Pirika Ski Resort

Imakane Pirika Ski Area, or Pirika for short, is located in Southern Hokkaido. It’s a small ski resort that you could visit if driving to or from Hakodate, or you could head there on a day trip from Niseko or Rusutsu if you were tired of the crowds and wanted some lift-accessed powder.

Pros and Cons of Pirika Hokkaido

Pros 

• Imakane-cho Pirika has a northerly aspect, so despite the relatively low elevation, the snow quality is usually quite good.
• It’s a quiet locals’ ski area where competition for fresh powder is generally very low.
• Pirika has good terrain for intermediate skiers and snowboarders.
• The base area has a nice onsen, with both indoor and outdoor baths.

Cons

• Pirika Ski Area is very small.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• Full day passes for an adult are quite expensive for a one lift ski area, although there are different configurations such as 2 hour and 4 hour passes and a low threshold for seniors passes which may make the cost more palatable.
• The low elevation can spell disaster for snow quality if the temperatures rise, yet it’s advantageous when it’s windy and other Hokkaido ski resorts are on wind-hold.
• Off-piste opportunities are minimal due to benches and gullies, whilst the sidecountry offers more treats but it still requires some gully navigation.

Pirika Ski and Snowboard Terrain

Pirika Ski Resort is just small, with 277 metres of vertical from 133 to 410 metres of elevation, 5 courses, and a solitary lift. The double chair lift is old and fixed grip, but it has a foot rest and safety bar (which is not something you take for granted in Japan) and they sometimes run it at a cranking speed. The lift ride feels longer than the 277 metres of vertical, in part because the terrain is somewhat undulating.

Whilst the official trail statistics are 30% beginner, 40% intermediate and 30% advanced, in reality all the marked trails are for intermediates. There are short zones that are mellow enough for beginners, yet they’d have to ride a steeper pitch to access it, so this is not a ski area for beginners. The groomers are fun for intermediates and some have a decent pitch. One course is usually left ungroomed and has a maximum pitch of only 30 degrees, so there’s no piste terrain to challenge advanced riders.

Pirika has a tiny terrain park on the Family Course with a couple of boxes and cylinder rails.

On fine days you may score nice views down the slopes to Lake Pirika.

Pirika isn’t one of those ski areas where it’s easy to navigate the off-piste areas (ie zones inside the ski resort). Parts of it are undulating, there are couple of benched areas and deep gullies, so it’s difficult to find off-piste terrain that flows down the fall line. There are various fences around the courses, which appear to be more about stopping people accidentally heading off the piste.

The sidecountry (ie outside the resort, lift-accessed backcountry) is better than the off-piste. Skiers’ left offers plenty of fun and has lots of little playful gullies. Skiers’ right features a deep gully then a ridge that travels away from the ski area a little, but skins will get you back in. As with any out of bounds skiing at these little Japanese ski areas, you’ll need to do your own assessment of risk and have the appropriate gear and knowledge. It’s unlikely that Pirika has a well equipped ski patrol to provide much in the way of any rescue assistance.

Pirika Snow

The resort claims it has “the best quality snow in southern Hokkaido”. This may be true despite the low elevation, mainly due its favourable north facing aspect. Pirika receives snow from classic storms from the northwest as well as the less common storms from the east. It gets modest amounts of snow relative to the big hitters around Niseko, Otaru and northern Hokkaido, and the snow depth usually sits at about 1 metre in the middle of winter.

Where is Pirika?

Pirika Ski Area is located in Southern Hokkaido (Donan) in the Hiyama Subprefecture, in the isthmus between Hakodate (112km to the southeast) and the Niseko region. Pirika is 87km southwest of Niseko Hirafu (about 1:20 hours). The closest town is Imakane, which is 20km to the southeast. You can click on the map icon above to see where Pirika is located.

Whilst there are buses from the JR Oshamanbe train station, most people are likely to drive there. Pirika Ski Area is on google maps or the telephone number for GPS navigation is 0137-83-7111. It’s about 15 minutes drive from the Kuni-Nui Intercharge on the Hokkaido Expressway.

Pirika Accommodation

Kur Plaza Pirika Hotel sits at the base of the Pirika ski area. It’s a 2 star Japanese hotel with tatami rooms with futons on the floor and shared bathrooms. The hotel offers meals and the highlight is the onsen, which has small open air baths in addition to the indoor baths.

Facilities

The Pirika Onsen is open for day trippers. It’s inexpensive and discounted further if you present your lift pass. The hotel also has a restaurant that serves pasta and pizza.

There is a small cafeteria near the lift that has classic Japanese cafeteria fare and take-away snacks. Other services include snowsports lessons in Japanese and base level on-piste equipment rentals.