Change of scenery; from thesis writing to daily powder shredding

Photo by Jeremy Van

Recap of half a season in Japanese powder

This blog post is meant to give an introduction to why I choose to travel to Japan. Bear with my english as I'm not a native english speaker. Feel free to ask questions af any character :-) Okay, let's go; this is where my tale begins...

Trying on new helmet and googles before depature. Aaaah, gogogo!

Motivated by...

Since I got my ski instructor certificate in 2011 in Austria, I've pursued powder lines as my favourite kind of skiing. Big mountain in St Anton or backcountry whereever I could find it. Just off the slope or long randonnee hikes. Just as many other skiers have had their eyes on Japan, mine have been fixed on it's beauty as well. But I never felt like travelling there just for a few weeks. My experience tells me that the best skiing for me is when I live in the area. The past three and a half years while studying I've been able to get peak season instructor jobs around 5/6 weeks a year. I'm so happy for that and actually I've been extremely lucky with the snow through these years. Despite this I was always dreaming of more since the snow conditions in the Alpes just appear to be worse and worse every year. So sad..

I took the hunger for japanese powder build up through my time in the university and channeled it into planning my depature while working on my thesis. I was so surprised to find that flying from CPH to Tokyo was very cheap! My heart skipped a beat but speeded up as I began my hunt for a job as ski instrutor. I didn't set high expectations of it actually happening, since I would need a ski school which be willing to hire me for just half a season. And this happened?! Wtf? Who wants someone for just half a season? That never happened to me anywhere in Europe. I've worked through peak seasons (christmas/new years+week 5-6-7 and easter) but I've never heard of someone leaving for just half a season. Anyway, I got this job in an area that I had absolutely favorised in my job hunt: Okushiga Kogen. It lived up to my criteria very well:

• It wasn't a "niskeko"-area (too many tourists)
• High elevation (powder security)
• Huge area (variation and more options for hiking)
• Didn't seem to be super high rated in many tourist websites which lower the amount of tourists

As a big plus the ski school was pretty much brand new. Just running on its second year it was still developing its "people and processes" with an international approach. The ski school manager was Ethiopian. He has spent many years of his life in the states while pursuing his passion for skisport that led him all the way to OL. Check out this sponser video of him - there is some sort of "cool runnings" about him if you've ever seen that classic movie. Anyhow, all of this took place pretty fast and it really surprised me. Two weeks before this achivement I had felt the "career pressure" as everybody else in my class in the university. This was such a relief. To know that when this thesis-chapter-of-my-life is done, I'll be on my way to shred powder everyday. My brain will be drowned in dopamin and that's how I'll classify a perfect reward for a very stressful year.

• 30th of January
• Shiga Kogen International Skischool
• Shiga Kogen is the highest elevated area on Honshu
• Flight company: SAS, 6000 DKK return ticket including one extra luggage (skibag) both ways
• Accomodation provided by ski school by the rate of 300 yen a day
• Taxation rate 20%
• Working Holiday Visa was free and very easy to get

Okaaaay, so lucky me skipping all the serious career pursuing and taking a break from the oh-so-serious-life to do something I know I love. A lifestyle where I'm dead tired at night and fully aware, adrenalinepumped and cultureexposed on a daily basis!  

See this image above? These major snow walls was what I met me once I landed in Okushiga. Now this was my way to work. Insane amounts of snow. Just like a fairytale comes true, my dreams of japanese powder was instantly turned into reality. My eager to ski was at its highest. Come one! First day in Shiga Kogen, my first lesson in the area and hopefully the chance to shred some of this amazing powder with my new colleagues. Life was beautiful even though I was in serious lack of sleep. I had come to Japan directly from several days of graduation/goodbye partying and boxing up my apartment and a break up with my ex-girlfriend who I lived with for the past year. My initial thoughts was actually that the more exhausted I would be in the plane, the bigger the chance to catch some sleep. Regardless, my, what I now refer to as "waku-waku" (japanese expressions for very high grade of excitement), kept me awake most of the way and my first week in Japan was actually suffering from heavy jet lack and all kinds of stress related trains of thoughts. There is a first time for everything, and I definitely lost my virginity hardcore this week in jetlack and break ups! BUT: My first week was wicked! Taught friendly guests the first three days, then I had two days off lined up perfectly with huge fresh dumbs of the white miracle. My drugs from above! 

