NIIGATA, Japan -- With Japan's ski season right around the corner, inbound visitors are already showing up at some of the country's resorts. But those in Niigata prefecture, for decades one of Japan's best ski destinations, suffer a different fate. There, the number of resorts is on the wane, with roughly 30% fewer from the peak.
Another, the Murakami Budo Ski Resort, in the northern part of the mountainous prefecture, will close its doors after the 2024-25 season. The lodge opened in 1988, and during the 1990-91 season hosted as many as 20,000 visitors.
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