Hakuba47 WINTER SPORTS PARK

Sadamitsu Araki × Hitonari Maruyama

Yesterday's giants, and tomorrow's champions.

——What is the current situation of skiing from your perspective as a professional skier with a distinguished career?

Hitonari Maruyama:Promotion is one theme to activate skiing. Children in ski areas in Europe grow up watching top-level skiers in the world up close. So the blueprint of advanced skiing techniques is clear for everyone, and they practice those techniques repeatedly and acquire them. On the other hand, children in Japan, who don't get the opportunity to see that in real life, cannot easily acquire such skills just by imagining it. So, it makes a vast difference just to be able to come to Hakuba47 or Happo'one（ a related ski area） and see real top racers.

Sadamitsu Araki:There's no other ski area (in Japan) like Hakuba, where you can see top racers. In America, Olympic skiers are considered "Ski Ambassadors" in the ski towns, and if we don't do that in Japan, we'll never realize that goal, no matter how long we wait. Above all, we have to create the dream of skiing. If, for example, ski areas put together a cash prize, more prize-winning skiers would appear. We have to be able to put them in the same league as Ryo Ishikawa, who is able to make a lot of money as a pro golfer.

Maruyama:There are a lot of "old boys" in the Ski Association of Japan's educational division at Happo'one, and they established the Hakuba Ski Club. There are lots of big names, like Shoji Maruyama, Shuji Maruyama, and Kanemichi Saegusa, and they put their pictures on season passes. We want them to be able to ski with the guests, drink and talk, and create an enjoyable atmosphere as volunteers. It gives the young skiers a chance to see some top-class skiing, and it thrills the older skiers who may have retired from skiing to be able to meet some of their favorite skiers. This creates a new relationship with our customers, and we attract more guests and get talked about more. We shouldn't keep their value individualized, but rather let it work for the benefit of the ski area. There is, however, one slight problem. Some people are arguing that we're giving them preferential treatment just for putting their faces on the season passes!

Araki:It's also interesting to be able to have these shining stars show treasures like uniforms from long past Olympics. It's a fun way to spend your time around the museum in Obuse Town as well as the Hakuba Ski Pavilion. It's also great to have them go somewhere farther away as ambassadors to talk about skiing.

Maruyama:In talks, it's good to have "true stories" instead of using a medium like the internet or magazines. But, and some of the "old boys" think that I'm old, there is a problem with some people around here who only rate them as "the old man next door". People outside this region value their merit and ability, so it is necessary to first start from the recognition of these stars in the eyes of the people of this region.

Hitonari Maruyama

Former Representative Director of HAPOONE KAIHATSU CO.,LTD.
Born: April 21, 1942.
After graduating from Keio University in 1965, Maruyama joined the Nishizawa SKI LTD. In 1967 at the All-Japan Ski Championships Alpine Competition held in Hakuba Village, he was the first to ever complete the trifecta of winning the down-hill, slalom and giant slalom events. In 1968 he was a member of the Japan delegation to the Grenoble Olympics in France. In 1986, having established the Mars Ski Planning company, he began ski area development, and importing and sales of artificial snow making equipment. He has also worked on developing the Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort, Cupid Valley, and the renewal of Geihoku Ski Area.
Since attaining the International Ski Federation's Technical Delegate certification in 1983, he has been a leader in the skiing world, participating in various international competitions, serving as the chairman of the Nagano Olympics Men's skiing competition, and after the Nagano Olympics, as vice chairman of the Ski Association of Nagano.

Sadamitsu Araki

After graduating from Gakushuin University's Department of Political Science and Economics, Araki joined Fujita Kanko Inc. He was involved with the planning of Fujita Green Members, Japan's first subscription hotel system. Afterwards, he conducted the planning and designing of the Madarao Ski Resort, and was posted as its head of development in March 1972. In 1982 he retired from Madarao Development and started the ADC ski resort consulting firm, working with a number of ski areas in their development and renewal projects. From September 1997 he has served as the representative director of Hakuba47, with his motto, "If you can't win skiing (technical ability), win by letting your guests ski (hospitality)!"