Snowboarding pioneer and Gentemstick founder Taro Tamai reflects on his relationship with the sport he loves, and what he’s learned from a lifetime in the mountains.
When I think about my relationship with both the mountains and snowboarding, nothing has really changed since I was a child. I was just unconscious about it when I was younger, but I became more aware as an adult. My solo travels, which I started in elementary school, are what taught me that spending time alone in nature is important. Looking at Japan’s mountains today, I can’t say exactly how climate change is impacting the landscape and snowfall. But what I can say is that things are changing. The change is accelerating and starting to turn sharper curves. That’s the feeling I get. The slope is getting rougher and rougher.
I’m not an activist. I’ve been feeling the changes in the mountains for a long time, and I just do what I can in the situation I’m in. For example, small things like taking trash home with me, or feeling hurt when a beautiful natural space is lost. I can’t stop war, and I can’t live a life without a car. But there’s something I’ve noticed about this way of life. You can’t scientifically prove anything just by what you see, smell, or feel on your skin. But in order to scientifically prove something, you must first feel the phenomenon.
Some people may not feel anything. Some people may not believe it. Even if there are people who feel that the erosion control dams that experts use their wisdom to build for the safety of residents are not only meaningless, but are actually increasing the danger and causing unexpected destruction, it will take a long time and effort to prove it. Just saying it may sound irresponsible, but I think that all we can do is to always look at things with an unbiased eye without getting emotional, not lose our sense of things. I think that the key is to keep watching and conveying what we feel.
Until 15 years ago, air conditioners were not necessary in Niseko, where I live. Even with the air conditioner in the car, even on hot days, you could cool down enough by going into the shade of a tree, and driving with the car windows open. But in the last five years, air conditioners have become a necessity. What you used to have to endure for only two or three days has now become two months. I don’t know if this is just down to climate change, but it’s a fact.
For snowboarders like me, protecting nature is about cultivating a sense of sensitivity and communicating the facts. Snowboarders stand on the snow more than avalanche researchers. Mountaineers feel the changes that are not visible on flat land more than anyone else. As a member of Protect Our Winters Japan, my role is to bring the facts to light and fairly publish the views of experts. The facts that we feel are the honest feelings of the athletes involved in POW, and how these facts affect human life and, of course, nature.
“My goal is to get one step closer to a world where snowboarders are at the center of snowboarding culture.”
Japan is a very rare country in terms of snow culture. Despite its southern latitude, in winter, a mass of dry, cold, and powerful air born on the continent blows in all at once. Clouds that absorb the warm, humid air of the Sea of Japan hit the western side of Japan, including the Niseko mountain range. Niseko became famous for its powder, but unlike other places, a unique skiing culture has been cultivated in the mountains here. Now, however, many businessmen are flocking to the powder rush, like a gold rush. Most visitors don’t know what is so great about Niseko. The simple image of abundant powder has stifled its charm. The local community has become a minority due to the large number of visitors, and the original culture is being lost.
At Gentemstick, we are focused on expressing snowboarding culture by snowboarders, for snowboarders. This is the very soul of snowboarding. My goal is to get one step closer to a world where snowboarders are at the center of snowboarding culture. And to have people understand that value. Bring the soul of snowboarding back into the hands of snowboarders.
That is why me and my friends started the snowsurf style, which is a movement that revives the original spirit of snowboarding. The image of snowboarding today is the result of the influence of the media and the industry, and “snow-surfing” is the original name for snowboarding. In short, it started from surfing on snow. With the global snowboarding boom in the 1990s, snowboarding lost its originality due to the entry of various industries. Business came before cultural maturity. If you want to embrace the snowsurf style, just remember, snowboarding starts and ends with turns. Hold on to this idea and it will enrich your relationship with snowboarding.
Discover more about Taro’s story in the latest episode of our Breaking Trails series.
