Activities

Myoko Backcountry Ski School (MBSS) began with a bunch of locals who simply liked going into the mountains. It is now in its 22nd...

There are so many local breweries in Japan with the name “kogen” (mountain heights) in them (off hand, I can think of at least si...

You may have heard about a reality TV series called “Whale Wars” and currently airing on Animal Planet in North America. The seri...

Surfing powder is nothing new, but custom parks bringing the waves to the mountain is the latest craze. Enter the Surf Ride cultu...

‘It’s the snow, stupid.’ Just ask the Baron. When people (usually the snow-addled locals) ask, “Why do you live in Myoko?” I ofte...

The innate desire to explore the space between what is real and what exists only in our dreams has been part of the human conditi...

Ice bars, ice festivals—even ice hotels. There are plenty of “cool” places to “chill” off the slopes in Japan this winter. IC...

After six productive years in Japan, Rob Volansky made the reluctantly inevitable move back to the States. That was more than a y...