Kojima-san, ARAI Mountain & Spa, Niigata

Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I was born and raised in Tokyo. While growing up, I watched American TV shows such as “Raw-hide”, “77 Sunset Strip”, “Father Knows Best”, “Cannon Ball”, “Surfside 6”, “Hawaiian Eye” and the like. These TV shows had a great influence on me, to the point that I aspired to further understand Anglo-American culture by communicating with speakers of English (my initiation to cross cultural communications).

Earlier in my business career, I assisted a consulting firm that specialized in retail industry and chain store management. From there, I became involved with management of a ski resort in the U.S., and such work experience inevitably led to my present work.

What position do you have at ARAI? How did you get to that position?
I am the President of Arai Resort Management Inc. (a management company responsible for all operations at ARAI). My relationship with the founder of the resort (Mr. Joe Hideo Morita) goes back a long time & I have worked with him on international business activities. Prior to my present posting, I represented another Japanese investor who bought a U.S. ski resort. Following acquisition of it, I was then asked to manage it (which I did for 6 years before being asked to sell it to a prominent North American ski resort owner/investor). Back in Japan, I accepted the offer to my present position for an exciting challenge.

Can you tell us about what your job involves?
For the long run I’m involved with strategic and tactical planning of business promotions, financial planning, liaison with both the local community and investors, as well as customer relations. On a day-to-day basis, I work as CEO with the Executive Vice President, COO to ensure customer satisfaction.

Are you a skier / snowboarder? If yes, how long? Do you get to ski much now?
I have not had the pleasure of snow boarding, & to be honest I can only classify myself as a professional “novice” skier. Although I did not manage to make it skiing on the mountain last season, I was able to spend an exiting night riding “shotgun” in one of our Pisten Bully snow groomers. If you ever get the chance to do something similar, I strongly recommend it.

There are so many resorts in Japan. How does ARAI try to set itself apart from other resorts? Is it difficult to do that?
ARAI does the same things other mountains do for PR and the like (Posters for general exposure etc.) of course, but the real propellant are guests who have been to ARAI and speak about it.

The mountain itself is also unique in that skiers/boarders are permitted on terrain up top that has not been groomed (Conditional Zones) when the weather permits. These zones (55 hectares in total spread over the upper slopes in four separate areas) offer skiers/boarders a snow bowl- experience quite rare in this part of the world.

The resort village, from inception, has aimed at the upscale market by offering a comparable standard of facilities and services to those found in Europe and North America.

ARAI is the first and perhaps only resort boasting full universal accessibility, from the parking area all the way to the top of the mountain. To complement such hardware, fully trained guides (qualified to take disabled skiers on chair ski, mono ski, etc.) act as the software to offer guests a unique experience.

Does ARAI see itself primarily as a ski resort, or a hotel resort? How does it go about marketing the resort?
ARAI is a resort with a great snow experience. The main theme is “RESORT”, where people relax and enjoy their moment of happiness in the way of their choosing, whether they happen to be skiing/boarding or not. Thus, the resort offers non-ski support such as Esthetics Spa Manna, “Yu” a big public bath with a variety of bathing experiences (a Japanese favorite pastime), and a “Kids’ Playground” where children can be their own masters.

The resort is also making more of an effort to “package” the product, by incorporating local history and natural resources. For example, we are now featuring Uesugi Kenshin, a feudal lord of the local area, who spent an interesting life in the area as a Samurai (traditional Japanese warrior) & is still quite popular in this country.

To date, the resort has relied heavily on the satisfied customer for marketing, as I believe that for any product such “media” cannot be beaten.

Presumably, the winter months account for a disproportionately large % of the business for the resort. Is that so? And does that create many special problems?
Yes, having the majority of guests coming in the winter creates many challenges, such as employment. Resort operations, a snow based one in particular, is a highly labor intensive business. We need a lot of skilled seasonal labor. Ideally, we should develop a year-round business and/or find business activities that are seasonally complimentary. By doing so, we could make full use of the maximum number of people we need year-round, instead of having to constantly hire and train a seasonal workforce.

How is ARAI responding to the general decline in numbers of people skiing and snowboarding in Japan?
Although a challenge, not all ski/board areas experienced a decline. At Arai, the numbers rose several percentage points over and above last year in terms of skier visits. The best answer to the general decline mentioned is to provide a variety of programs, available for a wide range of family and group customers, independent of whether they ski or not. In our White Season, even now, a good number of our customers stay with us not only for skiing but also for relaxing in an environment totally different from their everyday life. The key is to provide relaxation and new excitement for our guests. We do not dictate to our guests what to do. We simply try to help facilitate the activities of our guests, active or non-active.