Great view from a great long hike. We descented on the left side though and it wasn't prefect in any way :)

Sunrise seen from the mountain

This is not afterski, lousy strip clubs, endless queues and rocky offpiste 

So where should I start? From bottom up? Well, the bottom was pretty much covered in endless powder here. Litteraly.. almost! Either way, I'd refer to these snow conditions as endless powder. The base of the slopes and of course outside the slopes was what seems to be endless. During my three months of skiing I didn't hit a single rock. I rarely found my self in a que for the lifts due to the fact that Okushiga is the most "remote" area of the Shiga Kogen area, and that of course most internationals tend to go to the more wellknown areas. Too, among the ski instructors there seemed to be a common interest in powder skiing/snow boarding. The vibe among us was a little different from what I've experienced in the Alpes. The staff here in the hotels or ski school didn't come with the desire of crazy nightlife in endless pubcrawles. Contrary the dedication to freeriding was higher. That said, I still find the outgoing- and social needs characterestics to be core values among the ski instructor people. Thanks for that to everyone :)

A colleague forgot to move his car and this is what he found when he went to get it

Quick chill out after the skins have been removed.. aaaand we are ready for the descent! 

Random backcountry. Photo by Kenichi Iwai

"Snowmonsters"

Random backcountry, photo by Kenichi Iwai

The backcountry paradox that I benefit from

No foot rests on the chair lifts is definitely to prefer over waiting in line to go up the mountain. Quickly I got used to the fact that japanese lifts just are outdated seen from a european perspective. But I think this has been covered by plenty of bloggers, so let's move on to something more interesting: The backcountry. To me the backcountry skiing in Okushiga/Shiga kogen seemed suffer from a big paradox. This is my interpretation of it:
Let me begin with a very brief describtion of some development of famous areas. Areas around Niseko in Hokkaido or more nearby Shiga Kogen; Hakuba has a lot of skiers visiting on fat planks. It's almost as they "pilgrimages" to these so called powder mekkas. Why?  Because the areas have been developed and marketed as backcountry skiing mekkas; and of course insane snow statistics. They have marked areas only for backcountry skiing which are easy to acces from the lifts. They have lots of information written in english wether it's websites, powder guides, McDonalds, or whatever tourism artifacts you can think of. Also Shiga Kogen has opened up the first marked area for backcountry in exactly Okushiga Kogen. A whole valley dedicated to backcountry skiing marked with rope and entry ports. By the way let me just rewind for a second and add the fact that Okushiga actually was an "only skier area" where snowboarding was illegal until recent years. So that was probably one of the first steps in trying to increase tourism a bit. Hence the backcountry area has been opened, there is a huge conflict of interests in the resort among ski patrol, ski school, tour operators, resort owner, municipality,  etc.. Nobody wants the responsibilty for the people in the backcountry. The locals don't want the area to turn into a Hakuba/Niseko-scenario with international fat skies everywhere. The hotels want to increase income by a broader approach among tourist target groups. The city hall don't like the fact that sports take place in the national park like that. It's very different for Japan to "use" the mountain like this and things take time here. I understand that it is a big change if you want to change a nice little "hidden" pocket into a big commercial powder mekka area. In my studies of tourism impacts I was told that the cultural social impact is important for the destination management organisation to take into account when expanding a concept if they want to make it a long term succes. This is clearly a very dificult case. Sustainabilty in tourism is not just about making a sustainable business in a financial aspect, it's also about taking care of the native culture which comes into practice when I say that things take time in Japan. The people have to get used to this before businesses roll out everywhere. So in respect of the people I think this area will stay "hidden" for at least 5 years. Hidden because it's very complicated to develop any kind of wilderness/hiking-skiing business without the support of the local community. The area will stay "hidden" as a powder mekka if you know your way around in the backcountry, and that's what skiing is about for me. Knowing the mountains like your own pocket and not rushing to get in front of the tourists to finally get that freaking line I've been looking at the last couple of days! A funny thing is that the resort actually is marketed as the "hidden gem", and remember that I'm just refering to how the backcountry skiing is developing or not being developed. Or just to what degree it is developed. 

