Ski Songs by J-Canuck

 

I remember this time last year when ski resorts in both Canada and Japan were major ugly crying the blues because they simply didn't have two snowflakes to rub against each other. There had been a serious lack of snow which caused the resorts to wonder about their livelihood for the 2024 season. But cue ahead nearly a year later and fate decided to give everyone a huge break and then some. The white stuff has been pretty much non-stop for the past few months and business is booming once more. Maybe it's booming a little too much since all those blizzards could also be making transportation to the slopes a tad difficult.

Considering I'm from the Great White North, my interaction with skiing has been minimal at best (generally, sports and I are not good friends). I did some cross-country skiing during one elementary school trip and then when I was in Gunma Prefecture on the JET Programme, I joined teachers and students on the annual one-day field trip to the slopes (northern Gunma is famous for skiing) and after a few minutes of trying to glide down the bunny slopes, I quickly retreated back to the warmth of the hut and drank down a few gallons of cocoa for most of the day. Additionally, I remember on Wednesday mornings on the local train as I was heading to the weekly visit to the smaller school when it was packed with skiers and had to be careful not to be poked in the eye with a ski.🎿

However, this won't deter me from the pleasure of presenting some of the kayo kyoku/J-Pop ski-themed tunes I've heard over the years. After all, back in the late 1980s with the Bubble Era, skiing became a huge hobby of the Japanese as they hit the slopes of Naeba or Gala Yuzawa. Moreover, although skiing isn't quite the trendy thing to do now, I'm sure that there are still many dedicated skiers taking advantage of the powder snow all over the nation. And as such, allow me to show just five of the many songs that have reminded me of skiing. Consider this the kissing cousin to "Snow Songs".

(1990) Hiroshi Takano -- Niji no Miyako e （虹の都へ）

(1980) Yumi Matsutoya -- Surf Tengoku, Ski Tengoku （サーフ天国、スキー天国）

(1993) Kohmi Hirose -- Romance no Kamisama （ロマンスの神様）

(1986) Anri -- Innocent Time

(1996) globe -- DEPARTURES