Yubari Resort Hokkaido
Yubari Resort, otherwise known as the Mount Racey Ski Resort, is a small ski area located in the town of Yubari Japan. Yubari Hokkaido is known for its melons, but let’s face it – any serious powder hound is unlikely to care much about Yubari melons – they come to Hokkaido in winter for the powder!
Yubari is also known for its financial problems. It was a coal-mining town with a population of 120,000 that’s become somewhat ghost like since the country went nuclear, and the Yubari area now has a population of only 11,000. It’s a destitute town that’s hanging on for dear life and rather run-down, except for the ski resort and the Mt Racey Hotel. When you visit Yubari you feel like you’re doing the town a good deed!
In addition to the skiers and snowboarders, the town is also thankful for an International Film Festival that’s held in Yubari in late February. Yubari pays homage to its love for films with many billboards around town with old movies and film stars.
Pros and Cons of Yubari Resort
Pros
- There might be some identically dressed school kids around, but generally the slopes are uncongested and you’ll probably have the powder in the trees all to yourself (and your tree buddy).
- You can race down the slopes of Mt Racey, although the ski area is best known for the gentle beginner and intermediate slopes where snow ploughers can hang out.
- Mount Racey Ski Resort has some great tree skiing, and it’s relatively sheltered and low elevation compared to other central Hokkaido ski resorts, so it can be a great pick for stormy days.
- The Yubari Ski Resort is the closest major resort to the New Chitose Airport.
Cons
- Yubari Resort is rather small.
- There is very little challenging on-piste terrain (like most Japanese ski resorts).
- At Yubari Hokkaido, there’s not much to do other than ski and snowboard (which is also common to many other small Japanese ski resorts).
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- Mt Racey is a destination resort but it doesn’t cater particularly well to westerners for a multi-day holiday. It’s more likely to be a ski area to visit for a day from nearby ski resorts such as Tomamu or Furano, or whilst on a multi-resort tour.
- The resort is at reasonably low elevation so the snow quality can be a little iffy if the temps have risen, but it’s ideal for days when other resorts are snowing and blowing and the lifts are on wind hold.
Mount Racey Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Keep your expectations pretty low if you think big is better. Mt Racey Ski Resort has 5 lifts, 18 trails, and off-piste skiing in the trees. The resort is way below the treeline, with a top elevation of 702 metres and a vertical drop of 404 metres.
Mount Racey is heaven for beginners and there are also a few racey red runs. The official trail stats are beginner 20%, intermediate 40%, and expert 40%. Whilst one of the “expert” courses hits 45 degrees for a nano-second, the other supposed expert trails are easy enough to send your grandmother down. For example, the “Thrilling Line” is far from thrilling with a maximum gradient of 28 degrees and an average pitch of just 7 degrees, yet either side of this course in the trees is where some of the real thrills are. Yubari Resort also has other “in-bounds” trees as well as a little sidecountry.
Where is Yubari Japan?
Yubari Resort (Mount Racey) is located in south central Hokkaido in the town of Yubari in the Sorachi Sub-Prefecture. Yubari Hokkaido is 55km northeast of the New Chitose Airport (1 hour drive) and 66km east of
Sapporo (approx. 1 hour drive). Mt Racey is 94km by road to the southwest (1.5 hours) of
Furano Ski Resort, and 85km west of
Tomamu Ski Resort.
Mount Racey is sometimes included on
multi-resort tours.
Yubari Resort Accommodation
There are two Yubari hotels near the ski resort.
Hotel Mount Racey is located at the base of the Mt Racey ski resort in a very convenient (almost) ski-in ski-out location. The Hotel Mount Racey is a resort hotel with mostly western rooms, suites and a few Japanese rooms.
The
Yubari Hotel Shuparo is located near the ski resort, about a 15-20 minute walk away, and there are free shuttle buses between the hotel and slopes. The Yubari Hotel Shuparo has 153 western style guest rooms.
Ski Resort Facilities
The Yubari Ski Resort has equipment rentals, a cafe, a restaurant in the hotel, and ski and snowboard lessons (in Japanese only).