|
Hokkaido covers an area of 33,381 square miles, which is about
22 percent of the land area of Japan. There are six major ski
resorts in Hokkaido: Furano, Tomamu, Sahoro, Niseko, Kiroro,
and Rusutsu. Most of them provide ski slopes for beginner,
intermediate, and advanced skiers, and facilities for nighttime
skiing as well. Snow and weather conditions being equal, various
ski resorts attract different kinds of skiers according to
the convenience of their location and the difficulty of their
slopes.
Furano, Tomamu, and Sahoro are all located
in the center of Hokkaido. Furano is the farthest north of
all the resorts,
and is owned by the Prince Hotel Group, which owns Honolulu’s
Hawai‘i Prince Hotel on the Ala Wai Boat Harbor. Furano
has 22 ski slopes, including some two-mile runs. The World
Cup has been held 10 times at Furano resort.
South of Furano is Sahoro. Fifty to 70 percent of the days
in Sahoro have fine weather. The length of the tram line is
7062 feet, which covers 90 percent of the slopes. The resort
includes a Club Med, a vacation village that offers ski lessons,
and most of the instructors are international. Club Med’s
mission at Sahoro is to help people “enjoy skiing.”
Tomamu is just south of Furano and in the
Hidaka Mountain range. Its highest slope is 3,993 feet, and
it is 20 degrees Celsius
below zero at its coldest. Fortunately there are 18 hot springs
located near Tomamu.
Niseko, Kiroro, and Rusutsu are all located
in the west of Hokkaido. Niseko is the farthest west of all
the resorts. Niseko
combines three ski resorts: Niseko Hirafu, Niseko Higashiyama,
and Niseko Annupuri. Niseko Hirafu provides 33 ski courses,
Niseko Higashiyama 14, and Niseko Annupuri 13.
North of Niseko is Kiroro, which is located
near Otaru city, a romantic and historical town that is well
known for Otaru
Canal and its glassworks. Kiroro is a heavy snowfall area,
and provides a mogul course as well.
Rusutsu is just south of Niseko. Rusutsu
provides 37 ski courses and includes amusement parks, shopping
malls, pools, snow mobiles,
and dog sleds. The hotel capacity is 4,000.
One of the best-known winter events in Hokkaido is the Sapporo
Snow Festival in Hokkaido, which presents hundreds of beautiful
snow statues and ice sculptures every year. These line Odori
Park at the Self-Defense Force base in Makomanai, as well as
the main street in the Susukino district. The snow statues
and ice sculptures turn Sapporo into a winter dreamland. The
55th Sapporo Snow Festival will be held Feb.5, to Feb. 11,
this year.
The Snow Festival started in 1950 after
local high school students built six snow statues. In 1955,
the Self-Defense Force joined
the festival and built a giant snow sculpture. The Snow Festival
is considered to be of international caliber.The 30th International
Snow Statue Contest was held as part of the Snow Festival last
year. Sixteen teams from around the world participated in the
contest and created various snow statues in various international
styles. The Hawai‘i team won second place with a statue
titled the “Hands of Freedom.”
Visitors to Hokkaido can enjoy a variety of ski resorts and
the Snow Festivalas as well as good food including fresh sushi,
as fishing is a major industry in Hokkaido, yielding over 2,872
billion yen in 2001.
|
