Photo/ Tonko Takahashi
How do skaters make use of the Hakuba Valley all-mountain season ticket (hereinafter abbreviated to ``volley ticket'')?
Let's take a glimpse into the winter lifestyle of 20-year-old snowboarder Shuzaburo Otsubo, who lived overseas for a long time due to his parents' work, with a volleyball ticket. Click here for skier Hideaki Gomi's version .
Snowboarding in Calgary, Canada
Shuzaburo Otsubo, a 20-year-old university student living in Tokyo. He is a professional snowboarder who was promoted to pro in 2019 with 3rd place in the JSBA points ranking. He spends the snowless days in Tokyo, and when the snow piles up he moves to Hakuba and skis the Hakuba Valley.
During his childhood, he moved around the world due to his father's work.
While spending time in Malaysia, Azerbaijan, the United States and Canada, he fell in love with snowboarding in Calgary, Canada, where the Olympics were held. There are half pipes that are big enough to hold the World Cup and big air for competition, so there are only serious snowboarders around. As a result, his father was transferred to Russia after that, but he chose to return to Japan with his mother and practice snowboarding every day. His base was Osaka KINGS. There, he developed his skills under the coaching of Keiji Okamoto. Okamoto was based in Hakuba.
I started using volleyball tickets in the 2022-23 season.
"There was a share house called 'BASE GORYU' run by Keiji at the foot of Goryu. It was my base during the season since I was in high school. At first, I walked to the ski resort for about 15 minutes, and then went to Goryu and Yonnana (Hakuba). 47, hereinafter referred to as 47) every day.Because the park was my main activity, I skied all 47 parks for three seasons.In other words, I only needed 47.I thought it would be good if I could jump and jib
. It was the environment, lol.
In the 21st and 22nd seasons, when I participated in the JFO (JAPAN FREERIDE OPEN: a freeride competition organized by riders) held in Hakunori (Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Resort) and Cortina (Hakuba Cortina) and won I thought I'd like to try the world of riding as well.
Keiji-san also told me that I should ski on various mountains. But at that time, the Goryu 47 was the only ticket I had, and after doing some research, I found out that there was a volleyball ticket, so I bought a volleyball ticket for the first time in the 2022-23 season.”
Otsubo started using volleyball tickets in the 2022-23 season. When the season begins, until mid-January, he skis freely in the mountains in Hakuba Valley without being tied to the park, and from February onwards, he travels around the country to participate in slopestyle and big air competitions. When I come back to Hakuba between competitions, I mainly ski in the park, which is the flow of the season.
“Before, I used to buy a one-day ticket to go to a ski resort other than Goryu 47, but it costs a lot of money.A volleyball ticket is a lot of money for me as a student, but I don’t know if it’s during the Hakuba season
. I didn't have to worry about money when I skied at the Valley ski resort, so I went without hesitation.
During the season, the 47 parks are the main ones when the competition is close, but at the beginning of the season, I checked the weather forecast to see if it was likely to snow or where it was snowing, and skied from morning to night. Goryu 47, of course, but there were many Happo and Cortina.
We are also making videos in the form of season edits after winter is over, so if you can shoot powder, freeriding, parks, etc. in one area, the variety of shot heights will increase.
In particular, I often go to Iwatake and Happo Parks, not just 47. Unlike 47, it's a park with terrain, so it's not only fun to slide, but the picture changes, so it's a great advantage to shoot.
Also, it's nice to be able to participate without hesitation in the big kicker event "Hammer Banger" that is held at the top of Tsugaike in spring.
In spring, there are many events at each ski resort, so you don't have to worry about lift ticket fees.
The park changes from season to season like powder, so I appreciate being able to adapt to that. The items change, the scale grows, and if it becomes a terrain park, the situation will change from time to time depending on the timing of your visit. I can adapt to such changes without hesitation in both powder and park, and above all, the fact that there are many options is a great advantage that I felt after having a volleyball ticket.”
Hakuba Valley's ski resorts and mountains never tire of skiing
Otsubo travels the country to compete in slopestyle and big air competitions.
In the 2022-23 season, I visited Alts Bandai in Fukushima Prefecture, Palcall Tsumagoi in Gunma Prefecture, X-JAM Takai Fuji in Nagano Prefecture, Mt. Washigatake in Gifu Prefecture, and Niseko Hanazono in Hokkaido. However, it is not the case that you can fully enjoy those ski resorts because the competition is the main event. Rather, the more you skate in other areas, the more you realize the goodness of Hakuba Valley, where you usually ski.
“I go to each of the ski resorts for the competition, so I don’t ski all the way, but I do get bored. In the afternoon, most of the skis are in good places, and I feel like I want to ski powder in the morning and go to a different ski resort in the afternoon.
There is a limit to what you can do at one ski resort, and when you think about it, the volleyball ticket system is really good, and when you go to other areas, you feel it again.”
Mr. Otsubo. I asked him about a day in the 2022-23 season when he was happy to have a volleyball ticket.
“At the beginning of February, I went through three ski resorts: Happo, Cortina, and Tsugaike
. I actually planned to finish with that one run, but there weren't many people and the conditions were so good that I decided to go another run and dropped.
After that, drive to the northernmost point, Cortina. There were some lines, but there was still powder left, even though it wasn't early in the morning. I found a good line while traversing and skated until after 13:00.
The last is Tsugaike. The area of DBD (TSUGAIKE DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND) is huge, so there are many areas where people don't go, so I went skating with that in mind. Before I knew it, the day when it was around 16:00 was the best day I had skated at Hakuba last season.
Also, I bought a Goryu night season ticket for the 2022-23 season, so I have the impression that I skied from morning to night, not just on this day.”
I improved by skating in various places, and my connections with people increased.
Mr. Otsubo is making full use of the volleyball ticket, but what kind of changes have he made since he got this ticket?
“When I look back at the footage from freeride competitions, the thing that struck me the most was that my skating has become more stable. Looking at the footage
from the 2021-22 season, I thought I was carving, but it turned into a slide turn, and I couldn't stop.
However, in the 2022-23 season, I had a pretty nice carving turn. The slopes are rough, so I used a long board to give it a sense of stability.
Thanks to seeing the whole mountain and skating, I think that not only the park but also the powder and freeriding are enjoyed, and the number of people skating with me has increased, which has led to my growth. Among them, there were many people who brought us new stimuli, such as people who showed us around the mountains and people who took videos and photos.
After all, if you keep skating in the same place all the time, you'll get stuck in a rut in many ways, and your excitement will fade. It's a big thing that I was able to make various connections in the Hakuba area."
Mr. Otsubo enjoys powder and freeriding while focusing on getting good results in slopestyle and big air competitions.
By skiing in the Hakuba area in general, the width of the images I make has expanded, so it's all good. Mr. Otsubo will be based in Hakuba this winter as well. Of course, I plan to get a volleyball ticket for the 2023-24 season.