Up, up, up.. and up again a little later

 Photo by Stephanie Nadeau/Jemery

View before descending. This is around Yokoteyama. Photo by Kenichi Iwai

I'm so happy that they managed to open up a backcountry area. This was open almost everyday and skiing there eliminated the "fear of losing your liftpass" if the ski patrol would catch you off pist as it's strictly prohibited. That valley was my warm up for randonnee  tours outside the resort area later on in the season.  It had plenty of lines to offer through three different entry ports. And of course many other great places to enter as well. One of the most impressive charateristics of skiing in an area where so much snow falls is how much the area changes. This valley changed so much from every snow fall. It's magic and hard to describe. You gotta experience it yourself. Imagine one day skiing down backcountry around trees around a meter tall (tree tops) and the next day they are all gone. What?! Too, tree wells are important to be aware of, since you can really get stuck in them. And it's dangerous too. This kind of snow you drown in if you're unlucky! It's sooo deep. Often a meter or more of powder is underneath you. Everything comes with a price, and if you willing to pay it, you're part of the lottery of getting the best lines. So take good care, don't ski alone but have fuun! :)

Photo by Stephanie Nadeau

Yokoteyama. Photo by Kenichi Iwai

Can't alway pose the peace-symbol

My first run in "the valley". Friends showing me around made it quicker for me to enjoy the potential of this "mekka" 

The ski school and accomodation

I didn't speak Japanese prior to my arrival, and I didn't learn much Japenese while I was in the mountains. "Blinded by the snow", but not that kind of snow you know, just the powder flakes from heaven that you can ski, I didn't pay much interest to the langauage, food, culture or any other aspect of such matter. The ski school guests were primarily expact families living in Tokyo or family tourists visiting from Australia. Almost only beginners and intermediates. Our ski school was the only international one in the area, so english speaking guests were sent our way while the domestic guests took lessons in the japanese ski school. And here is one cultural aspect that I couldn't avoid paying attention to. The japanese way of teaching is very dedicated and sophisticated. There's a clear system that everyone is following and excercises everyone has go through. The lessons start earlier and finish later. The instructors are older and more experienced. And so on... We shared our "backstage" area with them and they were all very friendly. Actually, I would turn that around and say that they shared the room with us, because they were definitely there before the international ski school was set up!

Anyhow, the japanese instructors did this work for a living and were farmers, gardeners or likewise in the summer season. The internationals came on a working holiday tourisum visa to check out the romours of insane snow statistics. That showed in the tendency to ski in your free time and drinking habits.

Our accomodation was out of the European ski industry's leauge. Jesus F* christ I've never been accommodated this well before. This was an overwhelming surprise to me as I've been told by friends who've been doing snow seasons in Japan that all of the accomodations had been very moldy and crappy . But our house was a huge old bed and breakfast accomodation  (12 rooms I think). We had our own japanese ofuru (hot tub). Such a great way to make the muscles loosen up after a long day on the mountain. We all had big clean double rooms, there was a piano and plenty of room for everyone to chill around in. In the first floor there was a big dry room and waxing room to keep our skies maintained. Beds were japenes futon style on the floor which I got used to fast. In the end I have an idea that it's better for the back to not sleep in a extremely soft bed? I don't know, but I can convince myself that the japanese style is better ;)

At first, bamboo seemed pretty exoctic to me. Later they became pain in the ass as they are very slippery!

Teaching kids is pretty much the same all over the world :) Have fun, be animals, drive cars, jump like pros, make compitions, be cool and give the kids the "belonging"-feeling to the group and hope for them to open up and not miss their mothers!

