Hi Everyone.
This is a little pre-amble to the recording of the Q and A session. It mentions a few of the things we forgot to mention.
Crowds: When it comes to crowds, Japan has some truly empty slopes. The “busy” time is around Christmas New Year and Chinese New Year, but lift lines never get crazy and it’s easy to get fresh tracks in the back country. Mid-week, it’s rare to see a lift line at all. In January, I skied the Yokotayama area at Shiga Kogen. Apart from the ski school kids, there was only about 20 people on the advanced slopes on the powder days.
Lift Prices: When lift tickets are $50-75 a day, ski workers can afford to go on day trips to nearby mountains. If you are in the Nagano area and have access to a vehicle, day trips are very possible to Myoko, Hakuba, Nozawa, Madarao, and Shiga Kogan.
If you are up in Niseko, day trips to Kiroro, and Rusustsu are definitely worthwhile.
Tokyo: A weekend or longer in Tokyo is a great way to start or end a season in Japan. It’s a fascinating city with amazing gardens, food, exhibitions, and bars. Highlights include the tiny bar precinct in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. These bars hold 6-8 people and are great places for meeting exotic people. Harajuku is the youth culture capital of Tokyo where cosplay rules and you can dress like the Sex Pistols if you want. 
Teamlab is a must see as well.
Safety: Japan has amazing back country skiing opportunities, but it can be dangerous and rescues are expensive.
Stay safe by:
- Doing an avalanche course and taking the gear you need: Beacons, probes, shovels etc.
- Going with people who know the terrain. You don’t want to be that person (or in that group) that ends up in a lake area, deep gully, or stream.
- Following the rules
- Hiring a pro guide.
Here are the links we spoke about in the Q and A session.
- How to nail your job interview
- Japan official immigration website.
- Information on labour disputes. https://www.rivermate.com/guides/japan/dispute-resolution
- Mercari. A popular online marketplace for ski gear purchases.
Alister also added these points he didn’t get to in the Q and A session.
Vitamin D!
In Japan during the winter, you’ll hardly see any sunshine at all. Even when it’s not snowing it’s usually overcast. Without the usual sunlight that you get back at home, your skin won’t produce nearly as much vitamin D. Vitamin D is used by the body to help regulate mood and, so you might not feel yourself after you haven’t seen the sun for a while. Taking Vitamin D supplements is strongly recommended during winter in Japan so you can stay on the top of your game both at work and on the mountain. You can get vitamin D supplements at most pharmacies in Japan and usually cost about ¥600.
Luggage postage
If you’re planning to travel around Japan after finishing up your winter season, you might be thinking “what do I do with my giant suitcase?”. Fear not – Japan is the king of convenience and has a solution. Luggage postage services such as Yamato Transport (a.k.a. Black Cat / Kuro Neko) offer options to send or store your luggage almost anywhere in Japan – including airports. Setting up postage or storage is very easy – you can do it at many hotels as well as most convenience stores. Typically, most people will send their luggage to the hotel they are going to, or to the airport to collect before checking in for the flight. So if you’re leaving the resort you work at, you could take your ski bag to a convenience store, and set delivery for the airport you’ll be leaving Japan from along with the specific date you’ll be leaving. Then enjoy sightseeing around Japan without the bulky luggage! When you go to the airport, just head to the baggage delivery counter to pick up your suitcase before checking in for your flight.
Cultural Respect in the workplace
It’s no secret that Japanese work culture is quite different to many other countries, but how do you navigate the cultural differences when working in Japan? Firstly, it’s important to respect that there are many cultural differences that might not be obvious at first glance – and that’s okay! Simply being aware that there are differences in culture and mindset that you might not know about is the first step to building strong relationships. Put simply: Japanese work culture is complex so simply respecting the culture will go a long way.
Secondly, many Japanese staff that work alongside international seasonal workers report that they often have to work harder than their international counterparts simply due to differences in Japanese language skills. For example, if a hotel guest wants to book a local taxi or restaurant, it’s most likely that a Japanese staff member will end up making the phone call for the reservation alongside their other tasks. Most Japanese staff will go into a season already knowing this, so it will hopefully be a non-issue in your workplace – however, the best thing you can do is to always work hard and support both your Japanese and international coworkers to create a supportive work environment that everyone can enjoy.
Japanese people highly value their privacy, so don’t be surprised if your coworkers give only vague details on their personal life. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask, but too much pressure will likely make your coworker uncomfortable. The best way to get to know someone in Japan is to invite them for a group meal and beer at an izakaya!
While learning Japanese is no small task, getting a grasp of the basics will go a long way to enjoying your time in Japan and making friends with the locals!
Japow – Beautiful (but sometimes dangerous!)
The deep snow that falls in Japan is incredibly fun, but it’s also no joke when it comes to safety. It’s quite common to see a meter (6ft) or more of snow built up on rooftops, so just keep in mind to stay away from sloped roofs and the edges of buildings.
Driving in snow is difficult and can be dangerous. If you can avoid it, don’t drive on snow in Japan, but if you must drive make sure to get lessons from someone experienced and take it very easy.
And lastly one final request. Please consider creating a free employee profile on our site. You can send your profile to hiring managers via their ads on the jobs board. Employers also scan our database and get in touch with people if they like your profiles. I also look at each new profile to see if there are any great opportunities or not-so-great rookie errors.
We are building a community of reliable employees and great employers, and we’d love you on board.
Thanks again, Iain and Matt.