Our mission is:
To provide Niseko visitors with an exclusive private lesson ski and snowboard school service, unparallelled by any other school in the Niseko.
The story of how Niseko Academy came about goes something like this…
In 1993 a snow-searching, globe-trotting Brit named Brian came to Japan. He discovered the wonders of sake, sushi and Japanese powder while working in Nagano, followed by Appi Kogen (Tohoku), in the main island of Honshu, and developed a small addiction with the country he now calls home.
While gathering more teaching experience doing seasons in the States, New Zealand and Europe, Brian realised how good he had it in Japan and decided it was time to move back. In 2005 he found his way to Niseko where he founded the first international instructor training academy in Japan.
Over the following seasons in Niseko, Brian became aware of a real inconsistency in the quality of lessons taking place on the mountain. He wondered if Niseko guests were really getting the quality of tuition they deserved and decided to start teaching private lessons in between his instructor training courses. Brian’s clientele grew and before he knew it his Niseko ski school began.
“There’s some really great ski resorts around the world with amazing instructors.
Niseko is among these great resorts but is the level of instruction really comparable? We don’t hire 20 year old, freshly-certified instructors like most schools in Niseko. We find talented seasoned professionals to ensure our customers get the BEST lesson possible.” – Brian Findlay
During a season in New Zealand Brian met Keith, a seasoned snowboard instructor and Examiner for SBINZ with experience from all over the world. Keith became part of the management team and after thousands of skype sessions and the subsequent seasons together in Niseko they realised their plans for an academy of highly-experienced professional instructors and trainers, teaching all levels of private lessons, while also guiding powder trips around Hokkaido and running their ever expanding instructor training courses.
“I love being part of such an amazing team. We’ve got Examiners from both the States and New Zealand;
telemark and backcountry gurus; sponsored snowboarders and specialist freeskiers; guys with more than 36 seasons behind them. All our instructors are certified to the highest international standard and they MUST have least 10 seasons experience to get a job with us at Niseko Academy.” – Keith Stubbs
Over and above all the amazing experience and qualifications our team have, each and every one of our instructors has the ability to teach people from all walks of life and truly cater any lesson to an individual’s needs.
Read more about Brian, Keith and our other senior Trainers over at Niseko Instructor Training Academy.
