Located south of the Northern Alps, Norikura Plateau and Mt. Norikura Snow Resort are located at a high altitude where snow remains until the summer season. Boasting excellent snow quality during the season, the area attracts a wide range of visitors, from serious skiers to family skiers looking for something out of the ordinary
There's an event that's currently generating a lot of excitement. It's "RELAX & RIDE ," which celebrated its 5th anniversary on March 20th-21st, 2021. (Note: It's usually called "RELAX & BBQ," but was cancelled on the 21st due to rain.)
This event is packed with fun elements, such as watching performances by invited riders on specially constructed jump items, trying out freeskiing, and enjoying drinks from local vendors while listening to music by reggae selectors.
The after-movie from this event conveys a friendly atmosphere
What's noteworthy is the jumps that are specially prepared for the event. And the fact that all the riders who gather are of a high level. Because extra-large and difficult kickers are created, only skiers who are judged to be able to jump them safely are invited. As a result, only high-level skiers naturally gather
This year's lineup is truly impressive, starting with Tenran Katsuno, who swept all the major domestic freeride skiing competitions, and including Japanese freestyle skiing representatives Tomaro Matsuura, Kankuro Ota, and Luca Ito, as well as former Japanese representatives Soshi Utakawa and Eigo Higuchi.
In addition, there are other notable participants such as snowscooter Takahiro Oguri and snowboarder Takahiro Nishii, making this a star-studded lineup unlike any other competition, not just in skiing.
This event sees riders jump right in front of the spectators, making for some impressive performances
Show-style events where riders showcase their tricks and interact with the audience have a charm that competitions lack.
In point-scoring competitions, riders often perform similar tricks in order to secure points. However, in events with a strong emphasis on entertainment, riders try to excite the crowd, challenging themselves with creative tricks, high jumps, and dynamic maneuvers.
Naturally, the venue becomes more lively, and there were many scenes where the audience and riders high-fived, creating a sense of unity.
Items supervised by the next generation of riders
While Saito has been in charge of the jump items in previous years, this season the next generation of skaters, Eigo Higuchi, has been brought in to oversee the jump items. As a former member of the Japanese slopestyle team, Higuchi has seen cutting edge park items, and his involvement has resulted in a transition kicker that tests the skater's creativity like never before
Basically, the kicker is entered from the side quarter and landed. There is an up rail in the center of the item, and a transfer lip to the right of it, so there are a total of four ways to enter the item
Why is an event with such a strong freeride element being held at a ski resort with a general public like Mt. Norikura Snow Resort? The answer is that it is being organized by two professional skiers, Yuji Saito and Yuta Miyazawa
Saito is active both in Japan and overseas in freestyle halfpipe skiing, aiming to compete in the Winter Olympics. After retiring from competition, he has been based in his family home of Norikura Kogen, where he films himself skiing and broadcasts videos to promote the ski resort
The inn he runs, Shikisai no Yado Yamabuki, is directly connected to the ski resort. Saito, who grew up here, came up with the idea for this event with the desire to "spread the appeal of skiing even further."
This year marks the fifth year of the event. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, various measures were taken to ensure the event went ahead. A barbecue is usually one of the main attractions, but this year it was canceled due to infection prevention measures. After much trial and error, the event was finally able to go ahead
"I would be happy if we could spread the appeal of freeskiing and snowboarding throughout the country and have a positive impact on Norikura Kogen as the event expands," says Saito
Winter sports have an element of competition, but they are also sports that excite, thrill, and captivate people. This event made me realize this once again
PHOTO / Satoshi Saijo, Editorial Department