JAPAN

I met Tomoko Yamakoshi when she was the head cook for the Japanese portion of High Cascade Snowboard Camp on Mt Hood. My room was directly above the kitchen and so I started signing up for the Japanese dinner as often as I could. The food was always amazing, especially the curry. After we ate, Tomo and her staff would do little origami, art, and language sessions with the campers and dinner guests. At the end of the summer Tomo told me that her family owned a small ski area in Gifu prefecture called ‘Honoki Daira’. She said if I could help them design and build a snowboard park they would fly me out that winter, so of course I accepted.

Pipe draggin’ at Hika

For the winters of 1999, 2001 and 2002 I worked at Honoki and also at Igari’s ‘Hika’ camp, which was in Nagano. I traveled all around Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, Takayama and Hiroshima with Tomo, Leslie Olson, Mark Welch, Cara-Beth Burnside, and Chris Shepard. It was really fun to be on the dig crew, film for the Chorus video and get to experience some of the amazing terrain, incredible powder and ridiculous parties. I’ll never forget waking up under a cafeteria table on the lodge floor one morning to the sound of people ratcheting their ski boots.

I’m so grateful to have met Tomo and that she was willing to be the most amazing tour guide, host, chef and friend that I could ever imagine.

Dinner with our old friend Kawaru from HCSC

I was told it was a rare public sighting

Strange to wonder that their lives are like

Kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion of Kyoto

Genbaku Dome of the Hiroshima peace memorial

In other news, these things are delicious

The place that makes these is called 'Beard Papa'

Last day at Hika. See you at Mt Hood next summer!

Hitori san cooking a wild boar they caught

Lunch in the lodge with campers at Honoki

Cherry blossoms starting at Osaka Castle

Dinner and karaoke in the lodge at Honoki

Tomo at the Blue Lodge 2000 Halloween Party

Tomo's name means: 'Friend over the mountain'