Kokusai

Published on March 14th, 2015 | by Japan Snowtrip Tips

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Sapporo Kokusai Skiing & Snowboarding Review – Small ski hill, big city, giant pow days

Although somewhat small and uneventful at first glance from the parking lot, Sapporo Kokusai actually rides a lot bigger, offers varied terrain and stacks up quite well against a lot of ski areas in Japan relative to vertical drop, trail length, steepness and trail rating percentages.

Even as Sapporo`s largest ski area, Kokusai can`t quite compete with more developed spots like Niseko, Kiroro or Rusutsu for northern Island snow tourism dominance. But bigger isn`t always better in Japan and something never dismissed in Nihon-koku`s snowy kingdom is that deeper trumps all.

This low-key ski-jo reachable by public transit from Sapporo might not officially receive more snowfall than these aforementioned ski resorts, but the measuring stick used at Kokusai to determine snow totals is nearly always buried as deep as at any Western Hokkaido pow paradise mid-winter.

Sapporo Kokusai lags behind Hokkaido`s resort powerhouses in terms of slopeside accommodations and overall ridable terrain, yet base facilities are solid and provide everything you`d expect including food options, ski & snowboard rentals, quality snowsports school, nice retail shop and plenty of ski lockers.

And let`s be realistic…when overhead pow is billowing everywhere in a beautiful setting overlooking the ocean with friendly local vibe, fancy hotels, rowdy nightlife and over-priced gastronomic restaurants are the last things that matter.

Sapporo Kokusai On-piste Skiing & Snowboarding

With only seven (7) trails, Kokusai doesn`t leave much to the imagination. Although lacking variance, trails are very wide allowing for tons of elbow room on-piste. There`s no getting lost at Kokusai either, as beginners drop left from the gondola, intermediates stick to the middle trails and “advanced” skiers & boarders head to the right from the top. “Advanced” is in quotation marks because Kokusai`s trail rating crew seems to have taken a bit of liberty by suggesting the lone advanced trail is Black rated, but it`s definitely good fun none-the-less. Kokusai`s trails will probably bore the hell out of you if you`re an accomplished skier or boarder within a couple of hours, so if you`re forced to stick to the pistes on a day without overhead blower pow everywhere, a 3-hr or 5-hr lift pass will likely be enough. If you`re a beginner or intermediate just out to leisurely cruise the trails, Sapporo Kokusai is an excellent on-piste option for you. Likewise, when the pistes are overflowing with waist deep blower, everybody at any skill level is going to have a good time from morning until last lift.

Sapporo Kokusai Off-piste Skiing & Snowboarding

Off-piste riding is a bit limited at Kokusai in terms of expansiveness, but the options that exist are very fun. To rider`s far right from the top, the trees running along the Downhill Trail deliver mellow-pitched, faceshot opportunities while the trees to the left of the Downhill Trail provide short-but-sweet (and often very steep) pow enjoyment. The most varied, challenging and fun off-piste lies more-or-less directly beneath and to the sides of the gondola in the designated “Deep Snow Zone.”  You can get into this area straight-down off the top or by riding out along the Downhill Trail then dropping under the rope into the trees.  Is it off-limits? Under the gondola, yes, so we recommend not bringing too much attention to yourself if you decide to slide under the rope for gondola-line freshies. Also be sure to pay attention to your line out of nearly all off-piste zones as slopes often gully-out before connecting with the trails leading back to the base. Boarders might need to unstrap briefly if there isn`t a track leading out, but it`s worth it.

Sapporo Kokusai Crowds

Hokkaido`s capital city of nearly 2 million, Sapporo, is only 1.5 hours away with steady public transport options available to Sapporites, so yeah, it can get busy as hell on weekends. But generally on weekdays, Kokusai is very mellow for a ski hill with such a populous community nearby. You`ll also definitely see more Japanese at Sapporo Kokusai than some other Hokkaido ski resorts which is great in our view (i.e., Niseko Aussie syndrome hasn`t engulfed Kokusai). On blower pow days the best lines will likely be tracked out by lunch time, but there`s always a hidden stash or two at Kokusai even on the busiest days.

Sapporo Kokusai Ski Lifts

There are a total of five (5) lifts at Kokusai. Advanced riders need only sit-back and relax on the gondola rising fom the base to the top — Sky Cabin 8 — while beginners, low-level intermediates and anyone teaching a novice how to snow slide can benefit from a combination of three other lifts flanking far skier-left of the ski area. There is a four-seater chair rising from the base that connects with two double seaters providing inexperienced skiers & boarders the opportunity to cycle shorter trails instead of fall on their faces endlessly for nearly 4 kilometers from top to bottom. Lifts are pretty slow at Kokusai, but that just allows the snowfall to fill-in your tracks by the time you get back to the top.

Sapporo Kokusai Snow

Wow…pow. Yes, that`s a lame bit of info but smiles speak louder than words, especially when you can`t speak because your airways are consistently jammed with air-light snow. The sunny aspect of much of Kokusai`s terrain can negatively impact the snow quality by midday as the season stretches on, but on typically non-stop snowy (and snowy and more snowy) mid-winter days in Western Hokkaido, Kokusai`s snow quantity & quality is fantastic.

Sapporo Kokusai Mountain Stats & Ski Trail Map

Sapporo Kokusai Snowtrip Tips

Tags: hokkaido, otaru, sapporo

About the Author

Japan Snowtrip Tips is designed to help snowtrippers mix cultural excursions with epic powder submersions in Japan. All content is created by Alpine Objectives LLC owner, Christopher DiSabato, who has more than 20 years of international snowpro media, education and operations experience. JSTT offers honest, original, first-hand insight to help guide you along your journey of snow-driven discovery on Honshu & Hokkaido.

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