Banzai At The Nippon Open

 

Snowboarding may not be the first thing you think of when you think of Japan. But if you think Americans go nuts over Shaun White, you should walk through the streets of Tokyo with the Burton team. Grown men in business, girls in knee socks and short skirts, and of course, kids in snowboard jackets all freak out when “Shaun White-o” strolls by. 

 

The Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open brought all of Burton’s young guns (and plenty of other foreigners) to the land of the rising sun, for a week of shredding at ALTS Bandai. About 4 hours by train from Tokyo, ALTS is on the side of a volcano over looking a giant lake, and surrounded by sprawling farmland. Everyone was staying in the resort hotel, so breakfast, dinner, or a trip to the lobby (where the internet worked) meant hanging out with all the riders.

 

The resort provided breakfast and dinner each day, and vending machines that dispensed beer. Basically, it was a non-stop party from the moment every one arrived. The Burton team showed up on a bus, while the Oakley and Roxy teams arrived by train. A lot of riders had already spent a week on the North island of Japan filming, so everyone was ready for a little release. ALTS Bandai resort was happy to provide.

 

 

In the evenings the scene was in the lobby and the Karaoke rooms. Torah Bright, Hana Beaman and Natasza Zurek could be found in the tiny Karaoke room, rented per hour, almost every night. One night Mason Aguirre showed up and it quickly became apparent that he might have missed his calling as a lounge singer. Well, he probably still has time if this snowboarding thing doesn’t work out.

 

On hill the courses were not the main attraction, as everyone enjoyed riding the mini terrain parks spattered throughout the mountain. ALTS has not received a ton of natural snow this season, so the Parkstyle course had to be cut down from three to two jumps, but the final hit was a massive hip that leant itself to gigantic air that left the Japanese screaming “BANZAI!” The pipe took a few days to get whipped into shape, but the weather finally cooperated for finals, dropping below freezing and enabling to walls to set up perfectly for the competition.

 

This year’s Nippon Open was Shaun White’s first trip to the contest in several years, and the Japanese fans, which are generally very excited, couldn’t get enough. After he would take his pipe run and be riding the rope tow back to the top, the entire row of spectators would shift their attention to the rope tow hoping to catch a glimpse or photo. Shaun’s view in Japan involved a lot of camera phones and super high tech digi cams, but he was a surprisingly good sport about it all.

 

Of course the hype was deserved as White back-to-back 10’ed his way into first place in the halfpipe. He also took second in Parkstyle, and his two trips to the podium gave Danny Davis, Kevin Pearce and Mason Aguirre a chance for some payback. You see,  Shaun may have wrecked their hotel room a few nights earlier, so when the champagne bottles came out, their streams were directed right at Shaun. Even though it was freezing, and he was dripping with champagne, the Japanese still followed him around in an orderly line.

 

Japan is amazing. It’s not just the heated toilet seats, vending machines that sell everything, or the amazing candy and snacks. The people are some of the nicest, happiest and most excited in the world. The culture is welcoming and respectful, and no one would ever think to steal. So when you add some of the best snowboarders in the world, the Nippon Open was definitely the most enjoyable way to spend a week in this great country.

 

--Brooke Geery