Outside looking in, it’s a perfect diorama of paper doors, steamy restaurant windows, mouth-covered giggles, and the most silent and peaceful backcountry scenes that exist. Japan is a gift, something we are allowed to borrow and enjoy for a short time, but you’re a voyeur. They do things differently, they don’t acquire or convert, but hold uniqueness with care.
Following the lead of our sensei, Tadashi Fuse, the rest of the Arc’teryx snowboard team—Joe Lax, Spencer O’Brien, Severin Van Der Meer, Elena Hight, Victor Daviet, Jared Elston, Sean Miskiman, and myself—did our best to file in, and blend in, to his scene. Clear tourists with our stuck vans and clunky attempts at Japanese, we took notes from the master and tried not to break anything.
To say more would take away from the mystique of the mountains Tadashi shared with us. The following is a gallery of us taking in, for a short time, the uniqueness that is Japan.
Intro by: Robin Van Gyn
Photography and Captions by: Perly
Opening Spread: Tadashi Fuse and Victor Daviet floating through Myoko. Japan’s Honshu Island is always a roll of the dice, but this year the snow gods went all in. Record-breaking dumps turned the trip into a jackpot. It felt like winning the lottery. If I could, I’d still be there, lost in the white room.
From Bottom Left (Clockwise):
Robin praying for more snow at a temple atop Tengendai Ropeway.
When is too much snow, too much snow? I guess the answer changes depending on who you’re asking. For us, you know the answer is never.
Abandoned building pillow hit for Sean Miskiman in Tengendai. I managed his dating app while he was hiking up. He ended up with a photo, a clip, and a date. There are a lot of these buildings in Japan, but no one goes in because it’s believed they are haunted by spirits. It looked like people were there the day before, but had to leave in a hurry. It was creepy.
Who thought it would be funny to rent rear-wheel-drive vans in one of the snowiest countries on Earth? We were spinning and pushing them out of powder-filled parking lots at least twice a day. Myoko.
The whole band looking at shots and making plans after the dopest Japanese dinner in Tengendai. Our spot was in a temple at the bottom of the lift, frozen in time, with a proper private onsen.
From Bottom Left (Clockwise):
Jared being a bad gaijin (baka gaijin des) jumping from the lift. We all know what else happened that day.
Jared, backside air on a hip shaped in one minute. I really like the no-beanie vibe. He was on a no-fucks vibe this day.
Jared and Sevi freezing their asses off at the Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival. They construct a large wooden shrine, and after an intense and chaotic mock battle of fire and shouting, the structure is set ablaze in a symbolic act of purification.
No friends on a pow day, except when you’re helping them find the goods. Sevi, deep in line-scope detective mode. Myoko.
You can clearly see the skills of the 2007 Swiss Equestrian Vaulting Champion here. Sevi, backside rodeo in Myoko.
Sevi shooting Jared topless for his Tinder profile. We can’t confirm if swipe rate increased.
From Bottom Left (Clockwise):
In between moments in Myoko.
In Myoko, there is an onsen town up on the mountain, which we thought was worth a scope. We spotted some pillow lines within walking distance but got kicked out right away by the onsen boss. He said it was dangerous and we couldn’t ride them. I don’t think it was the first time he had to deal with some gaijin looking at spots. Elena Hight, pow turns in Myoko, in one of the last photos of the trip. 23 days, with barely one off.
Tadashi Fuse and Victor Daviet, another pow day in Myoko. It felt like Tadashi got hyped on shredding with us. He just snowboards for fun nowadays, as he is working a regular job. But after a few days hanging, he was back into getting clips. It was so cool to be with him, experience his hype for snowboarding, and witness his flow.
Tadashi Fuse’s snowboarding is all about flow. Smooth, silent, and effortless.
Victor Daviet, abandoned onsen chill. Tengendai.
Elena Hight onsen spot check.
From Bottom Left (Clockwise):
Joe looking zen as always. Joe is a Whistler local who seeks snow and steeps in the winter, and fights forest fires in the summer. Tengendai.
Joe Lax on Myoko’s volcano crater. It was a splitboard mission to access these amazing lines, but completely worth it. Sadly, the clouds rolled in and ruined the party.
Spencer in Tengendai paradise. I met her on this trip, and she has become one of my favorite humans. She has a better slash than the boys, and owns a wolf.
We found and then explored a lot of abandoned buildings. If you couldn’t tell. Spencer in Tengendai.
You can get Jared out of the street but never the street out of Jared. The snow was warming up, so he scoped this bridge wallride with Alex Craig.