My name is Benjamin Rok and I live in Nagano City. Been here for only three and a half months, two months in Nagoya before that. Got my transfer at my crappy job teaching English, to what is probably the worst branch of the worst chain school in all of Japan, and I have a lot of difficulties with most aspects of my life here, but I have racked up enough days on the hill to make most of my friends green with envy, and more importantly, to make all of my frustration worthwhile.

Before I came to Japan 5 and a half months ago, I had a great job in the US - I was a cardiology researcher. I made more than enough money, worked with great people on interesting projects, and enjoyed a comfortable life, but that was just the problem - life was too comfortable, too easy. I was bored, stagnating. I wanted to go back to school, but I had been working hard for years, so I felt I owed myself something first.

I have been a snowboarder for 4 years. Before that, I snowboarded for maybe four years, but it was maybe 4 or 5 times a season. I think there is a difference between snowboarding and identifying as a snowboarder. I always liked the idea of riding seasons, but I never had the means or the know-how. Four years ago, I met a girl who was way into snowboarding. We became boyfriend-girlfriend, and took a trip to Loveland, Colorado. During the four days that we were there, it snowed something like 28 inches - that’s 71 cm for the inches-impaired, and there were maybe 10 other people on the entire mountain. Conditions were brutal for a beginner (Loveland is notoriously windy), but I felt like I was riding on a cloud the entire time I was there. Rode an untouched steep steep chute, thigh-high powder, and from that point on I was hooked. Started readin’ the mags and checkin’ out all the websites - I wanted to snowboard all the time. But I still lacked the means. I spent 3 seasons riding my local hill, and taking trips to Colorado, Montana, British Columbia, and California to get the hit-or-miss goods, whenever I could. Probably averaged about 20 days a season, my last one was 25.

After my last trip to Lake Tahoe, California, where I spent 2 days riding glare ice steeps, I decided that riding hit-or-miss vacation spots was not enough. I had to live it. I wanted to be a season rider, but I needed to find a place where I could do a season, yet pay all my bills. In the US, it is hard to find a good city to ride out of. Denver is probably your best bet, but in recent years, Colorado snow has completely fallen off. Resorts are starting to operate deep into the red, because of late openings, due to not enough snow. Plus the drive to the hill can take up to 2 hours. It would have been hit-or-miss after all.

In the end I decided to try for the place I had the most information on, which thanks to this website, was Japan. Although Niseko gets hyped up big-time, Nagano seemed like a much more logical place to find work, and also seemed much more central and accessible to a wider variety of mountains and resorts. So yeah, I applied to the crappiest English school I could think of, in hopes that other people would constantly want out (my hopes continuously come true as employee turnover approaches 100%), and I got the job. I began studying Japanese about a year ago, when I started thinking about wanting to come here. I think the language is infinitely interesting, not to mention that speaking it has gotten me through some truly confounding situations. It has since become one of my 3 or 4 major goals in coming over here - I won’t leave Japan until I can speak the language conversationally.

So anyway... when I got to the Nags, much to my surprise, there was an appalling lack of a snowboarding scene, or a community. Or at least if there was a scene, it was outside of my grasp. I met several gaijin, but only a few of whom who rode, which totally blew my mind - “People, you are in a winter-sports epicenter, if you are not here to ride or ski, go somewhere else for godssakes, heaven knows there are hundreds of people who want to get up here to slide!” and it also wasn’t obvious in the community of Japanese young people that I saw. Nobody rockin’ the snowboard gear, no local bar where the snowboarders went and chilled and talked about their turns. It didn’t make sense to me. If there was a city like Nagano in the states, it would be crawling with snowboarders. I think the best example of this would be Bend, Oregon, population 57,750. While this city is maybe one-sixth the size of Nagano city, it nevertheless functions as a city in and of itself - it has industry, a school system, public facilities and civil servants. The city’s economy doesn’t revolve around Mount Bachelor, but because this great mountain is only 22 miles away from Bend’s city center, the entire town is populated with snowboarders and skiers - from cops to clerks and from teachers to students, doctors to nurses - everyone snowboards or skis. In fact, many people have moved to Bend from other parts of the US solely in order to slide. But I digress. Let’s just say I was amazed at the lack of snow enthusiasm in Nagano city.

