Working on the slopes

[uchidad 0]

Hey, I spent last winter at Niseko and experienced the best boarding in my life.. so good that all I can think about now, especially in this 35 degree heat is getting back there for this coming winter. I really need to work there, and can speak conversational Japanese and was wondering if anyone had any ideas/suggesstions about the bet way to go to hook up a job at the snow fields. Niseko or somewhere close would be ideal, but I am not too fussed as long as I get a good balance of boarding in every week.

[spook 0]

i got a pretty cool job by knocking on many many many doors. i was working in a pension which had good bits and bad bits. got heaps of riding in, lived with a family, ate waaay to much delish food, made heaps of friends, and got to see a side of japan that isn't open to most.

but be prepared for the japanese work ethic - highly inefficient systems and long hours are expected.

for instance, although we had about 6 hours to ride each day, we were expected to work till 11 every morning (but there are always enough freshies if you know where to look). even if there was no work to do whatsoeveer, we were expected to plod along and create work for ourselves. the height of this insanity was when there was no snow to shovel on the whole property, we took to raising ourselves up in the air in the scoop of bulldozers and bashed trees with shovel to shake the snow loose - you know, so that falling snow wouldn't damage guests cars.

friends of ours who worked at a backpackers had to do 2 hours vacuuming every morning, even if there were no guests - so for a month in spring they had to clean the same empty rooms over and over again everyday

all of our japanese friends with similar jobs also thought the work ethic was bizarre

having said that, the 4 months i spent in niseko were very special - lots of incredible riding (even in a 'bad' season) and wonderful family life. if you are going to work try and do it with a family rather than with one of the tour companies, i think you'll have a more unique experience that snowboarding alone couldn't give you

[yoroshiku onegai shimasu 2]

Do many non-Japanse work at resorts here?