At the beginning of the 20th century, people living in the mountainous regions along the Japan Sea coast were already using primitive skis to get around. Long wooden skis and bamboo poles helped them travel through areas where accumulated snowfall of five, six, or more metres was not uncommon.
These early skis were a practical necessity rather than a recreational tool. In some areas, snowfall was so deep that people could only enter and leave their homes through upper-floor windows during the winter months.
1911
The origins of skiing as a leisure activity in Japan are not entirely clear, and historical accounts sometimes differ. However, the year 1911 appears to have been particularly significant, as did the influence of several Austrian visitors.
In 1911, Major Theodor von Lerch, who was assigned to the Takada Infantry Regiment in Takada (now part of Joetsu City) in Niigata Prefecture, played an important role in the development of skiing in Japan. Known in Japan as 'Reruhi', he remains a central figure in Takada's claim to be the birthplace of skiing in Japan. It was also in Takada that some of the first ski-related equipment manufactured in Japan was produced.
Also in 1911, Egon Edler von Kratzer visited and skied at Goshiki Ski Area in Yamagata Prefecture, which is generally recognised as the first officially operated privately owned ski area in Japan. Goshiki remained open until the late 1990s. More information can be found on the SnowJapanHistory website here.
Seventeen years later, Japan sent six Nordic skiers to compete at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St Moritz, Switzerland.
The idea that skiing could become both a leisure activity and a commercial enterprise was further promoted by Hannes Schneider. A pioneer of the Arlberg skiing technique and a well-known instructor in Europe, Schneider was invited to Japan in the 1930s to teach skiing. He worked at various locations around the country, and his influence can still be seen today. One example is the Schneider Course at Nozawa Onsen.
The 1940 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, were originally scheduled to be held in Sapporo, Hokkaido. However, the Japanese organisers withdrew in July 1938 because of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The Games were subsequently reassigned to St Moritz in Switzerland, but they too were later cancelled. As a result, the 1940 Winter Olympics never took place.
The Second World War interrupted the growth of skiing in Japan. Following the war, however, the sport gradually regained momentum, and increasing numbers of people from urban areas, particularly Tokyo, began travelling to ski areas in the mountains of Honshu.
In 1956, Chiharu 'Chick' Igaya became the first Japanese athlete to win a Winter Olympic medal when he finished second in the slalom at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
After missing the opportunity to host the Winter Olympics in 1940, Sapporo eventually welcomed the Games in 1972. Events were held at what is now known as Sapporo Teine as well as on a temporary ski area constructed on Mt Eniwa specifically for the Olympics. The venue was dismantled immediately after the Games. More information on this fascinating chapter of Olympic history can be found on the SnowJapanHistory website here.
Twenty-six years later, the Winter Olympics returned to Japan with the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
Japan has since hosted many international winter sports events, including World Cup ski jumping, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, freestyle skiing, and snowboarding competitions. Sapporo considered bidding for the 2030 Winter Olympics but ultimately decided not to proceed.
The earliest ski areas & ski lifts in Japan
This is one of those questions that does not have a straightforward answer. Several ski areas have a claim to being the 'oldest in Japan' in one respect or another. They cannot all be the oldest, of course, but here are some of the earliest officially recognised ski areas and the years they opened, based on information available to us.
Earliest ski areas in Japan
1911
Goshiki (Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture) [SnowJapanHistory link]
Kanayasan (Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture)
1914
Kusatsu (Kusatsu Town, Gunma Prefecture)
1915
Numajiri (Inawashiro Town, Fukushima Prefecture)
Earliest ski lifts in Japan
1946
1948
Kusatsu (Kusatsu Town, Gunma Prefecture)
1950
Nozawa Onsen (Nozawa Onsen Village, Nagano Prefecture)
Akakura Onsen and Ikenotaira Onsen (Myoko City, Niigata Prefecture)
1951
Zao Onsen (Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture)
