Just Do Ordinary: Hiromi Tatsumi
Gentemstick pro team member and Niseko local, Hiromi Tatsumi, enjoys the snow as one of the world’s most skilled chairboarders.
Hiromi Tatsumi has become a well-known figure here in Niseko. He is a rider on the Gentemstick pro team, a Patagonia brand ambassador and a winter and summer representative at Youtei Outdoor.
Hiromi first moved to Niseko in the winter of 1998/99. Like many, it was Niseko’s powder snow that drew him here. During the winter of 2008, he suffered a life-changing injury that left him paralysed from the waist down. Hiromi was not one to give up his passions and continues to enjoy the snow as one of the world’s most skilled chairboarders.
During the summer season we had the chance to meet with Hiromi and with his local knowledge of Niseko, we asked him to share his favourite advanced level run in the area.
“My favourite course is one which every Niseko regular knows well, the Super Course located just below the Ace Quad Lift Centre 4. It is particularly nostalgic for me to ride it as in my early days here in Niseko, you would often be able to ride it and find fresh, unbroken snow well into the day. These days, that is a bit of a rarity," he explains.
Hiromi Tatsumi pictured with the Winter 2016/17 issue of Experience Niseko.
"The course has a good incline to it that is full of interesting terrain to interact with. As you navigate the course, you can wave up to riders on the lift. I enjoy riding up the lift and picking out what terrain I want to try and hit when I come back down.”
Want to read more about which runs are local favourites? Check out our Pick Your Line article in the latest Winter 2017/18 issue of Experience Niseko.