Our ofuru

Bump's and mine room

Living room of our accomodation

The snow kept on dumping in Okushiga far longer than expected

The above photo is from late march. The snow quality prior to this and many days after was a big surprise to me. I didn't expect the weather to keep dumping powder on us, and already now colleagues in the ski school and around the hotels had begund returning to their respective homes or onward journeys. But I stayed. I stayed till the 22nd of april, and it wasn't till second week of april I felt some spring conditions. The warm breeze of 5-10 degress in the sun gave birth to a hunger for some surfing. My second target of visiting Japan. For me it felt strange not to have been in an accident so far as I feel I pushed myself pretty hard. Being the one in the family who's been back and forth to the emergency room in the hospital most times, I felt almost too lucky not to have been in any shit here so far. Anyhow, when the ski area started closing bit and parts of the area making it impossible to ski continously around (fx back and forth from the ski school to our accomodation) and as more and more people left, I definitely found that my time to move on had come. But it's soo strange to see a ski area closing down and still having 50-100 cm dumps? The park kept open for a long time though and of course the area didn't close fully down till around mid may.

Entry port to "the valley". Freshies for me this morning on my way to work. If you can imagine it, these birch trees are covered in snow all the way to the crowns. Lots of snow, right?

Felt I wanted to represent shiga kogen a bit by adding this sticker to my helmet. Shiga ftw!

Again the valley. Perfect powder... See you in december.. or in japanuary :

Ridge hiking on a beautiful day

Ichinose ski resort in the background. Long way back from this hike.

I'll be back

While writing this blog post I am determined that I'll be back in Okushiga working in the ski school again next season. At the point I left the ski school for surfing, I had my return ticket booked for 2nd of may and didn't have any intentions of prolonging my stay in Japan. Now it's mid August, and I'm learning the language while working as kayak guide around the Izu Peninsula. Too, I'm preparing for a 4-6 weeks kayakadventure along the southwest coast before returning to Okushiga. If you interested in knowing how I'm financially making this a sustainable trip, what I miss the most from home, how it is to be the only foreigner in a small town or something else, I'll be keep this blog updated with further posts. Maybe you want to do the same? It's doable, but you gotta leeeeave on a jetplane! :) If you find you self stuck with a question or just want to comment on my experience, feel free to do so. I'll be more than happy to give my best answer.

If you want to avoid bringing yourself to far away from your comfort zone doing your travels to Japan, I want to recommend SNOWMINDS who can both help you with ski certificate, visa application and belonging to a group of other ski instructors who are doing the same as you. In general the company does great in adding some different social aspects prior to your arrival in Japan or wherever you choose to go with them. 

I am sorry that I don't supply you with crazy edits of the great skiing, but I do not own a gopro or any other kind of action camera and I didn't pay attention to collecting video clips from my friends. But fortunately several of my friends filmed a lot and mixed up small videoes.

Gus Edmond from New Zealand made this great little recap of the life in Shiga Kogen. He worked as ski instructor as well but enjoys snowboarding as well. Gus finished his season by going to Hakuba to upgrade his certificate to level two. I guess his passion will bring him further on skiing for the rest of his life :)

Geraint Northwood-Smith from England was working as waiter in the nearby hotel, Okushiga Kogen Hotel and continued traveling in Japan. Now he is on a bus/train journey all the way from Japan to England through 1-2 months. Good luck and have fun!

Stephanie Nadeau from Canada made a recap as well. She impulsively choose to stay in Japan as well. In her search for outdoor jobs/experiences she made it to surfing on the Izu Peninsula, horse riding in Okinawa and finally fly fishing in Hokkaido before returning to her beloved home and family. I want to give a special thanks to Stephanie for being my primary ski partner in Okushiga. I thought I was energetic, but this girl is on fire. She uploaded several videoes of great deep powder skiing from Okushiga to youtube. Most of them from "the valley". Look them up if your keen to see more powder from Shiga Kogen :)

A great shoutout to all my friends from Shiga Kogen. Without you I'd just have been lonely very quickly. It isn't real before it's shared! Especially happy days in the powder :) At last but not least: Thank you Robel Zemichael Teklemariam for hiring me just half a season and encouraging me to stay. You passion for Japan in your voice over the phone made me trust you, and trust is a key word in my japanese experience. Thanks again, see you in December. :)