Noboribetsu Country Club

Overview: Noboribetsu Country Club sits in the forested hills above one of Hokkaido’s best-known hot-spring destinations. The official tourism profile describes a course set among primeval forest and a large canyon, with white birch and generous fairways and greens. Current course information records an 18-hole, par-72 layout measuring 7,094 yards, designed by Noboru Nakamaki and Kajima Construction. That combination makes the course a natural companion to a Noboribetsu stay: the golf is scenic, but the canyon and mature woodland also give the round a strong sense of terrain.

History: The course opened on 14 September 1988 as part of the development of the Noboribetsu resort area. Its history is less about a long tournament roll than about the way the course was placed into the existing landscape. The current course profile identifies the design team and the opening date, while the tourism authority continues to present the venue as a live part of the destination. The result is a modern Hokkaido course whose identity is anchored in forest, valley and proximity to the hot-spring town.

Did You Know? The official tourism description notes more than 30 kinds of trees in the surrounding environment. That is more revealing than a generic claim of natural beauty: the course’s visual texture changes as the holes move through the forest and canyon setting. It also explains why Noboribetsu is useful for golf travel, because the day can combine a full-length mountain round with one of Japan’s most distinctive geothermal resort landscapes.