Nick Kowal is the owner of the Hakuba Powder Lodge. In a short interview I asked Nick a few questions about life in Japan, his dreams, a year after Fukushima and more.
Patrick: Hi Nick, How many years have you already lived in Japan and why did you decide to leave Canada.
Nick: I have lived in Japan for 12 years now. I first came to Japan on a school program to study Japanese and resort management. That first season was 1995-1996 and it snowed so much I was hooked on skiing forever. I came back again to work in Kyoto and pay off some debt in the fall of 1998. Since then I have lived in Japan full time. I didn't choose to leave Canada, I love Canada. I think Japan was more of I could afford to start a snow business here decision.
Patrick: What was your impression of Japan before you skied here?
Nick: I really didn't know much to be honest. I thought polite people and lots of technology. I didn't even know that Japan had mountains at first. I had only ever been to America so my view of the world was very small.
Patrick: Within the last few years the Hakuba Powder Lodge became the Lodge with more powder chasing skiers than any other Lodge I have ever seen. Was that your dream or why did you start the business.
Nick: I started the Lodge as a way to stop teaching English. I came to a crossroad in my life really. English teaching work was once a highly paid job but it changed so quickly that I was left standing in my old company angry at everything. I was over or under worked with a paycheck that got cut by 1/3. I thought I either have to go back to Canada to study or start some type of business. My wife and I skied 40 days a year or more so the ski lifestyle we both loved made sense. My wife was really great about starting something new; she thought lets go for it. We cobbled all of our money together and bought a run-down place in Hakuba. At the time I was heavily into Internet ski forums and our place was slowly coming together so I marketed the lodge to ski bums. I set my prices low and tried to get people that loved to ski. We always thought that we would change and attract some more beginner types or skiers but in the end I love my guests. They make me jealous every day I don't ski with their stories, pics and videos.
Patrick: You are married to Hiroko and together you have 3 kids. Family plus Lodge and part time English teacher do you still get enough skiing?
Nick: I ski over 50 days a season every year. On a good year I start to ski in November but that doesn't always happen. My English job has 5 weeks of holidays during the ski season plus weekends off. I love to hike so my season usually lasts about 5 months. My kids now love to ski so I try to get out with them as well. Spring is great in Hakuba for young kids; the weather is just perfect for them.
A year ago was one of the worst days in history of Japan. There was an earthquake followed by the life changing Fukushima disaster. How was the time right after the event and what changed?
That was a scary time really. For Hakuba there weren't many Earthquakes but the TV showed warnings every 30 minutes about earthquakes. It just got so tiring really. The nuclear problem just added to everything and my stress level was so high. It was and still is a sad time for Japan. The next day after the earthquake happened I went skiing. Everyone I saw had the same look on their faces. Everyone just looked confused and of course sacred. That attitude lasted for about one month. After that, people started to understand how badly the disaster had affected the businesses in Hakuba. Some of my friends knew that the next season was going to be a right off. I was worried, but I had a full time job as a safety net. That job really gave me confidence that my family would be ok.
Patrick: Unlike other businesses in Hakuba and also other areas in Japan your Lodge was overbooked all season despite the events a year ago. Why this?
Nick: That is the 1 million dollar question really. I would be lying if I said I could tell you 100% why. I believe it was our guests that saved us. We have tried to turn every guest into a friend. It doesn't always work, but that is one of our selling points. Without our guests telling their friends about us we would've been in bad shape this season. The other reason was a switch to the European market. That was something we started to focus on about 3 seasons ago and it really has paid off.
Patrick: What are your dreams or what are you plans for the next few years?
Nick: Well I will quit my English teaching job finally. I just don't need to do it anymore. Our lodge no longer needs major renovations so it is time to focus on being at the lodge more. From next season I have a goal to get back to skiing 100 days again a year. Most of those days will be spent climbing in and around the Hakuba area in the spring. We will continue to upgrade the lodge and our services every year. Hiroko and I find that it is really important to continue to upgrade the lodge.
