Skating Day

What Is Skating Day?

Every December 25th is also "Skating Day" (スケートの日, Sukēto no Hi) in Japan. On December 25, 1861, according to historical records, Japanese people received their first skating lesson from Russian sailors who had arrived at Hakodate harbor in Hokkaido — introducing the sport of ice skating to Japan. The day commemorates this introduction of a sport that would eventually be embraced by Japan with great enthusiasm, producing world-class figure skaters and speed skaters who have competed at the highest international levels.

Ice Skating Comes to Japan

Hakodate, Hokkaido — Japan's most northern major city and one of Japan's earliest treaty ports open to foreign ships — was a natural place for cultural exchange between Japanese people and foreign visitors. The 1861 introduction of ice skating by Russian sailors (Hokkaido's proximity to Russia made Russian ships frequent visitors) was one of many instances of Western recreational activities reaching Japan through its international treaty ports in the late Edo and early Meiji periods.

Japan's Ice Skating Heritage

Ice skating developed in Japan through the Meiji and Taisho eras, with outdoor skating rinks established in cold-weather regions of Hokkaido and Tohoku. Japan competed in the Winter Olympics from 1928 onward, with figure skating and speed skating becoming particularly strong national disciplines. Japan has produced exceptional figure skaters — most recently Yuzuru Hanyu (羽生結弦), who won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2014 and 2018 and became one of the most popular athletes in Japanese history, attracting enormous national following and media coverage.

Yuzuru Hanyu and Figure Skating's Japanese Revival

Yuzuru Hanyu's extraordinary performances at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics — and his subsequent world record-setting performances — elevated figure skating to a prominence in Japan comparable to baseball and soccer, attracting millions of new fans. His combination of technical brilliance, artistic sensitivity, and personal charisma made him a cultural phenomenon, and the passionate fan following he attracted ("Hanyu fans," "Team Hanyu") is one of the most devoted in Japanese sports.

Fun Facts

• Hanamidori ice rink: Japan has more indoor ice rinks per capita than most countries outside Scandinavia and Canada — a reflection of the passion for figure skating and ice hockey that has developed since the 1861 Hakodate introduction.
• Speed skating: Japan has also produced world-class speed skaters — Yōko Kimura and Masako Hozumi were among Japan's early Winter Olympics speed skating competitors, and Japan has won speed skating medals at multiple Winter Olympics.