Japan has invented a totally new way for beginners to learn to ski

Learn to ski in Sapporo City at F Village, a dedicated beginners-only snow park

F Village isn’t really a ski resort at all, which is a very good thing if you’re a complete beginner or a family who want to try snowsports without the cost of buying gear or staying at a resort.

Just a 40-minute drive from New Chitose airport or a 50-minute train ride from Sapporo Station, F Village is a multi-use entertainment zone surrounding the Hokkaido Ballpark, a state-of-the-art modern baseball stadium with a retractable roof. In the winter, a small forested hill in a corner of the facility is home to F Village Snow Park.

It’s the perfect place to learn to ski on real snow. Not just for the convenience, but also because ski resorts can be scary places for children and complete beginners. Even on beginner slopes, you have experienced skiers and snowboarders tearing around, while chairlifts can be terrifying. Here, you know you’re in a completely safe environment where everyone is a learner, and you’re not going to get in anybody’s way or accidentally find yourself on the wrong slope.

F Village is a safe space for both kids and adults to learn how to ski

Even though it’s beginners only, it does give you a taste of various types of terrain, such as skiing between trees, open consistent slopes, bumps, and areas where the pitch changes slightly. Fast learners could outgrow the terrain very quickly though, so this is really only worthwhile for your first few lessons.

We decided to visit F Village on our day of arrival in Hokkaido as the facility is close to the airport. The plan was to allow the beginners in our group to get an introduction to the basics of skiing before moving on to Otaru and visiting the resorts in the area. The hope was, after a two-hour session here, only one or two lessons in the resort would be needed before they were ready to go it alone.

On the morning we visited at the height of winter in late January, it was a clear and cold, but the sun was rising, and there was very little wind. This is another big plus point at F Village. It’s cold enough for natural snow, but at a low enough altitude and far enough away from the north shore to enjoy much calmer weather than the ski resorts of Hokkaido.

The equipment

Run by Shorefield, the same company that manages the Salomon rental stations at Appi Kogen and Furano, F Village also has up-to-date Salomon winter sports clothing and skis.

They advertise that you can come “empty handed” which means all you really need is your base layer and socks. Skis, boots, pants, jacket, gloves and hats are all included in the admission fee. We were impressed that all the equipment was well-maintained, clean and amost like new.

The Salomon jackets and pants at the F Village Snow Park reception hut

The lessons

After quickly getting gear and equipment set up for everyone the first part of the lesson was learning how to put the skis on and move around on a flat section to get comfortable. The instructor was very attentive and hands-on, making sure everyone was happy. Sometimes at a ski resort, this process can feel a bit rushed, but there was no pressure here to do anything quickly.

Learning how to put skis on for the first time

Then, on a very gentle slope through the trees, the instructor showed each person in the group how to use a snowplough or “pizza” to control speed. Rather than just demonstrating and then taking turns to come down the slope, the instructor got down on her hands and knees to position the skis for each person and made sure they understood the mechanics of using the edges to stop.

The instructor showing how to use a snowplough or “pizza” to control speed

Once everyone was comfortable, they all took their skis off and used the moving carpet to return to the top.

The instructor then used a technique I’ve not seen before: a hula hoop held from behind to guide each person down the longer, slightly steeper slope with a gentle bend that runs around the outside of the trees.

Riding the moving carpet to the top of the gentle slope

This method makes it easy for the instructor to control the speed of the learner and can also be used to stop them from falling over. It also gives the learner a sense of safety, in that they can hang on to the hoop, or let go and feel as if they are in control without being tethered.

Using a hula hoop to teach learners how to control their speed

After a few laps, the more confident skiers could then break out on their own while the instructor helped the others get up to speed. Overall the instructors and staff at F Village were all very friendly, spoke a good level of English, and seemed very experienced. Everyone enjoyed the tuition and once we got to the ski resorts, felt ready to tackle the chairlifts and green slopes.

Other activities

F Village is a perfect place to learn for families with kids. Once the lessons are over you can try tubing, sledging, make a snowman or make snowballs with their snowball-making device and start a snow fight.

The sledging hill is steeper than the ski slope. Image: shorefield.jp

It’s also a great place to try snowbikes or snowscooters for the first time.

F Village isn’t just about skiing

Food

We expected more food options because Google Maps shows lots of food outlets in the area but they were not open when we visited. If you’re visiting, make sure you have a good breakfast first. There was one food truck open though, and the waffle hotdogs and coffee were delicious.

A hot dog served in a waffle? Why not

Cost

A two-hour ski lesson for up to five people costs ￥55,000. A full rental set, which includes the admission fee costs ￥8,800 for adults and ￥7,700 for children. That works out at around ￥19,000 yen per person (125 USD/196 AUD).

It’s not cheap, but it’s reasonably priced compared to the cost of private group lessons in English in Hokkaido’s big ski resorts – plus the extra cost of travel, lift tickets, gear rental and accommodation.

How to book

It’s easy to make reservations through their website.