JaPOW - A winter season in Japan | Part 4 RECAP

I flew to Japan last year for the start of the winter season. The season usually starts in December, even if there isn't much snow at that time and much of the bamboo that takes over the mountains in summer and turns them into a dense jungle is not yet covered. At the beginning, you actually ask yourself: "Where the hell are you supposed to be able to ski here?" But the snow comes. And it comes in large quantities. And then all the bamboo is slowly pushed down to the ground, opening up endless trails for freeriding. A quick background info, for anyone just starting out here: My friend Jojo and I worked as ski techs in a ski & guiding school from December to March, servicing and hiring out equipment. We then spent another three months travelling by car, drove all the way to the south of Japan to Miyazaki and went surfing. I documented the winter in three articles (JaPOW - A Winter Season in Japan | Part 1 | PowderGuide), 2 (JaPOW - A Winter Season in Japan | Part 2 | PowderGuide) and 3 (JaPOW - A Winter Season in Japan | Part 3 | PowderGuide) which are available here.

Working and living

We took care of the visa ourselves and that definitely made it easier for us to get jobs because the companies didn't have to do the work for us. We were there on a work-and-travel visa, which you can get up to the age of 30. However, if you are over 30 and still want to spend a season in Japan, don't be put off! There is also the option of working in Japan with a "sponsored visa". This is organised for you by the company you want to work for. The probability of getting this is relatively high, as the ski companies are geared towards tourism and are happy to have international staff.

The accommodation was organised for us in advance by our employers. There was also a shared company car and a few company events to get to know each other at the beginning. As already mentioned, Jojo and I worked in ski rental for a private guiding company. The two of us shared a full-time job (not very common), so we each only had to work 2.5 days a week, and hat 2 days together off. We had fixed hours and days and therefore a predictable salary. However, it was different for many of the guides and ski instructors. The hours for ski instructors and guides depend on how busy the bookings are. This means that at certain times of the week there are a lot of hours, but other times it can also be rather poor. Or two hours in the morning and then another two in the afternoon. A whole day's work, but only relatively few hours. If you want, you can of course go riding in your off-time. But the paid hours are less predictable. Many people have therefore looked for a second job in the catering industry, but it was significantly lower paid. If you like to go on tours, visit another ski resort in between or simply want to explore the surrounding area, planning can sometimes be difficult due to the need to call off lessons. In some ski schools, ski instructors only had enough work during peak seasons such as Christmas and Chinese New Year (but then they are on skis every day for two to three weeks), while in January there are had only a few hours per week. Precise contractual agreements can be helpful here.

The accommodation situation on site can also vary greatly. You should be aware that sharing rooms with strangers is common practice, cramped flats are often occupied by too many people and privacy can be limited as many people live together in a small space. We were really lucky and had a pretty big and nice house, right next to the Furano ski resort. Jojo and I shared a room, like others but there were also single rooms available for an extra charge. However, accommodation is not cheap. We paid 60,000 YEN, which is around 400 euros per person for a shared room, which is deducted from your salary. Yep, living in Japan is not cheap.

In the beginning, it was quiet and cosy in our house, but over the season we took on more and more people and at some point there were ten of us instead of six. That was a bit more difficult with one bathroom, one toilet and one kitchen. Nevertheless, on average we did really well and felt comfortable, experiencing completely different conditions in other accommodations.

Recommendations and alternatives to seasonal work

What really gave us a lot of freedom was that we bought a car at the very beginning. A so-called kei car. These are small Japanese cars with small engines that can be bought quite cheaply as used cars and are easy to sell again. These kei-cars are exempt from the obligation to provide proof of a parking space and are subsidised by the state, meaning that vehicle tax, tolls and insurance are very cheap. But just because they are small and have little horsepower doesn't mean they don't have what it takes. We had a Nissan Kei NV100 van, a five-seater with a rear bed of 175, raised and with four-wheel drive. It got us up and down everywhere. Without the car, we would hardly have got to the starting points for the tours and would only have seen half as much of Hokkaido. The company's shared car was great for everyday use, but not for touring or taking on excursions.

When buying and selling a car, it is advisable to seek Japanese-speaking help, the documents for registration etc. are only available in Japanese and the "name change" or change of ownership of the car is obligatory. The bureaucratic effort rivals that in Germany. You might think Japan is more modern - but you'd be wrong.

Bringing our own equipment was a blessing and a curse for us. A curse because travelling with skis in your luggage is always a curse, a blessing because the same equipment would have been much more expensive to rent or buy in Japan. There are some really good second-hand offers, but you have to rummage through a lot of the "2nd Street", "BookOff" and "Wonder REX" stores. There's also a hell of a lot of junk. But that's also how we got our surfboards in the summer. However, you need the time and a bit of luck.

I don't know whether I would want to do seasonal work again in winter. Maybe with a group of good friends I can take out into the backcountry, or in a “light” version – with my own accommodation and even more opportunities to make the most of the gap year during the season. If you save up for a winter in Japan, you can do a lot of cool things without working, for not that much money. You can go on tours everywhere for free, and the ski resorts (except Niseko) are okay in terms of pricing. But I can only recommend Niseko as a stopover anyway. The nickname "Little Australia" is apt and there's not much of the Japan you'd hope for. There are also some wonderful tours around Niseko. We met a couple of people who had rented a heated campervan for six weeks. As you can park almost anywhere in Japan free of charge and without any problems, that would be my option for the next time. On Hokkaido and almost everywhere else in Japan, there is an "Onsen", i.e. public hot springs, in every municipality. You usually pay an entrance fee of 2 - 4 euros and can warm up, wash and the often include a sauna. You pay an average of 6 - 10 euros for ramen, a price that is well worth the quality of the soups! Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancakes, VERY DELICIOUS!) and other simple dishes are also available for little money and top quality. Life in a heated campervan can even be quite luxurious. I can't and won't give you a price for the hire here, but it's certainly a good way to get to know the island and the different regions for touring.

My conclusion: No matter how you do it, Japan is worth it! If you are lucky enough to have time, you should do it. Because it takes quite a while to really get your heart and soul into this beautiful, slightly crazy country and then there is something new to discover every day.