JAPAN - THE LUNCH BOX
By: Jeff Urbahn
Japan; the holy grail of powder. A magical land you hear tales of, producing clips of waist deep blower that you can’t quite believe are real. It’s a place that has fascinated me my whole life. The longer I spent in the industry, the more badly I wanted to go. Anyone and everyone I talked to who had been reinforced that desire. Everything about it, from the snow, to the food, to the people and the culture seemed so incredible and unique. The one thing they don’t tell you about Japan, is the size of the cars, but more on that later.
Fast forward to January, 2023. I was in Switzerland with Taylor Gold shooting the Laax Open. It was becoming apparent that Europe wasn’t going to be getting snow, and it was time for us to move on. Taylor approached me with the idea to go to Japan, it was an immediate yes. We called Sy Moran, he was in, and the three of us booked flights for the following week. The excitement on that first night in Hokkaido is hard to describe. We walked the streets of Asahikawa taking in the sites while it nuked snow. Tiny cars driving on the wrong side of the road passed under illuminated signs with Japanese symbols on them. Everything was so foreign to us. We found a restaurant and celebrated our arrival with Sapporo Classics and the best ramen of our lives. It was a surreal feeling.
That brings us to our 4 wheeled travel companion, which we affectionately dubbed the ‘Lunch Box.’ This 4 door hatchback was the biggest rental car we could find (shoutout Kazuya for the connection) in the entire city of Asahikawa, and it stood a solid foot shorter than Taylor’s snowboard. Fitting 3 board bags, twice as many boards, camera gear, and 2 weeks worth of necessities into this thing was a hysterical and nearly impossible feat that took us close to an
hour. The Lunch Box was a small but mighty vehicle. It took us through storms and over mountain passes in search of snow. We rode the best pow of our lives on resort in Furano, on an active Volcano at Asahidake, and in the backcountry off the various mountain pass roads surrounding Asahikawa. We spent our mornings picking out exotic snacks at 7-11 and Lawson (IYKYK) to fuel our day, and our evenings in search of the best food we’d ever tasted in the form of Ramen, Sushi, and Japanese BBQ. We went out in search of the iconic avy barriers of Hokkaido and drove through the abundance of tunnels that litter the hills there. That little car took us to all the places we had been dreaming of for so many years of our life. On the left side of the road, with an unfortunate passenger crammed in the back with our snowboards, we seeked out (and found) what we had come for. An adventure unlike any other, experiencing a new and strange and wonderful place for the first time with 2 of our best friends.
It eventually came time to say goodbye to our friend. After two weeks of crushing powder, we got on a flight to Tokyo. We spent a few days experiencing another side of Japan, before heading home for a much needed rest. I’m confident that no matter how many trips I take to Japan (I plan to take many) nothing will match that first experience with Taylor, Sy, and the Lunch Box.
Story by Jeff Urbahn
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