04 Oct Unbiased Advice from Snow Country Instructors

We are always happy to answer questions about the Yuzawa area, Minami Uonuma area, Snow Country Region, or skiing and snowboarding in Japan in general. Often when we are dealing with enquiries from clients about their winter snow trip to Japan, we look at their plan and make a few suggestions. We would just like to make clear that those suggestions are based on our opinion of what would fit their needs the best. We don’t make commission from our clients using restaurants/rental shops/hotels/resorts.

All our coaches and instructors here in Yuzawa love snow. They want everyone that they teach to share that feeling and to come skiing or snowboarding again. It doesn’t have to be here, or with us; but we are trying to create fellow fans of these sports. So making sure you have the best time possible in the Japanese snow is our goal.

RENTAL EQUIPMENT – We tend to recommend the rental shops in town because they offer good value and also a free shuttle service to and from the resorts each day which makes moving around really convenient. No waiting for that resort bus in the snow. You may be able to get a good deal renting from your accommodation, or you might prefer the newer equipment available at most rental shops at the resort. If you are looking for top of the range powder skis then the Moment Demo Center in Yuzawa might be a better choice.

RESORTS – There are many different reasons for choosing a resort, but the most well-known resorts may not be the best for your requirements. If we know a little about what you are trying to achieve we can help you choose. Especially for beginners and lower level skiers and snowboarders, having the most suitable slopes to practice on is really important. Of course we can and do teach anywhere, so if you are set on your choice of resort we will make the best of the slopes available on that day.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTORS – We frequently suggest adding an extra instructor to your group or family. This is not us trying to sell you more lessons for the sake of it but is to make your experience better and your progress faster. For a family, children and adults learn in different ways and are often better off with separate instructors. This applies too to children of vastly different ages due to difference in muscle development, attention, and coordination. Very young children require lots of hands-on attention and require 1-on-1 assistance. For a group, having a large number of participants with one instructor is cheaper, but not cost-effective. While one person is performing and receiving help from the instructor everyone else is watching and waiting. The group can only move at the pace of the slowest learner so if there is one person unable to master a certain task it will slow the progress for everyone, and this is no fun for anybody.

TAKING LESSONS WITH SNOW COUNTRY INSTRUCTORS – OK, so this one might have a little bit of bias! We genuinely believe that we have the best instructors out of any international ski school in the region. There are other English speaking coaches and instructors around if you go to Naeba, Gala Yuzawa, or NASPA Ski Garden for your lessons though we would hope you would choose our team for their quality and great value. We go out of our way to recruit awesome coaches who have been in the industry for many years. Experienced coaches who are great with people will ensure that you have fun in the Japanese snow. We don’t just have English speaking ski coaches here in Yuzawa but try to have a broad selection of languages available.

Feel free to ignore any suggestions we make 🙂 but please remember that we have your best experience in mind, and are offering advice from our many years of experience teaching skiing and snowboarding in resorts in Yuzawa and the rest of the region.

As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions on anything, or need any advice. We look forward to seeing you in the ski resorts of Yuzawa when then snow comes.

2018 Winter Season Resort Opening Dates in Yuzawa and Minami Uonuma