After experiencing the ski scene in Europe and the United States, Kazushige Sekiya and Katsuyuki Kono returned to their hometowns in northern Shinshu and started snow businesses targeting inbound tourists. We asked them about their skiing careers so far and their outlook for the future
■Becoming the current lifestyle
Sekiya: After that, the number of foreign customers gradually increased, and I thought maybe I could make a business out of it, so I started "SKINAGANO." I imagined it to be similar to an instructor at a private ski school in America. Ski schools in Japan are mainly places to teach technique, but North America is different. People with money to spare hire an instructor, and instead of looking at a map and finding their own way, the instructor takes them to good places, places that suit their level. They pay 100,000 yen a day for this. There was no one doing that in Japan, so I thought there would be a demand, and so I started it. It's more like a slope guide than an instructor
Kono: Many foreign visitors are more interested in having fun skiing than worrying about technical details. There have also been an increasing number of accidents occurring when people go under ropes outside the ski resort's jurisdiction, so I think there's a great demand for slope guides like Sekiya
Sekiya: The main reason I decided to start "SKINAGANO" was that I thought it was a waste, or rather uninteresting, for foreign guests to come to Japan, spend money at accommodations run by foreigners or with foreign guides, and then go home without speaking Japanese or experiencing Japanese culture. I wanted to give back to the local economy by introducing them to as many local accommodations as possible and taking them to restaurants run by locals. I also wanted them to learn about Japanese culture, customs, and food culture, and become repeat customers. So that they would come again. It wasn't like they came once and then thought, "That's enough."
Kono: How many years has SKINAGANO been around? Was it launched after the earthquake?
Sekiya: Yes, this is my eighth season. Speaking of Nozawa Onsen and Iiyama, the number of foreign tourists has increased dramatically since the Hokuriku Shinkansen was opened. There are many different opinions, but if foreign tourists hadn't come, Nozawa Onsen would have had a hard time, right? When I came back from America, there was no one at the ski resorts on weekdays
Kono: It was really hard. I might have aged quite a bit (laughs)
Sekiya: When we started "SKINAGANO," many people told us that foreign skiers were just a passing fad and would soon stop coming. Trends don't matter to me, and I felt that my hometown, with its snow and mountains, has something original, including its culture and history, that's not found anywhere else in the world, and that I needed to properly introduce it. If we can confidently introduce the charms of our hometown, people will definitely return. Even if they don't come in person, I'd be happy if word spread through word of mouth that they had a blast at Nagano's ski resorts. My share is small, but I believe that by attending to each and every foreign customer, the charms of Hokushin will gradually spread to the world
Kono: I think it was two years ago when I went to Europe and the locals were talking about Japan the whole time I was in the gondola. It was snowing heavily at the time and someone who had experienced Japau said, "Japan isn't just like this," but I couldn't say, "No, it's raining pretty hard," but the good stories about Japan just kept getting bigger and spreading (laughs). Everyone said they wanted to go there at least once in their lifetime. If Europeans are saying that, then Japau must be pretty well known around the world now
Sekiya: Americans and Australians alike all say they want to go there at least once in their lifetime. There's no other country where it snows so consistently. That's why everyone comes. If you stay for a week, you're sure to get snow somewhere. In North America or Europe, it's not uncommon to stay at a ski resort for a week and not get a single snowfall. Even if it snows heavily, it doesn't snow for a week or two, and the snow gets harder and harder. Also, in the Hokuriku area, it often snows and then clears up. Everyone comes hoping for a shower of fresh powder, but it's not just powder. The snow is generally soft throughout the season. Even if it's not slushy, even on groomed runs, the snow is soft, so as long as it's sunny, it's fun. The recent trend of only hyping powder isn't good, is it?
Kono: If there's a lot of snowfall continuously, you can ski in a variety of different areas, from ridgelines to forest areas
Sekiya: Katsu, you opened Shichirabe Coffee while helping out at your family's inn, Shirakaba. What was the trigger for that?
Kono: I've been running Shichirabe Coffee for six years, but back then, inbound tourism hadn't reached its peak yet. I was convinced that it would continue to grow, and I started it from a skier's perspective, thinking it would be nice to have a place where you could have a beer after skiing. It was common for overseas ski resorts to have bars you could drop into
Sekiya: The experiences I gained from traveling around the European ski resorts have been useful here. I hardly attended classes, but what I learned at the Austrian business high school is still useful to me (laughs)
Kono: Actually, there was a time before the COVID-19 pandemic when I thought about closing the inn. Thankfully, we had so many inbound tourists that we couldn't keep up. It all happened so quickly that we didn't have time to prepare to welcome them. I thought I'd take down the Shichirobe Coffee sign and turn it into a working space that could only be used by guests staying at the Shirakaba next door, to add value to the inn. Then COVID-19 hit. But now I finally have time to get things in order. Now I'm thinking, what should I do next?
Sekiya: During the peak of inbound tourism, I was working for about two months straight and couldn't ski for myself. I was definitely too busy. Maybe COVID-19 gave me a good opportunity to re-evaluate where I stand.
Also, Katsu, you're a coach at the Nozawa Onsen Junior Ski Club, so you must be busy, right? When did you start that?
