Japan Ski Resort Opens 600-Meter Snow Tubing Course After Suffering Copper Cable Theft, Lift Suspension

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:17 JST, January 30, 2025

A ski resort in Gunma Prefecture that suffered a copper cable theft and became unable to operate many of its ski lifts, has built a new 600-meter course for snow tubing.

The lift shutdown has greatly reduced the operating area of Manza Onsen Ski Resort in Tsumagoi, but the resort aims to win back customers with events that cannot be experienced at other resorts.

While most snow tubing courses are generally 100 to 200 meters long and aimed mainly at children, the course at Manza resort, which opened on Jan. 17, is three times longer.

By gliding at high speed while sometimes turning around a series of curves, visitors can enjoy a different kind of experience from skiing or snowboarding.

According to the ski resort management company, due to the theft, only one of the five lifts could be operated this season, and the number of visitors over the year-end and New Year period was only half that of the previous year.

The reduction in the operating area also had a major impact on the surrounding accommodation facilities, with some hotels suspending their winter operations. According to the prefectural government, the number of overnight guests during the year-end and New Year holidays increased at the prefecture’s other hot spring resorts such as Kusatsu and Ikaho, but the number at Manza Onsen was only 88% of the previous year’s level.

An official of the management company said that the new snow tubing course was planned as a way of “turning a crisis into an opportunity.”