How do you see the Japanese winter sports industry going in the next 5 or 10 years and beyond?
In terms of business ownership and operations, the industry will see gradual consolidation. Naturally, there may be some closures, too. The key point in this process is that guests ultimately decide which snow resorts will survive and grow.

Generally, I believe that “ski/board areas” will naturally have to evolve to a resort where “skiing/boarding” is not the only purpose. Instead, such resorts must become a winter park offering civilized accommodation, good food and lots of fun activities (initiated either by the park or the guest). A winter park must market itself as a place for having fun experiences during time allotted for leisure, whether it be with family, friends, professional colleagues or the like.

Of course, Skiing/Boarding will remain a prominent and critically important element of the snow-based resort. But it will only be one of the activities available for choice by the guest. Accommodation, food and other fun elements are becoming more important to make a successful resort. Other fun consists of shopping of course, along with water-based activities and Esthetic treatments. To facilitate such fun, families should have the option of having their children looked after independently of their parents, & professional Kids Playground/Nursery staff at the resort do this nicely.

What percentage of people who use the slopes at ARAI stay in one of your hotels?
We have a little over 250 keys (rooms) at ARAI, with maximum occupancy for 700 guests in full. On a peak day, we can accommodate 3,000 to 4,000 skier/boarders on the mountain without making them feel like the slopes are crowded. So that’s the percentage in general - on such a day approximately 10% of those guests on the slopes will be staying at one of the three resort hotels.

Any plans to expand at all in the future?  Either the snowfields or other aspects of the resort?
The present areas available for skiing/boarding only comprise Phase I of the grand master plan permitted by the authorities. We are constantly monitoring the overall market trend, as well as local needs, for type and size of the “Park” most suitable. Presently, perhaps ARAI needs to develop more non-ski/board activities to provide a wider array of options for guests to enjoy themselves.

What made ARAI decide on employing non-Japanese staff and marketing to foreigners?
To return to a point touched on earlier, it was always with the international market in mind that ARAI was created. Thus, facilities, services and amenities at the resort have all been geared up to meet the wants/needs of the international guest. However, good hardware requires software of a similar caliber. ARAI software works out nicely in equal amounts by the guests and staff (“cast” as the employees refer to each other here). Foreign staff and guests therefore are required to complete the picture of ARAI as was intended. The concept of ARAI is a resort for fun and relaxation, with great accommodation and food at a world-class standard, in a very pristine area of Myoko City, Niigata. ARAI is a resort belonging to a truly international setting.

How do you feel about the increase in foreigners visiting your resort?
GREAT! In fact, I am personally involved in promoting more such visits by foreigners to ARAI, not only from outside Japan but also domestically. There are many ex-pat business executives/ families in Tokyo for example looking for truly safe & enjoyable fun snow-based recreation in a setting similar to standards available overseas. I have a good friend involved in PR, and we both agree that having ex-pat guests staying at the resort leverages up the overall image. It has gotten to the point where such guests are introducing the resort to the main domestic market, so I’m very grateful.

Where do the guests (Japanese) of ARAI come from?
In terms of hotel guests, the largest part is from the Tokyo region, followed by Kansai and Nagoya. For day skiers (i.e., those not staying at the resort hotels) most come from local regions. Of course, there are a large number of people who do not stay with us but stay in nearby hotels or with friends.

What are the main pleasures of managing a snow resort?
To see guests having good times here & enjoying the smiles on their faces! Relations with others, both guest and employee, also provide me with a great deal of satisfaction. Seeing everything that happens not only on the guest side (“front yard” as it is called here), but also the support provided by behind-the-scene staff (who work in the “back yard”) leads me to conclude that the ARAI community is a happy one.

What are the main problems/stresses of managing a snow resort?
It is a capital & labor-intensive business dependent on the weather. What more stress can you imagine? However, the reward of happiness that we feel when the satisfied guest says “we will be back, again” effectively nullifies day-to-day concerns.

What’s your pick of the restaurants at ARAI?
Being an ARAI Gourmet, I must say that the fare offered at Papa Alberto (the Italian restaurant) agrees very well with my palate. I’m especially keen on the Italian Sausage included in the pasta served there - hope I’m not making you hungry?

Ever been skiing/snowboarding abroad?
Yes, a little, in the U.S.: Vail, Aspen, Telluride, and Snowshoe.

Any other fun bits of interesting information insert here!
An activity I have personally enjoyed this year is Paragliding (offered annually in the Green Season from March - when there is still snow on the ground - thru until the snow begins to fall again Mid-November). Nothing beats getting out on a Paraglider above the resort for a few hours on a nice afternoon - I highly recommend it! For those that prefer to remain grounded, the resort also offers mountain biking, long trail trekking, fishing and much more.

To finish with, any final message to SnowJapan.Com readers?
Come and see us at ARAI and have lots of fun!