Kono: About four years ago. Every day, I would practice in the morning, skate in the afternoon, and then skate at night. It felt like I was back in my student days
Sekiya: Nozawa is amazing. It's Katsu, Yudai (Ueno Yudai), and Shu-chan. They're all athletes who know the world, so of course the next generation will grow. Was it in 2019 that your student, Sasaoka Sora, won the National Junior High School Ski Championship?
Kono: That's right, I was selected as a domestic強化選手 (strengthened athlete) along with Kono Daiga, who is two years younger than me, and it looks like we'll be able to go on a European tour this year. Our domestic head coach is Kono Kyosuke, who is from Nozawa Onsen Village, and we're grateful to Akira Sasaki's "Akira's Project" for
Sasaoka Sora is currently in his third year of high school, and he studies cooking here at Shichirobei Coffee on weekends. Just next week, we're doing something called a donation dinner (a subsidized dinner) over three days, and half of the proceeds will go towards his travel expenses. We want to nurture individuals who can earn tangible money while being athletes and who can live independently even after their athletic careers are over. I want to teach skiing in a way that connects various things, so that they can look beyond just the competition and see society as a whole. I want them to be able to manage their competition expenses independently, rather than having someone pay for them. Otherwise, they'll just do what their parents tell them to do and won't be able to make their own decisions. I've been telling them that all the time, and they've started to make their own decisions. I wanted him to go to Europe, but he said he wanted to go to a Japanese university, which is a shame. If he had said he wanted to go to Europe, I would have given him the entire donation amount (laughs).
Sekiya: So you want him to go to Europe as soon as possible because you think it was a good experience for you?
Kono: Ever since I was little, I was surrounded by seniors who had been to Europe, and I'd heard a lot from them, so I always thought that if I was serious about skiing, it had to be Europe, not Japan. Then, at the age of 15, I made the decision to go to Europe myself. Going to Europe at 15 has become a great asset for me. That's why I want people to see the world while they're young. It's not too late to go after you're 20, but you'll absorb something completely different. Fewer young people are going abroad these days, so I feel a responsibility to develop more international talent. Nozawa is accepting people, but there are fewer people looking in from the outside
Sekiya: Yes, it's important to look at your country, its nature, culture, and history from the outside
Kono: Sekiya-san, you've also seen Japan from the outside, so you have the same perspective as me, and you've succeeded in business with inbound tourism. Going abroad isn't just about becoming a world-class athlete; it's also about becoming an adult who broadens their horizons by seeing things from the outside.
We both loved skiing, so we went abroad, came back, and now we're making a living from skiing. As I approach 40, I realize that if you pursue what you love, you'll be fine (laughs). Sekiya-san, do you have a vision for 5 or 10 years from now?
Sekiya: I want to continue doing private guiding for inbound tourists for a long time to come. I think it's fun and rewarding work to share the nature and culture of my hometown. Furthermore, I'd like to start my own travel agency. I want to handle everything from arranging accommodations to booking, but the situation has changed drastically because of COVID-19, so I feel like I'm at a standstill right now. Anyway, what I'm aiming for is what I mentioned earlier, to give back to local businesses. Now that I
'm a parent myself, I've come to want to create opportunities for Japanese children to enjoy skiing as well. Right now I'm running a freeride clinic, which is a lesson for adults, but I'd like to create a junior version of that, a place to teach the joy of freeriding. Skiing isn't just about competition or the basics. I hope I can convey the joy of freeskiing to the generation that will carry on the tradition of skiing, letting them know that it's okay to ski freely. Speaking for
myself, I never get tired of skiing, so I'll probably continue skiing until my body can no longer move. The equipment keeps getting better and better, too. By the way, Katsu, you've been doing a lot of snowboarding lately, haven't you? You've gotten pretty good at it.
Kono: When I ski privately, I snowboard by far more often. I wouldn't say it out loud, but if possible, I'd like to become a snowboarder (laughs). Part of it is that I have a lot of friends who are snowboarders, but I'm hooked. Snowboarding was the first time I was able to see skiing from the outside. I realized that it's important to see it from the outside, just like when I went to Austria at 15
Kono: Skiing is difficult but fun. I've been skiing for over 30 years, but I still haven't gotten any better
Sekiya: I think the desire to become a good skier will never disappear until the day we die. Whether it's fresh snow or packed snow, the essence of skiing is unwavering and profound. That's why we can't quit
Profile
Kazushige Sekiya (left)
Born in Obuse City, Nagano Prefecture in 1980. He dedicated himself to competitive skiing until high school, and after graduation, he was drawn to the freestyle movement and studied in Colorado, USA, entering the world of freeskiing. Currently, he runs "SKINAGANO," a private guide service for inbound tourists, based in Kijimadaira Village, northern Shinshu. https://www.goskinagano.com
KatsuyukiKono (right)
Born in 1981 in Nozawa Onsen Village, Nagano Prefecture. He started alpine skiing from a young age, and after graduating from junior high school, he traveled to Austria alone. He returned to Japan at the age of 21 and participated in the Ski Cross World Cup. He is currently back in Nozawa Onsen Village, where he runs the rental shop Shirakaba and Shichirobei Coffee, while also working as a coach for the Nozawa Onsen Junior Ski Club, spending time on the snow every day. https://shirakaba8.com/cafe/
Photos by Takanori Ota and Takeshi Wakabayashi (YUKIMI STUDIO).
Interviewer: Shinya Moriyama
. Recorded November 2021.
The first part is here
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