Pizza lovers in Hokkaido won't be having Rudolph and co deliver their pizzas after all.

Domino's Japan has cancelled its plans to use reindeer to deliver pizzas this winter, as it has proven difficult to control the animals, according to Japanese newspaper Japan Times.

The plan had been announced in November, as the country's meteorological agency predicted a savage winter that could close roads and disrupt public transportation.

The reindeer had been training at Domino Pizza Delivery Integrated Research Center in Hokkaido, but several problems arose.

The animals could not stop precisely in front of a customer's house, and also ventured off-road onto fields. Pizzas were also turned almost upside down during the delivery training.

After trying various methods, including strapping the pizza to the backs of the reindeer, and hitching the reindeer to a driverless sleigh fitted with the Global Positioning System, the company concluded it could not fulfil its safety and certainty standards.

Instead, Domino's Japan will now be using "reindeer-ornamented bikes" at some outlets, Japan Times said.