Myoko Snowsports co-founder Tom Langtry on “Sugi” and the future of Myoko

Myoko Snowsports has recently announced a new snow school at Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort. While other higher profile changes apparently coming to Sugi are a relatively recent development, plans for Myoko Snowsports to open an operational base there have been a long time in the making, says Snowsports Director, Tom Langtry.

“We have been in close contact with the Suginohara Resort management team since opening Myoko Snowsports in 2009 in Akakura and have been running our Multi Resort Programs in Suginohara since then,” Tom reveals.

Tom skiing powder in Myoko

“At various points over the years, we have discussed the possibility with them of us opening a base of operations, however it was never quite the right time.

“Over the past few years, the volume of guests requesting English-speaking lessons in Suginohara has increased. Due to this and expected increase in visitation to Suginohara in the coming years, we are now glad to be able to have an office and team of instructors based there from this coming winter onwards.”

Tom and his team are clearly conscious of where they fit into Myoko and its community. Asked if Myoko Snowsports will be offering lessons in languages other than English, particularly to cater for Chinese-speaking families, Tom appears keen to maintain a complementary relationship with existing services available rather than a competitive one.

“The existing Prince Snow School Myoko Suginohara offers lessons specifically in Japanese and Chinese,” he explains. “Our lessons are offered in English, with other languages available upon request, and we are glad to complement the existing services of the Prince Snow School.”

Myoko Snowsports has grown since its 2009 establishment, but the goals of the business have always remain the same, Tom insists.

“This winter we will have around 140 Myoko Snowsports team members. This combines our instructors, rentals and retail, front desk and leadership team members across our Akakura, Lotte Arai and Suginohara bases.”

Again, Tom points to his desire to occupy a harmonious space in the Myoko Kogen marketplace.

“My Wife Nozomi and I set up Myoko Snowsports Akakura in 2009,” he begins. “We had meetings beforehand with the Akakura Kanko Resort management team, and proposed supporting each other, which they agreed to.

Since we started our primary goals have always been to, a) support and respect the local Japanese community and businesses, b) to help grow international and English-speaking tourism to the area, c) to provide outstanding services to our guests, and d) support our staff in having an amazing experience working and living in Myoko.

“We have deliberately not offered services or advertised in Japanese, as we do not want to tread on the toes of the existing local Japanese service providers. We are of course happy to welcome Japanese guests, however all our services are run in English.”

For Tom and Nozomi, their expansion isn’t motivated by specific financial goalposts but insist their focus is on providing what is needed for Myoko Kogen.

“We’ll continue to work on our primary four goals as mentioned above. Nozomi and my motivations are around supporting the community, our business partners, our guests and our staff, not by setting specific revenue or growth targets.

“I expect a continued increase in tourism to the Akakura and Suginohara areas over the coming 5-10 years and anticipate our services to grow organically with this. For this winter we are offering private lessons only in Suginohara. We are aiming to also offer children’s and adult group lessons in the coming years.”

Myoko Suginohara. Image courtesy of Myoko Tourism

On the subject of what to expect in coming years with the hype around Myoko’s investment overhaul Tom’s opinion is pragmatic, cautious and hopeful, as might be expected from someone who has been operating business in the area a little longer than most.

“My opinion relates to the overall growth and investment of the whole Myoko area.” begins Tom. “Across my 22-year career in the snow sports industry in Japan and Australia I have gained strong knowledge about almost all facets of ski resorts, including operations, guest services, staff experience and business finances.

“The reality is ski resorts have very high operational costs, and local independently run businesses like accommodations, shops and restaurants need relatively strong visitation throughout the winter season to survive.

“I believe the volume of guests visiting the Myoko area, combining domestic and international, 15 years ago was not enough for the mid-long term financial viability of the local resorts and businesses. Total visitation to the resorts over the past 10 years has been increasing due to a combined effort of the existing community and newer businesses and investment.

“Without this growth, I believe more lifts around the resorts would have already closed or would be closing soon, and more local accommodations would be closing.

“Increased investment has and will help all local resorts and businesses to be able to operate over the coming years. I hope that all new investors and businesses will consult with the local resort owners, communities and Japanese government so that everyone operates with respect for the local community.

“The Myoko area has a long history of the Japanese and international communities working well together, and I hope this continues.”

While spending most of the off-season in Australia, Tom is also looking forward to Myoko’s all-year-round potential.

“Nozomi, our 6-year-old son Luca and I continue to work in Falls Creek, Australia for the southern winter. Nozomi and I first met there when we both got jobs there as ski instructors in 2003.

“In Myoko we also have a team that run kids summer camps called “English Explorers”. They are 5 days/4 nights and include fun activities, life-skills and practical English language learning while exploring the local Myoko area.

“I hope the resorts will continue to look at additional summer activity options to help make the area even more attractive throughout the whole year,” he says. “I enjoyed summer in Myoko in 2020 when covid hit. The area is so beautiful and there are fun activities like mountain biking, hiking, golf and lots of water sports at lake Nojiri.”

From water sports back to snow sports, with expansion to three different locations throughout Myoko (Akakura, Lotte Arai and now, Sugi) surely also comes operational headaches. But Tom cites previous experience as a helpful tool on which to call.

“When we opened our second base at Arai Snow Resort we underwent a number of operational challenges over the following years,” Tom recalls. “Mostly involving the logistics of moving our instructor team members between our bases and catering to the flow of bookings in each resort.

“While I’m sure there will be some more challenges for our new base in Suginohara, we have a very experienced management team, and I have full confidence in our ability to work them out.”

Asked “why ski Sugi?” Tom says the “the long and wide groomed runs are spectacular” and “on clear days, seeing Mt. Fuji in the distance from the top of the gondola is also very special.

“Beginners can enjoy the gentle runs around the bottom of the mountain before heading up the gondola. Intermediates can explore a wide range of groomed runs and easier gladed areas throughout both sides of the mountain. Advanced riders can find a challenge in gladed areas throughout the resort and the steeper slopes around the top chairlift.”

Finally, side-country/backcountry?

“The resort has policies and rules regarding off-piste riding throughout the resort which can change from year to year, so I encourage all riders to check when arriving to the resort for the most up-to-date policies. For those happy to venture beyond the resort into the backcountry I highly recommend a local guide and appropriate safety equipment. A guided trip up to Mt. Mitahara above the resort area is a spectacular day out.”