JAPAN’S GAY SKI WEEK
Following a successful 2019 debut, Gay Ski Week Japan returns for 2020 – bigger and better!
With over 500 resorts operating over the winter, Japan is one of the world’s favourite places to ski and snowboard, and it’s famous for its mountains of fresh, deep powder. So it was only a matter of time before Japan joined Europe, North America and even Australia and New Zealand in hosting a dedicated Gay Ski Week.
Japan’s first ski week happened in March this year in Hakuba in the district of Nagano, which has plenty of ski cred having hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics. In fact, the Hakuba Ski Jumping stadium is still there.
Hakuba is nestled in a basin surrounded by the Japanese Alps. The Happo-one resort is within walking distance of the village and the other mountains are easily accessible via short bus trips or by car.
Hakuba’s Gay Ski Week was hosted by Justin
St Baker and Greg Engan, who operate the Penke Panke Lodge – literally a five or tenminute walk from the Happo-one Resort ski lift, even in ski boots!
The event attracted a small but fun group of skiers and shredders from Australia, Canada, the USA and the UK, who skied hard and partied hard, starting with an opening night party, Candy Mountain, which broke the ice.
At the start of Ski Week, a solid three days and nights of snow dumped metres of fresh powder on the surrounding mountains, so a week of great skiing was guaranteed. Justin and Greg and their team ensured the group explored a variety of resorts in the area including Cortina and Goryu, depending on the best conditions on the day. The resorts all have an impressive number of runs that cater for all levels of proficiency.
Other excursions organised by the boys included visits to the famous Snow Monkey Park, a wasabi farm, the world’s smartest sushi train, and the impressive medieval Matsumoto castle. For those who missed the snow monkey trip, a lone monkey ambled its way through the resort one afternoon. Apparently they come down from the mountain when it’s about to snow, so a good omen for skiers.
Apré-ski visits to onsens at Kurashita and
Abest stripped away all the layers and the muscle-weary ski boys relaxed in the steaming hot tubs.
There were Japanese cooking classes and apré-ski yoga sessions available but most skiweekers stuck to the time-honoured tradition of skiing followed by a relaxing onsen and a stiff drink.
The village of Hakuba itself is sleepy and charming. The resorts and cottages nestled between the trees and covered by snow are beyond picturesque. The locals seemed completely unphased by the presence of a large contingent of gay men, and a few businesses were canny enough to find rainbow flags to drape over their awnings.
In town, there is no shortage of restaurants offering authentic Japanese cuisine, which are definitely worth exploring, but there are other international food options available. Not much for vegetarians, however.
Gay Ski Week’s base, the Penke Panke Lodge, was not exclusively booked out by LGBTIQs – there were plenty of other folks wandering in and out, too, but most engaged with the Gay Ski Week crowd wholeheartedly and this gave added diversity and edge to the event – especially the closing night Gender Bender dress-up party!
The Penke Panke team’s service was excellent. The lodge has its own ski hire facility, which means that after check-in, you simply go downstairs to have your boots and skis fitted. You collect your gear in the morning and drop it off to the lodge’s dry store at the end of the day. Your ski lift passes can be ordered and collected from the front desk. The lodge’s mini-bus leaves every morning and the experienced staff, who spend the whole season in the area and know it well, choose the best resorts operating that day and bring you back in the afternoon, where it’s a short stumble to the Penke Bar And Deck for an apré-ski cocktail. Breakfasts are also served here and there’s an open-air barbecue used for dinners – if it’s not snowing!