A New Hirafu Gondola for Winter 2024-25

The development of Japan ski resorts as international destinations necessitated improvement, and nowhere has this been achieved better than in Niseko. Including the Symphony Gondola which opened in Hanazono in the winter of 2021-22 and the existing Hirafu Gondola, there will be a third new lift coming soon to Grand Hirafu. On November 30, 2024, Niseko will welcome the opening of a brand new Hirafu gondola, which will replace the Ace Quad Lift #2 Center 4 that currently sits at Dot Base. This new 10-person gondola has a running speed of 6m per second, or 1.5 times faster than its predecessor. It will be able to carry 2800 people per hour as well, a significant increase from 1800 people per hour.

Each of the 54 world’s most advanced gondola cabins also come fully equipped with Wi-Fi internet connection, heated synthetic leather seats, indoor ski rack (that can carry up to 10 pairs of skis), as well as an indoor bike rack (that can hold up to 3 mountain bikes). In addition, 2 cabins are specially designed with a skeleton underfoot, providing riders an exciting 360° view all the way up to the top.

With accommodations including Sansui, Kyo, Aya and The Maples having been developed around the Ace Family run in the past few years, this gondola will be appreciated by many visitors for winters to come. The below image shows the course of the old Center 4 / the new gondola in red.

The announced operational schedule of the new gondola:
Date: November 30, 2024 – March 31, 2025 *
Time: 8:30am – 4:30pm (night skiing hours – 7:00pm)
* Schedule is subject to change depending on weather and snow conditions.

Source: www.grand-hirafu.jp

A little bit of history…

The Center 4 held the title of the oldest quad lift in Japan having opened in 1985, so the replacement gondola can be seen as a timely improvement, especially given the plethora of new Niseko accommodations now located around the Ace Family run, whose guests stand to benefit most from the upgrade. But nostalgia around the old lift is rife, and a goodbye ceremony together with auctioning off of the old seats, which fetched up to JPY150,000 each, took place last spring. After 30 years of servicing some of Niseko’s best terrain, the Center 4 still holds a lot of memories.

Center 4 Last Day of Operations

Those most familiar often hold a fondness for Japan ski lifts, not because of the latest technological advances, but the impeccable service of the lift attendants who wipe the snow off and thank you as you sit down, the old school charm, and the infamous nature of some of the more precarious.

Grand Hirafu Pizza Box Single Chair Lift