"Vanishing Scenery" is not your typical modern Niseko "JAPOW" ski movie.
It's a film born from the three weeks that Tenran Katsuno, who has skied mountains all over the world through the FWT, and Gavin Rudy, a filmmaker who has documented scenes in various locations, spent together in Hokkaido, where Tenran was born and raised.
A rider who has seen the world rides back to his roots, and a filmmaker who has seen the world films the land. The Hokkaido that is captured is not a spectacular landscape cut out for tourism. Mount Yotei may be unchanged, but the skiing is an extension of the winter games of childhood
Gavin Rudy has filmed a wide range of skiing footage, from powder to makeshift parks and street skiing, through publications like Strictly, Level 1, and Browser Magazine. So this film doesn't just follow Tenran's freeriding. It showcases his big jumps in the backcountry, his creativity and sessions with Gavin on the streets, and his roots growing up in Hokkaido, presenting Tenran not just as a "FWT rider," but as a skier who grew up in Niseko
In Hokkaido, childhood exploration and skiing are inextricably linked. Children would build jump ramps in parks and on the hillsides behind Goshiki Onsen, explore, and imitate riders sliding down rails. The original image of skiing at Tenran is an extension of that kind of play
Kutchan isn't a town with an abundance of rail locations. That's precisely why the street's approach of choosing bridge piers, dams, and avalanche barriers as filming locations stands out. Neither street experience nor a physical sense of the land alone is enough. This video only comes to life when both elements come together
There aren't any massive backcountry jumps like in North America, nor are there vast expanses of majestic European rock faces. Nevertheless, while it captures classics like Niseko's night powder and five consecutive pillow lines, this film also features street skiing, which hasn't been prominently featured in Niseko-related videos until now
The idea of combining tree taps with spins and flips has been around before. However, the sheer force and precision with which they managed to pull off a double cork in Hokkaido's tight terrain is the highlight of this video. A small crew in Niseko has brought to life an idea often seen in North American backcountry culture, and it's now reaching people overseas
Even though the terrain and conditions are different, they speak the same language: skiing
The mellow Japanese rap and the breakbeats with Japanese elements used in the nighttime scenes were impressive, as they seemed to synchronize with the rhythm of the filming, which took place a step away from the hustle and bustle of Niseko amidst nature. Tenran's current location, traveling back and forth between Japan and overseas, and Kutchan, a rural area with potato fields yet also an international tourist destination, each had its own unique character reflected in the choice of sounds
The local landscape and the environment surrounding them are gradually changing. What "Vanishing Landscapes" expresses is not an explanation of Hokkaido for an outside audience. It is two people who have seen the world re-photographing Niseko through their own physical senses
That perspective is present in this work