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 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.

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.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium.

• Mt. Okura - Okurayama Observatory
• Okurayama Ski Jump

43°3′4.77″N 141°17′24″E / 43.0513250°N 141.29000°E / 43.0513250; 141.29000