As a story-based family ski resort, Hoshino Resorts Tomamu's "Adventure Mountain" is unlike any other attraction in the world. For more information about what Adventure Mountain is like, please refer to this experience report
Not only can children enjoy themselves by becoming immersed in the story, but adults skating alongside them can also experience a different kind of fun as they try to complete the challenges.
For parents who feel that a full-fledged snow park might be too intimidating, this is a good place to start by bringing their children and getting them used to skating.
The Adventure Mountain attraction started in 2008. From the 24-25 season, it underwent a partial renewal with Gota Miura as its supervisor.
In addition to being an attraction where you enjoy sliding down each obstacle and aim for the finish line, it now incorporates an element that naturally improves your skiing skills as you ride it. What is the secret behind this?
We spoke with Gota Miura while skiing together at Adventure Mountain and the surrounding area
A course idea based on affordance theory??
-Please tell us about Gota's role
Gota Miura (hereinafter, Gota): Originally, Tomamu had some original ideas, such as Chokkari Daimajin and the forest fairy "Nipo".
I was asked to help out with the idea that we could create a theme park where more people could get involved and ski, and where people could safely step up their game while having fun
We used the existing terrain itself. We added some extra ideas, such as the "Berber" and "Seesaw" bridges, as well as jumps and small bumps. We
wanted to create a design where the playful elements directly contribute to skill development.
-So it's a course where you naturally improve as you play?
Gota:Children have an inherent ability to adapt to their environment rather than being taught by someone. They learn a great deal through play. At Adventure Mountain, we place great importance on that.
The basis of this is affordance theory, which simply states that the environment teaches us
To begin with, I think skiing and snowboarding are experiences from another dimension in everyday life. They're long and heavy. If you do nothing, they'll slide down slopes on their own, and they have hard edges on the sides. You
'll be taught how to handle these tools step by step at a ski school, but skiing and snowboarding are things you do in nature.
Snow conditions change with the time of day, and slopes are constantly changing. Until now, there haven't been many initiatives that encourage people to discover for themselves how to use skis and snowboards in these diverse conditions. This initiative
emphasizes how to handle equipment while immersed in the environment.
Balancing safety and a spirit of challenge
--With skiers of all levels and backgrounds, it must be very difficult to strike a balance between safety and helping people improve when installing these items. What do you think about that?
Gota:Our top priority was safety. Many different people use Adventure Mountain, and there isn't always someone on site supervising it. The key was figuring out how to maintain safety under those circumstances.
There are two key points: course design and visually making the course appear dangerous. These are the safety considerations we take into account
Have you heard of the movie The Karate Kid? There's a scene where Miyagi, a karate master, doesn't teach the main character karate from the beginning, but instead has him wax a car and paint a fence. By ingraining the movements necessary for karate into his body, the main character unknowingly picks up karate, ultimately laying the groundwork for him to become a master
This Adventure Mountain course is designed with that in mind. Skis won't turn unless you put weight on your outside ski. In the "Bell Bell" zone of the special stage, if you place a bell to the right of the tube ring, ringing it will naturally force you to put weight on your outside ski.
This design makes the goal of ringing the bell and the fact that skis turn when you put weight on your outside ski naturally connected. If you make the area where the tube ring is placed wider, the speed will naturally be adjusted, and if you create undulations there, you will intuitively learn how to move in three dimensions.
-I see
Gota:Another thing is to make it appear visually dangerous. When people see something scary, they always put on the brakes themselves. I think that making it seem obviously dangerous actually leads to greater safety.
For example, a cliff. Make the entrance zigzag, then stop and look at it. If you make the drop-off a little gentler than 90 degrees, even if someone falls, they'll just slide right off. If you draw a line that clearly shows a sharp drop, then probably no one will try to jump
--My kids ended up flying long distances on "Gake Gake." When you think about safety, that scary appearance acts as a deterrent to some extent
Gota: That's right. Also, there was that observation deck with the flag, right? If you just jump around on the waves heading towards it, you won't gain enough speed to make it to the top. But if you pump on the downhill slope of the waves to build up speed, you can make it all the way to the top of the observation deck.
Those kinds of movements are actually really useful on the slopes within the ski resort.
--Indeed, I felt that as I skied, I started to notice the terrain even on slopes other than Adventure Mountain.
The original concept was enhanced with the fun of skating
Gota:When creating this concept, it was a huge help that characters like Chokkari Daimajin and Nipo were already established from the beginning. When children have a story, they become more immersed in the role of the main character and become more proactive than usual.
I think the setting for people to become characters from the story has been well thought out. The same goes for the stamps and gifts. I was relieved to see so many people, from schools and the general public, regardless of age, gender, or nationality, taking part, and I thought it was interesting
--The route to Adventure Mountain was also great. It felt like you could apply the movements you learned on the ride
Gota:It's great to be able to ski through the woods (an area only open to advanced skiers). You can jump over the snowdrifts and do some tree runs, weaving through the trees.
When my kids are skiing at Teine, they never come out of the woods (laughs). Once they improve to a certain level, they want to go somewhere that is more original than a course, somewhere that will stir their sense of adventure. That kind of proactiveness comes out naturally
--When you ski down Adventure Mountain and head to the lift at the base, there's a forest maze. You're sure to get sucked in there too
Gota:The forest maze didn't have a slope, but there were lots of small undulations. If you skied normally, your speed might drop so much that you'd come to a complete stop, but if you pumped frequently, you could maintain your speed. You naturally learn things like that as you ski.
You see, when I raced the kids through the forest maze, I overtook them by sliding from behind. The kids thought there must be other ways to gain speed besides just using poles, and they tried them out
--You can really experience what the natural environment has to teach you
Gota:That's right. Rather than telling children how to ski on complex, uneven terrain, I think they improve faster if they get used to the natural environment rather than being taught.
-- Practice makes perfect. I think that's right. Thank you
Gota Miura
was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1969. He grew up in a skiing family; his grandfather was Keizo Miura and his father was Yuichiro Miura. He represented Japan in freestyle skiing moguls at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics and the 1998 Nagano Olympics. In 2003, he and his father, Yuichiro, summited Mount Everest, becoming the first Japanese father-son duo to reach the summit simultaneously. He is also well-known outside of the snow scene, for his overly detailed commentary on Olympic freestyle events. Furthermore, he is accomplished in both academics and athletics, having graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in sports physiology in 2001 and obtaining a PhD in medicine from Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in 2012. His nickname is "Gon-chan".
Photo/Key Sato
【Information】 Hoshino Resorts Tomamu Adventure Mountain 079-2204 Nakatomamu , Shimukappu-mura, Yufutsu-gun, Hokkaido Official website: https://www.snowtomamu.jp/winter/adm/