In a tribute to the 2026 Winter Olympics being held right now in Cortina, Italy, Amy takes up a discussion of skiing in Japan. Japan has hosted the Winter Olympics 2 times: 1972 (Sapporo) and 1998 (Nagano). Amy introduces previous Washington Post Tokyo Bureau Chief T.R. Reid's guidebook called Ski Japan! (Kodansha, 1993).

T.R. Reid lived in Japan for five years during the early 1990's. When the Gulf War started, the world turned its attention to that news, leaving foreign journalists in Japan with some unexpected free time. Reid and his family took action: they went skiing! The result is his 1993 guide to skiing in Japan, called Ski Japan!

Tasked with updating the book for 2026-27 skiing and snowboarding audience, Amy talks about some of the points in Reid's book: things that have changed as well as those that have not, and the affects of mass-tourism on Japan's ski resorts.

Ski Resorts Mentioned:

Niseko, Asahidake, Furano, Naeba, Hakuba Valley, Madarao and Tangram Ski Circus, and Myoko Ski Resorts.

Literary Ski Spots

Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country took place in Yuzawa Onsen, the train station you get off at to get to Naeba Ski Area. There's a Snow Country museum behind the station which is excellent.

In Sapporo's Odori Park, there is a statue of Ishikawa Takuboku (1886-1912), author and poet: A Handful Of Sand, Romaji Diary and Sad Toys.

In Asahikawa, Hokkaido, there is the lovely, contemplative Miura Ayako Literature Museum dedicated to the Christian novelist who lived from 1922-1999, and wrote Shiokari Pass as well as other works not yet translated into English. It's a lovely 30-40 minute walk through the snow from the back of Asahikawa station.

There are also several statues and plaques dedicated to the two Austrian fathers of Japanese Skiing: Theordore Von Lerch and Hannes Schnieder. Von Lerch monuments can be found in the front of Asahikawa Airport in Hokkaido, and at Joetsu, Niigata, the latter considered the birthplace of skiing in Japan.

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

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