear for the 2019-20 winter; both lifts are still standing.
- Region
- Niigata Prefecture
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1972
- Year closed
- 2019
- Reason for closure
- After a number of years struggling to stay open for various reasons, the area did not open for the 2019-20 season, its last operating winter having been 2018-19.
History
Ohara (大原スキー場) opened in 1972 in what was then Irihirose Village, now part of Uonuma City in Niigata Prefecture, near the boundary with Fukushima. Two pair lifts of 760 m and 569 m served five courses from a 390 m base to a 645 m top - 255 m of vertical, a longest run of 1,700 m and a steepest pitch of 30 degrees, with terrain weighted towards intermediates. It spent a number of years struggling to open at all before failing to appear for the 2019-20 winter, its last operating season having been 2018-19. Both lifts remained physically in place as of 2020 and there is no information about any prospect of reopening. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources; the coordinates mark the former Irihirose area of Uonuma and should be treated as approximate.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 760 m; still in place as of 2020 | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 569 m; still in place as of 2020 |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
37.3525, 138.9866