Sapporo Teine
サッポロテイネ43°06′ N 141°13′ E
Sapporo's Olympic mountain looks straight down on the city, and it pairs steep race pistes at Highland with lit after-work slopes at Olympia.
Photo Robert Thomson · Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0 and others, credited in the gallery
- Beginner8.4 km
- Intermediate2.7 km
- Advanced2.9 km
Teine is the ski hill Sapporo can see from its office windows. On a clear morning the Summit Express drops you at 1,023 metres with the whole city spread below and Ishikari Bay grey beyond it. The alpine races of the 1972 Winter Olympics were held on this mountain. Its women's giant slalom piste still carries the Olympic name, and the cauldron that held the flame stands above the Olympia base.
Two older ski areas make up the resort. Kamori Kanko took over both in 2002 and joined them with an eight-seat gondola. Olympia sits at the bottom with gentle pitches and a Ferris wheel. Highland is where a strong rider spends the day. Kitakabe means north wall, and it falls 1,500 metres through forest at up to 36 degrees; the resort's own course notes tell anyone unsure of themselves to stay off it because there is no way out halfway down. The Olympic GS course gives you two kilometres of fall line that steepens toward the finish. Down at Olympia, Ocean Dive runs 520 metres under the cauldron. It touches 38 degrees and grows a mogul field that catches people out.
How it rides
- Powder
- 3 out of 5
- Trees
- 3 out of 5
- Steeps
- 4 out of 5
- Sidecountry
- 3 out of 5
- Park
- 3 out of 5
- Beginners
- 4 out of 5
- Family
- 4 out of 5
- Quiet
- 2 out of 5
- Value
- 4 out of 5
- Après
- 1 out of 5
Sapporo uses Teine as a commuter hill. The JR train reaches Teine Station in under twenty minutes from Sapporo Station, and a bus climbs from there to both bases. From early December to late March the Shirakaba lift at Olympia turns until 20:00 for the two lit runs under the Ferris wheel. Regulars buy the 25-hour pass online and spend it an hour at a time. Weekend mornings bring families and school groups up from the city in numbers.
Hokkaido's mountain skiing started on this hill. The Paradise Hütte went up here in 1926 to a Swiss architect's design as Japan's first ski hut, and it was rebuilt to the original plans in 1994. Touring riders today get out through a single exit called the Teine Gate beside the summit patrol hut. Inside the boundary the only forest you may ride is the marked Nature Zone. Anyone caught leaving another way loses their ticket on the spot, and a rescue past the gate is billed in full.
Fly the mountain in 3D立体地図
Every run at Sapporo Teineコース
| Avg | Faces | Map | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NaturalナチュラルNotes | 3,541 m | 408 m | 23.8° | 6.6° | NE | ||
| Seikadai Ocean Stream聖火台 オーシャンストリーム | 811 m | 123 m | 17.5° | 8.4° | NE | ||
| ParadiseパラダイスNotes | 835 m | 96 m | 17.8° | 10.3° | N | ||
| Shirakaba Sun Trap白樺サントラップ | 533 m | 94 m | 15.3° | 10° | NE | ||
| Shirakaba Sun Shine白樺サンシャインNightNotes | 438 m | 89 m | 15.8° | 11.5° | NE | ||
| RainbowレインボーNotes | 813 m | 68 m | 12.1° | 4.8° | E | ||
| Shirakaba Sun Dance白樺サンダンス | 323 m | 45 m | 9.4° | 7.9° | SE | ||
| City View CruiseシティビュークルーズNotes | 1,070 m | 246 m | 20.8° | 12.9° | SE | ||
| City View PanaramaシティビューパノラマNotes | 1,033 m | 228 m | 27.8° | 12.4° | E | ||
| Seikadai Ocean Cruise聖火台 オーシャンクルーズ | 373 m | 100 m | 23.2° | 14.9° | NE | ||
| Shirakaba Sun Rise白樺サンライズNightNotes | 266 m | 57 m | 16.1° | 12.2° | E | ||
| Sapporo Olympic Course） Women’s Giants Slalom（札幌オリンピック）女子大回転 | 1,151 m | 366 m | 32.6° | 17.6° | NE | ||
| North Face北かべNotes | 809 m | 356 m | 37.5° | 23.7° | NE | ||
| Seikadai Ocean Daive聖火台 オーシャンダイブNotes | 477 m | 120 m | 22.6° | 14.1° | NE |
Lengths, vertical, pitch and aspect are computed from OpenStreetMap run lines and 30 m elevation data. Steepest is the hardest 60 m pitch. Treat them as a guide and trust the signs on the hill.
More named runs from the trail map
Women's Giant Slalom女子大回転2,000 m
The 1972 Olympic women's GS piste is FIS-homologated and pitches to 34 degrees. The lower steep changes character with every snowfall, so read it on the first run.
Good for fast carving, Olympic history
Men's and Women's Slalom男女回転700 m
The Olympic slalom hill averages 21 degrees and peaks at 34. It is short enough to lap hard off the Paradise lift.
Good for short steep laps, edge practice
Peaks, gates and named areas
Know the zones before you goエリア
Highland Zoneハイランドゾーン
zone
The upper resort opened in 1974 and has seven courses off the Summit Express, the two Panorama lifts and the Paradise lift. Kitakabe, the Olympic race pistes and the summit gate are all up here. Highland keeps running into early May after Olympia has closed.
Good for steep groomers, city views, spring riding, Olympic race pistes
Olympia Zoneオリンピアゾーン
zoneBeginner
The original 1965 ski area sits at the foot of the mountain with eight mostly gentle courses around the Olympic cauldron and a Ferris wheel. It hosts the night session and closes in late March.
