Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium

In 1931, the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium was constructed by Kishichiro Okura with an advice and financial aid of Prince Chichibu, a brother of Hirohito, and was donated to Sapporo after the completion. Another name "Ōkurayama-Schanze" originated with the inauguration ceremony in 1931, when the mayor of Sapporo at that time, Masaharu Hashimoto, named the ski jump as "Ōkura Schanze" after its founder. The term schanze means ski jump in German. The jump and stadium ware designed by Olaf Helset, the president of the Norwegian ski federation.[1]

The stadium was renovated with the national expenditure in 1970, which was to suit in coming 1972 Winter Olympics. After the renovation, the stadium had the K-spot at the point of 110 metres, and was capable of housing 50,000 people.[1] At the same time, the word "yama" ("the mountain" in Japanese) was added to its name, thus the stadium was called the "Ōkurayama Jampu Kyōgijō" (Mt. Okura Ski Jump Stadium) . For the 1972 Winter Olympics, the ski jump was the venue of 90 metres class ski jumping competition.[3]

The ski jump was remodeled many times under advice from the International Ski Federation, and the ski lift toward top of the mountain in 1982, and the distance of the K-spot was extended to 115 metres in 1986, and 120 metres in 1996.

The stadium has been under the jurisdiction of the government of Japan until 1995, when it was switched as a facility under the control of Sapporo. In 1998, the ski jump in the stadium was remodeled to include the Summer Hill, a ski jump which enables skiers to jump even in the summer. Also the ski lift was extended, and lighting was installed for night competitions. In 2005, the monument of the Ballad of the Rainbow and Snow, the theme song of 1972 Winter Olympics, was erected.

The ski jump in the stadium. The blue line is P-spot, and red line indicates K-spot.

The Mt. Okura Ski Jump Stadium is one of the venues of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, and also one of the few 90 metre class jumping hills throughout the world.[2] The maximum inclination of the Approach Slope, the area from the starting point to the take-off ramp with 101 metres, is 35 degrees, and the Landing Slope, the area drew lines of P-spot and K-spot, is 37 degrees.[2] The P-spot was displayed by the blue line on the slope, which indicates the standard points for landing of ski jumping, while the K-spot is partitioned by the red line, and is designated as the area which gives ski jumpers additional points in the case of successful landing.

Visitors must use the moving staircase from the parking lot to the place where the stadium is located. The Ōkurayama Crystal House, a building which houses a souvenir shop and a restaurant, is located near the entrance, and the Winter Sports Museum is located in the other side. The construction of the museum was completed in December 1999, and opened to the public on April 22, 2000.[1] It has 3 stories, and exhibits a number of materials related to the history of skiing, instruments, and media contents. To reach at the Mt. Okura Observation Platform located on the top of the ski jump, it is required to buy tickets to ride the lift toward the Observation Platform at the shop in front of the Ōkurayama Crystal House. Another route, a trail leading to the platform on the side of the ski jump, is also available. The places for observation are located both in the second and third floor, and visitors enjoy the view of the entire ski jump and Sapporo city from a height of 300 metres.[4]

Unofficial or absolute records are all jumps that were at that time longer than official records but set in a lower circuit competitions such as continental cup, nationals etc., not actually counting.

Official Date Metres Feet 1932 Kenji Hama 34.0 112 1932 Shiro Yamada 44.5 146 1932 Shunji Tatta 47.0 154 1932 Kenji Hama 48.0 157 1932 Kinya Kojima 49.5 162 1932 Shigetada Matsuyama 51.5 169 1933 Takeo Asagi 56.0 184 1934 Shunji Tatta 61.5 202 1934 Masaji Iguro 67.0 220 1937 Noboru Hoshino 70.0 230 1938 Gor Adachi 70.0 230 1939 Fumio Asagi 79.0 259 1952 Shibono Hiroaki 84.0 276 1955 Hiroji Yoshizawa 86.5 284 1956 Sadao Kikuchi 87.0 285 1957 Koichi Sato 90.0 295 1957 Sadao Kikuchi 91.0 299 1958 Koichi Sato 92.0 302 1961 Takashi Matsui 94.0 308 1962 Sadao Kikuchi 94.0 308 1963 Sadao Kikuchi 102.0 308 1964 Sadao Kikuchi 103.5 340 1969 Josef Matouš 104.0 341 Date Metres Feet 11 February 1972 Wojciech Fortuna 111.0 364 12 January 1980 Bogdan Norčič 113.0 371 12 January 1980 Hirokazu Yagi 113.5 371 12 January 1980 Masahiro Akimoto 114.0 374 22 January 1984 Manfred Steiner 114.0 374 26 January 1986 Matti Nykänen 120.0 394 25 January 1987 Primož Ulaga 121.0 397 15 December 1991 Werner Rathmayr 122.0 400 20 December 1992 Akira Higashi 122.0 400 23 January 1994 Jens Weißflog 125.0 410 19 January 1997 Roar Ljøkelsøy 126.0 413 19 January 1997 Takanobu Okabe 129.0 423 19 January 1997 Dieter Thoma 134.5 441 23 January 1999 Dieter Thoma 135.5 445 24 January 1999 Martin Schmitt 139.0 456 25 January 2003 Florian Liegl 139.0 456 6 February 2005 Risto Jussilainen 139.0 456 22 January 2006 Roar Ljøkelsøy 140.0 459 26 January 2014 Andreas Kofler 140.0 459 25 January 2015 Kamil Stoch 140.0 459 29 January 2016 Domen Prevc 141.0 463 31 January 2016 Daiki Itō 141.5 464 31 January 2016 Anders Fannemel 143.5 471 12 February 2017 Maciej Kot 144.0 472 12 February 2017 Stefan Kraft 144.0 472 26 January 2019 Kamil Stoch 148.5 487

Unofficial Date Metres Feet 7 January 1971   Yukio Kasaya 112.5 369 20 March 1971   Akitsugo Konno 114.5 376 13 January 1974   Yukio Kasaya 115.0 377 16 January 1977   Walter Steiner 115.5 379 15 January 1978   Bjarne Næs 118.0 387 7 March 1982   Hirokazu Yagi 119.0 390 16 February 1985   Masahiro Akimoto 122.5 402 14 January 1990   Anssi Nieminen 123.5 405 11 January 1992   Masahiko Harada 123.5 405 7 March 1992   Jinya Nishikata 123.5 405 24 January 1993   Kenji Suda 124.5 408 29 January 1994   Noriaki Kasai 127.0 417 30 January 1994   Noriaki Kasai 135.0 443 9 March 1997   Falko Krismayr 138.0 453 1 February 1998   Takanobu Okabe 138.5 454 1 February 1998   Masahiko Harada 140.5 461 13 January 2002   Masahiko Harada 141.0 463 25 March 2005   Yūsuke Kaneko 145.0 476 11 January 2010   Noriaki Kasai 145.0 476 21 January 2012   Taku Takeuchi 145.5 477 21 January 2012   Daiki Itō 146.0 479 18 January 2015   Anže Lanišek 146.5 481

• JR Bus: 12 minutes from Maruyama Bus Terminal (Maruyama-Kōen Station, Tōzai Line) to Okurayama Kyogijo Iriguchi Bus stop, plus 10 minutes walking distance.

• Mt. Okura - Okurayama Observatory
• Okurayama Ski Jump