Some locations just have a sound to them that is irresistible, places you want to visit purely based on their names. Like the *Abandoned Japanese Sex Museum*, *Nara Dreamland* or the *Zone of Alienation* – names that create images even without knowing anything about them. When I heard about the Olympic Ruins Of Sapporo I knew I had to see them at one point or the other. There have been only 21 Olympic Winter Games so far and although the ones in Sapporo were held 40 years ago I was stunned to hear that some of the locations were abandoned – which, admittedly, is kind of naïve given the fact that even some event locations of the Olympic Summer Games in Athens (2004!) are already abandoned!
Since my first day in Sapporo was surprisingly sunny and I had some time to kill till my fellow explorer would arrive, I took the opportunity to not wait for a second trip to Hokkaido and have a look at the Olympic ruins right away. Sadly the whole thing sounded a lot better in theory than it ended up to be…
First of all: The skiing season in Hokkaido starts in early December, but I was in Sapporo in late November – so there were no buses running, only taxis. When I told the (female) train station staff that I will walk instead I was taken away by a prime example of a typical wave of Japanese surprise and disbelief. Still hilarious even after six years…
5 kilometers, 400 meters altitude difference and 1.5 hours later (I took my time…) I finally reached the Olympic Ruins Of Sapporo 1972. In the 1972 Winter Olympics this area was the bobsleigh goal house – the track was constructed from reinforced concrete between October 1969 and January 1972 for 433 million Yen and highlighted by 127 lamps for night runs. After Nagano was rewarded the 1998 Winter Olympics the bobsleigh track in Sapporo (1563 meters long, 132 meters vertical drop, 14 turns) was dismantled in 1991, but the goal house wasn’t.
Since I was stopping by at another location first it was already getting dark by the time I arrived halfway up Mount Teine. The area around the bobsleigh goal house was covered by snow completely, making it difficult to approach safely and impossible to reach the back area and the green shack halfway up a slope. I was able to enter the basement though, where all kinds of crap and some heavy machines were rotting and rusting. Sadly I forgot my flashlight at the hotel, so I wasn’t able to enter the ground floor or the first floor, both in a quite dilapidated state anyway. It also made me hurry quite a bit so I would get back to civilization at daylight to limit the risk of breaking some body part due to black ice or getting run over by one of the few cars speeding up and down the mountain. Furthermore I am a jeans and T-shirt guy all year round, not well prepared for winters since there are no winters in Osaka… and it got pretty friggin cold up there after a while, especially after the sun was hiding from about 3 p.m. on!
So in the end it was a quick look at an unspectacular location, but I was able to take some photos of an abandoned building with the Olympic rings on it – and that made me feel like a winner!
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Nice! I never knew you went here. Not often you get to see a haikyo with Olympic rings!
Yeah, we didn’t talk that much about my first day in Sapporo and the night view at Mt. Moiwa was actually way more impressive than this location… and so were the mellon mini-cakes I bought there and didn’t find anywhere else again.
Really interesting, I’m fascinated by abandoned buildings, especially significant ones as these had been. I’ll come back and pick though your Chernobyl posts too – I would love to go there.
Chernobyl was a mindblowing trip – I’d go there again at any time… Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ll enjoy the Pripyat series!
I think the shot of the olympic rings was worth it 🙂 good job!
Thanks a lot – now I’d like to go to Athens and explore the 2004 ruins…
Interesting, yet sad. All the money spent for the event, and then to whither into nothing.
At least they were able to use them. One of my favorite ruins, the *Nakagusku Hotel*, was actually never finished!
Thanks for the link … and I was thinking it was an unfinished hotel for the Olympics. Shame on me!
It’s completely unrelated and at the other end of Japan – but it’s one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been to.
After reading the post, I know unrelated .. but I thought related before reading it … thus the humor on me. 🙂
Amazing!! You have such an incredible site—-I have literally spent an entire 12 hour shift at work exploring your site! I can’t get enough of it!
Thanks a lot! And please come back for regular updates… 🙂
I always do atleast once a week! You do an amazing job! I love the updates!
Nice.. Very nice ! : )
Thanks! 🙂
That is amazing! I had no idea. Excellent photos and info!
Thanks a lot! I am equally interested in the history and the esthetics of the abandoned places I visit, so I always do my best to find out about as much as I can about their past.
beautiful photos
love, Gongy
Thanks! 🙂
What a great & lovely post! Very interesting too!
Thanks a lot! One of the most unusual places I’ve ever been to…
So interesting, thanks.
You’re welcome, I’m happy to hear that you like it!
Just the concept of Olympic ruins is amazing! Wonderful idea for a post, wishing you many more intriguing journeys! : )
Thanks a lot! The vacation to Hokkaido has been the last big exploration trip I did so far, but I have some spectacular locations on my list for 2013!
Wow, another interesting group of photos. This is both interesting and sad to see in this condition, especially with Sochi just about to start. An Olympic themed collection would also be great. Also shocked that already from 2004 some areas have been abandoned – highlights what a waste the games can be to some point.
Hey Phil,
Thanks a lot! I’m pretty sure some of the big media outlets are planning specials about Olympic ruins. Currently a series about Sarajevo 1984 is popular in German media, so there will be more following soon.
My Uncle, Werner Moser, joined the Olympic games in Sapporo as an athlete of the Austrian bobsledteam – just sended him this link…if somebody has more infos and photos of this area, would be great if you could post it..
I hope your uncle enjoyed the photos! I am sure the area looks quite different now than it did 40 years ago…
Those electromechanical relays are a blast from the past. Funny that we are still using them today too. Goes to show how well built they are!