It's hard to make a decisive call on which skifield was my favourite in Hokkaido, but this is without a doubt one of the too contenders. Close to a major city so easier access, but still not overly busy. The snow, when we were there, was of amazing quality. There remained pockets and areas with fresh untouched powder even toward the end of the day, so long as you're willing to explore. It truly had something for everyone; shallower groomers for learning, powder and tree runs with huge variety, (some steep, some narrow, some valleyed and all matter of other options and combinations) even a quality park with well designed jumps, hips, rails etc. the chairs are well laid out for access and having the two zones helps to segregate based on skill level. Lastly the night skiing is a great way to end the day with some more mellow laps, or even go for an after work send. Not to mention all this for under 6000円 for an adult day pass is an absolute bargain. I would highly recommend Sapporo teine to anyone looking for a good day on the mountain.
Beautiful and awesome view of Sapporo with a European snow alps kind of setting. Awesome place to see people skiing or snowboarding. Or to do it oneself and hire the gear from them. The surprise was how tasty and the food options you had here. The gandola that shuttles you between the two sections was nice. But can’t believe how soft and fluffy the snow ❄️ is here.
Mt. Teine is relatively close to Sapporo, and can be easily reached by train and then bus. Note that the transit fare has increased. The train to Teine station from Sapporo is 360 yen, and the bus from Teine station to the ski resort is 1,000 yen. You can use IC card (e.g. physical SUICA / Apple Pay SUICA) to pay for both.
The mountain is split up into two areas: Highland and Olympia. They are connected by a gondola, which is also included in your lift ticket. I would recommend taking the bus all the way up to Highland first, as it is less busy there. If you purchase your lift ticket online, it is cheaper. I did this on the bus, and scanned the email QR code to collect my RFID lift pass. As for rentals, it is much quieter up in Highland, because all the tourists will be getting their gear in Olympia. I only waited about 5 minutes to get geared up. They also have large sizes for their boot rentals, and I managed to get a pair of US 12 / JP 30CM boots.
The mountain isn't too big, and I felt that a half day was enough. I ended up doing about six beginner (green) runs and three intermediate (red) runs. I did not dare to try the difficult (black) runs, as they were very steep and used during the Sapporo Winter Olympics. I would recommend going early in the morning, as it gets really busy around 11:00 AM.
Except for the travel related challenges, this resort offers everything that skiers/skaters need. The storage is always a concern due to the crowd that comes in weekends. Restaurant is quite good. Ski rentals and lift tickets costs are bit on the higher side but they offer more than the cost.
Snow conditions weren't ideal across the entire mountain, which is to be expected this far outside peak season. Tickets were remarkable affordable, whereas renting ski equipment was a bit more than expected.
Course variety was pretty decent, with a beginner hill that traverses the entire cliffside and plenty of optional challenges along the way. Lines to board the lifts were remarkably short, no more than 30 seconds.
The cafeteria food was exceptional, with curries, ramen, and pizza on offer. However, the secondary lodge, which is open during night skiing, had very lackluster offerings (especially the burger)
