Artificial ski slopes the world over are usually made of poor substitutes like grass, or artificial grass. But in Japan one artificial ski-slope that is rapidly gaining in popularity is almost the real thing -- a slope of crushed ice on the outskirts of Tokyo. It's not quite long enough for the ski experts -- a run down the slope takes about 15 seconds -- but it's the closest yet to a genuine snow slope, and is usually packed with enthusiasts. A VISNEWS camera crew visited the site recently.

SYNOPSIS: Crowded Tokyo is one of the most unlikely settings for ski-ing, but in the suburb of Sayama, enthusiasts are crowding regularly into a building housing one of the best artificial ski slopes in the world. Normally, such slopes are made of poor imitations like grass or even artificial grass, but this one, which is rapidly gaining in popularity, is said to be as close to a genuine ski-slope as possible. It's made of finely crushed ice, sprayed daily onto the slope, the sensation of ski-ing is very real.

The run, complete with chair-lifts to the top, takes about 300 tons of ice daily, The 350-yard slops is used by Japanese ski experts to polish up before the real ski season begins, as well as members of the public. It's not very satisfying for some, as the run takes only 15 seconds. For those wishing to graduate to the real thing up in the hills, there are fully qualified instructors on hand to help.