Most residents that I have talked to fall into two categories: 

1) the recreational skiers of an earlier era, or 
2) recreational skiers and snowboarders of today. 

The recreational skiers of yesteryear used to ski when the sidewalks of Japan were littered with money, but since the economy has tightened up, they are feeling the effects of the cold and have no desire to get out come winter. The current recreational types maybe head up once a month, average 5-10 times a season, have their fun with it, but don’t it take past a thing to do every other Sunday or on the odd National Holiday.

I was looking for people who wanted to go all the time. The call-in-sick during a powder day type of people. My Japanese is simply not good enough to perform this search amongst the local population, but once again, I got lucky because I didn’t have to look any further than this website. I put up my notice in the forum, and hooked up with some really cool people. Very glad that I did. It’s so nice to have a variety of people to ride with.

The first people I met were mogski and db - both of whom I must of scared off, because I haven’t seen ‘em since. They were up for an early season trip, soon after Hakuba 47/Goryu opened its lifts. Mogski and I hiked this small burm to get fresh tracks. I laugh when I look at it now and think about some of the powder days I have had. Later that day, I got lost on the mountain, and had to hurry for the bus back to Nagano (thanks mogski), but overall, it was a lot of fun getting out so early in the season, and getting my legs back, on snow that was actually very nice. I was so stoked to be doin’ it yah know - I had wanted to move to Japan to snowboard for a year, and I was finally there, er uh here.

My next meeting was zwelgen and nekobi, who I both met at a party the week before an early-season trip up to Nozawa. I am super glad I did, because I was still laggin’ for friends to slide with, and because zwelly and I have ridden together several times now, and she remains one of my favorite people to go with. Did a day together in Nozawa, then one in Hakuba, where I met Matt, who doesn’t rock the forum so much anymore, as he is probably too busy riding. He was by far the best freerider I have met so far, just crazy goin’ way too fast and knowing the mountain like the back of his hand.

Then OUFreeski2 came up on a trip to Hakuba. Didn’t get to ride with him as much as I would have liked to, but such is life when you have to work at 1:20, and I got to ride with him later on down the line, so it was all cool.

Hit up nat’s Snowbeds party with danz, Mr.Sparkle, kuma, and a gang’a other people. It was way fun, showed everyone the lines, and even won a skateboard at Secret Santa. What can I say about that? Came home with more than I brought.

At New-Years vacation, ran into Fattwins and OUFreeski2 again, and had a blast rippin’ the Hakuba trees with my local crew.

Enderzero got picked up at Nagano station January 9^th and aside from an injury, has been having a good time, but how can you not, when you are partying, playin’ vids, watchin’ flicks, snowboarding, and not working. It was too bad about the injury though, cuz it is a great thing to ride with people of your own ability who are pushin’ you and you are pushin’ them. But that’s all over now, so I’m way looking forward to explorin’ new places and hittin’ many more park sessions with the Zero, in March and April.

Met amandanism on a random icy park Wednesday or Thursday - I forget, wanted to show her around, but there was no powder to be had.

Ripped some great lines with dane on another one of Fattwins trips up Nort’. Many lines at Cortina, and seshed a Hakuba Iimori jump during a rainy video day which featured a nasty crash by yours truly, now available for viewing (along with several of dane’s superior jumps) on dane’s website. Rode to the bottom of Iimori, and there was NoFakie - I was all like “damn!” so many posters, so little time.

This weekend it’s another party with danz, Mr.Sparkle, and hopefully a gang’a mugs to ride and slide with. But back to work on Saturday morning, tough work ridin’ and workin’ same day.

As the season begins to end, I am thinking about hitting up somewhere new in Japan. I know that if I move I will probably regret it, but I want to try something new. I think it is mostly the job. Most people spend most of their waking hours at work, and if yer not happy at werk, yer simply not happy.

Overall I am very happy with my season. I have easily had 20 powder days, and checked out some great mountains. Built some backcountry kickers, and stomped some huge jumps. I’m spending the last part of the season trying to get all of my tricks down, and hopefully get that elusive 540. I figure it’s that or hurt myself, one or the other. I am also way stoked on the people I have met on the forum. Other people I know around here who ride but who don’t get on the forum have a tougher time meeting people - hookin’ up rides, checkin’ out different resorts, finding parties whatever. But I have been having a great time turning my imaginary friends into real friends, and hookin’ up the adventures along the way.

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