I’ve been a city boy my entire life. I grew up in the concrete jungle of Singapore, went to uni in Kobe then worked in the cities of Osaka, Tokyo and Sendai. Now, I live in the mountains of Nagano. How’d that happen?!
Snow has always fascinated me but as a kid growing up in Singapore, snow was never real. It was something on the telly, often during the months of December to February. It looked interesting and I’ve always wondered what snow felt like to touch, what a properly cold winter might feel like, how people survive in such conditions and even why people don’t move somewhere more convenient.
Then I moved to Japan, experienced winter, or whatever passes for winter in the urban heat islands, got into snowboarding, and still never imagined I’d live anywhere away from the cities.
One day, I was watching the news at an acquaintance’s home and there was a story about how hard it was for old people to clear the snow from their homes. I light heartedly remarked that shoveling snow off the roofs seemed fun, I’d like to try it some day. That acquaintance exploded, he tore into me, it’s hard work, it’s dangerous, people die every year falling off roofs, you’ve never experienced living in snow, blah blah blah. Well, neither has he. He was born and bred in Tokyo. I don’t actually remember the specifics anymore, I don’t even remember his name anymore because fuck him, but that event planted a seed in me.
I decided I’d actually go try shovel some snow for real. I bought a small shovel, drove to Nagano where I usually go snowboarding, and just started shoveling snow at the resort’s carpark. I’m sure I looked like a mad man to everyone else around me. It was tiring, back-breaking work. I was out of breath after maybe 5 minutes. My body ached all over, I removed my jacket because it was so hot and I was sweating profusely.
I loved every moment of it. Not the actual shoveling, that would be silly. No, it was the idea of living a life where shoveling snow was a thing, it fascinated me.
So here I am.
