Oct 19 (NHK) - A ski resort at Mount Rokko in western Japan has begun work to make artificial snow for a ski slope, one month before its opening for the season.
Rokko Snow Park is located in Nada Ward of Kobe City. It is close to the urban areas of Kobe and Osaka. More than 100,000 skiers visit every year.
Snowmaking began on Thursday using a machine that crushes large chunks of ice and shoots out snow. The resort operator says about 240 tons of snow can be made every day.
The operator says it opened the resort about 2 weeks earlier than usual last year and this helped increase the number of visitors, including young Japanese skiers and foreign tourists.
Shutaro Noda, an official of the resort, says it is easily accessible and he hopes people of many generations come and enjoy themselves.
Rokko Snow Park will open on November 17th.
