Sapporo Okurayama Viewing Point

Sapporo Okurayama Viewing Point sits at the top of the large hill ski jumping stadium built for the 1972 Winter Olympics, still one of Japan's largest venues of its kind. A lift carries you up alongside the jump platform itself, the same run used by competitive ski jumpers, giving you a rare close-up of the structure before you reach the observation deck at 307 metres.<br><br>From the top, the view opens out across Sapporo city toward the Ishikari Plain, with the jump platform framing the scene below. It's a genuinely different way to see the city, looking down the same line a ski jumper would take on the descent. The site also ties in Olympic history, making it as much a stop for sports history as for the scenery.<br><br>This observation deck experience is straightforward and self-paced: take the lift up, explore the platform and deck, take in the views, and head back down whenever you're ready.

Your visit starts at the base of the ski jumping stadium, where you can take in the scale of the structure and its history as the venue for the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics. From there, a lift takes you up alongside the jump platform, putting you right next to the run that Olympic and competitive ski jumpers have used, before arriving at the observation deck.<br><br>At the top, 307 metres up, the view stretches across Sapporo city and out to the Ishikari Plain, with the ski jump itself in the foreground. It's a good spot to slow down, take photos, and look at the city from the same angle a jumper sees before launching off the platform. The whole visit, lift ride included, is easy to fit into an hour or so, and you can head back down whenever you're ready.