Skiing inspires a lifetime of passion

For the 80-year-old Mishina Akio, ski has been a “white lover” for him for about 76 years. “In my 76 years’ ski life, I feel the greatest charm of ski is that I can always make new friends through ski. After the tourists experienced ski here in Hokkaido, they could bring the charm of ski to their countries,” said Mishina in Sapporo Teine where the snowboard and alpine skiing competitions of the 8th Asian Winter Games were held.

Mishina started the “Omotenashi Snow League” in 2012, an Nonprofit Organization (NPO) providing technical guidance of ski to the tourists from around the world, helping them get into the joy of ski at the soonest and the best way possible. Up to now, the league has trained more than 100 members and 38 of them have passed the test of Hokkaido Ski Federation, which would prove a person’s ability to be a ski instructor.

In last Saturday’s yearly ski test, Minashi was either a strict supervisor or a skilled demonstrator, showcasing the movements to all the members of his league participating in the test. One could hardly tell that he is almost 80 years’ old.

About 90 percent of the members of his league are Chinese students studying in Hokkaido University as Minashi has special feelings toward the Chinese.

He has been to China for over a dozen times, discussing promotion of winter sports with Chinese