Good for first days on a board, night riding
Nature Zoneネイチャーゾーン
zoneAdvanced
The course map marks this forest area on the upper Highland side, and it is the one place inside the boundary where Teine lets you ride off the groomed courses. Expect ungroomed snow among the trees.
Good for storm-day trees, untracked forest
Teine Gateテイネゲート
gateExpert
The only legal exit to the backcountry sits beside the summit patrol hut and faces toward the line of the old ropeway. The terrain beyond is unpatrolled and unmanaged. Patrol shuts the gate when conditions turn obviously dangerous.
Good for backcountry access, storm-day touring with a guide
Terrain Parkテレインパーク
parkIntermediate
The permanent park is built on the Paradise course at Highland and served by the short Paradise lift. In 2025/26 it was lit for a special two-night session in April.
Good for park laps, spring sessions
Beyond the ropes · gates
The Teine Gate beside the summit patrol hut is the only legal way past the boundary. Inside the boundary you may leave the courses only in the marked Nature Zone, and riders who exit anywhere else lose their ticket.
- Exit the ski area only through the Teine Gate next to the summit patrol centre
- Off-piste riding inside the boundary is prohibited except in the Nature Zone
- Ducking ropes or nets means immediate ticket confiscation
- The gate closes in obviously dangerous conditions such as bad weather
- Search and rescue beyond the boundary is billed in full to the rider
- Hiking up the pistes is banned at all hours, including before opening and after close
Check the daily avalanche report before you leave the resort. Carry a beacon, shovel and probe and know how to use them.
Worth knowing before you go
Buy online. Since 2025/26 the web price for day and night tickets has run ¥1,000 under the window price.
Park at Highland if you came for the steeps. The Eight Gondola back up from Olympia stops at 15:30 until mid-January and 16:00 after that, and missing it leaves you at the wrong base.
For a short session the point tickets work well: the Summit Express and Eight Gondola cost three points a ride; every other lift costs one.
The night ticket covers 16:00–20:00 at Olympia only. The last chair on Shirakaba No.1 goes at 19:40.
From late March only Highland runs, and after early April the mountain opens on weekends and holidays with a free shuttle from the south exit of JR Teine Station.
Pick a clear day for the summit. The view over Sapporo and Ishikari Bay from the top of the Summit Express is worth waiting for.
Carry full avalanche kit and file a climbing plan before you use the Teine Gate.
11 mapped lifts
The liftsリフト
Getting thereアクセス
From New Chitose Airport
- Drive
- about 1 hr via the expressway (Teine IC is 10 min from the resort)
- Train
- JR Rapid Airport to Teine Station, 51 min or more, ¥1,400, then JR Hokkaido Bus
From Sapporo
- Drive
- about 40 min
- Bus
- Big Runs express bus from central Sapporo hotels (Kamori Kanko), early December to late March; ¥8,800 return or ¥11,000 with a lift ticket in 2026/27, book 10 days ahead
- Train
- JR to Teine Station, 11–18 min, ¥360, then JR Hokkaido Bus from stop 3 at the south exit: about 16 min to Olympia and 27 min to Highland, ¥1,000 flat
From Otaru it is about 40 min by car or 21 min by JR to Teine Station. Taxi packs drop at the Olympia Center and charge extra for Highland. The JR bus ends in late March, when a free shuttle from JR Teine Station takes over for the spring season.
Paid links
Line up the trip around Sapporo Teine
Some of these links pay us a commission. It costs you nothing and keeps the guide independent. How the links work
Where to stay nearby宿
Soak after温泉
Touring close by山スキー
Towns to base in町
Ride these on the same trip近くの山
Quick answers about Sapporo Teineよくある質問
How big is Sapporo Teine?
Sapporo Teine has 15 runs and 9 lifts over 683 m of vertical, from 340 m at the base to 1,023 m at the top. OpenStreetMap maps 14.4 km of piste there.
How steep is Sapporo Teine?
The steepest mapped pitch at Sapporo Teine is about 37.5° over 60 m. We measure it from OpenStreetMap's run lines and the elevation model. Its advanced and expert runs add up to 2.9 km of the mapped total.
Can you ride off-piste at Sapporo Teine?
At Sapporo Teine: The Teine Gate beside the summit patrol hut is the only legal way past the boundary. Inside the boundary you may leave the courses only in the marked Nature Zone, and riders who exit anywhere else lose their ticket.
How much is a lift ticket at Sapporo Teine?
An adult day ticket at Sapporo Teine costs ¥9,800 in the 2026/27 main season and ¥7,000 early or late in the season. K-Winter Pass holders ride here too.
Does Sapporo Teine have night riding?
Yes. Sapporo Teine runs night lifts 16:00–20:00. Olympia Zone only, early December to late March (6 Dec 2025 – 29 Mar 2026). The Shirakaba No.1 lift lights Shirakaba Sunshine and Shirakaba Sunrise, last chair 19:40. In 2025/26 the Paradise lift and terrain park at Highland also ran a two-night April special. Night ticket ¥3,800 at the window or ¥2,800 online in 2025/26; night season pass ¥39,000.
How do you get to Sapporo Teine from New Chitose Airport?
Sapporo Teine is about 1 hr via the expressway (Teine IC is 10 min from the resort) by car from New Chitose Airport.
When is the season at Sapporo Teine?
Sapporo Teine usually opens late November and closes early May (Highland only after late March). The deepest, most reliable snow comes mid January to late February.