Sled Time Trials Begin on Northern Japan’s Snowy Mt. Kanpu

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:51 JST, January 14, 2026

OGA, Akita — Timed sled runs down the 355-meter-high Mt. Kanpu began on Dec. 27 in Oga, Akita Prefecture. The event will be held every Saturday and Sunday through Feb. 15.

The inaugural event was planned by the city’s tourism department to attract visitors to Mt. Kanpu in winter, when the slopes are covered in snow, with cooperation from the Oga-based Akita Kanko, a company that runs the Kanpu Zan cafe on the mountain.

On opening day, families sledded down a roughly 80-meter course set up on natural grass near the summit of Mt. Kanpu. A second-year elementary student from Ota Ward, Tokyo, smiled and said, “The snow was cold, but it was fun.”

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. No advance registration is required, and visitors can sign up at the cafe. Sleds are available for rent.