About Us
the Japan ski specialists
What’s arguably the world’s best powder skiing doesn’t come on a plate. To operate successfully and offer real choices you need to really know and understand Japan. Which takes time. And we've lived there, we've worked there for years at a time, and we spend a great amount of time in Japan each and every ski season.
Our People
Meet the Team
Georgia Smith
Has a legitimate claim to be our best skier. But she does have youth on her side.
Matt Bruce
A confident, understated, likeable snowboarder. Yes, they do exist. Who knew?
Nick Coates
A total legend of the Japan Ski Industry. Also...the sole author of this website (hi!).
Aiko Yanagisawa
Tokyo born & raised....now married to a Brit and living in the Cotswolds, so one of 'us'.
Rei Fujiwara
Our woman in Japan, who frequently tells us all off from afar. Demands accuracy, hates mistakes.
Jim Millward
Apparently we need to do some "marketing". Hence Jim. It's all witchcraft to me...
Georgia Smith
Born in West Yorkshire, made in Niseko. Our Georgia has also (pretty much) skied every resort in Japan. She grew up skiing in the Alps and then qualified as a ski instructor, working in both Europe and New Zealand. Following a brief stint as an accountant, Georgia abandoned spreadsheets for the powder of Japan, working two full seasons as an instructor and guide across the resorts of both Western and Central Hokkaido. She’s also skied extensively in the Japanese Alps on Honshu Island in all the major resorts…and some notably obscure ones as well.
In her downtime, aka ‘out-of-season’, Georgia has also travelled extensively around Japan. Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, Hakone…etc all done several times, as well as some pretty adventurous stuff like cycling on Shikoku Island. She can’t quite handle Japanese breakfasts but wolfs down the rest of the food, loves the shopping in Tokyo and Osaka (vintage clothes), and is happiest in a post-ski onsen.
As a guide in Japan she knows how a ski trip plays out on the ground - how things work, what doesn’t work for guests, and how to get along with Japanese partners and culture, where the ‘relationship’ is key.
Matt Bruce
Move to Japan, teach English, marry a local girl and live there for seven years. Matt’s heart is very much still in Japan, although he’s now much closer to his beloved Oxford United. He arrived in Japan a non-skier, lived in remote Tochigi Prefecture, a snow-drenched corner of Japan not too far from Tokyo. Learned to ski in local resorts, off the radar for international visitors, but this new-found passion then took him to all the resorts across both Honshu and Hokkaido. Problem is…having only skied in Japan we are worried he thinks all ski resorts are blanketed by deep powder - he has a lot to learn.
Now back in Oxfordshire with his wife, Japan is never far from his thoughts. He worked for one of the major Japan specialist tour operators for several years, but his love for winter sports led him to us.
Matt speaks fluent Japanese and is at his happiest discovering ‘off-the-beaten-track’ Japan, undiscovered by gaijin. He plans to introduce new ski areas to the Different Snow portfolio - places the rest of us have not even been to yet!
When we say skier…we mean snowboarder. Sorry. We still let him come to the pub with us. Occasionally.
Nick Coates
Nick founded Different Snow in 2013, though before then he'd clocked up over 18 years in senior roles in the travel industry. However, Japan and - more specifically - skiing in Japan had always been his passion, ever since he lived in Tokyo for much of the 90's. During those years he headed to the ski slopes most weekends, thoroughly confused as to why he was the only foreigner enjoying the ridiculously good powder.
Nick spends much of the winter in Japan every ski season. He has also led several promotional press trips to Japan's ski resorts, as well as working as a consultant to the Japan ski industry. In short, he is considered the UK's go-to person for all things Japan and ski.
After having said all that, you'd think he would be a far better skier than he actually is. It's quite embarrassing really.
Aiko Yanagisawa
A Tokyo girl, born and raised. And like most Japanese, regular ski holidays in Japan were the norm. Strictly an on-piste only girl, she does hear the endless chat about the deep powder the other side of the gates and the fun to be had. She is intrigued and slowly plucking up the confidence to join us.
Aiko took a most un-Japanese like decision in her late teens - instead of doing the sixth form in Japan, she elected to come to the UK. She ended up, of all places, going to a comprehensive school in inner-city Newcastle! And she loved it - an Anglophile was born! She did have to return home, but the longing for England remained. Came back permanently, just before the world closed its borders due to pandemic. Fast-forward to now – with her English husband, she lives in beautiful Cheltenham in the Cotswolds (where our office is). Now settled and considered ‘one of us’ in the office, she does still look forward to returning home every year to visit friends and family.
Having a ‘local’ in our office is endlessly useful, as she patiently helps us navigate the murky waters of Japanese business culture.
She knows every Japanese food outlet in SE England.
Rei Fujiwara
Our woman in Japan, Rei spent a year with us in our UK office on a temporary working visa - and now she is home, just north of Kyoto. With a ridiculous level of attention to detail, she is never happier than when all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. Someone's gotta do it!
She misses England endlessly and does hope to return some day on a more permanent basis - she will always have a place in our office as she is part of the DS family. Our little sister and full-blown fixer.
Jim Millward
Never happier than climbing a mountain or biking down it. Jim’s an experienced skier who’s recently switched from downhill to cross-country. Yes, he skis uphill. He’s also discovered snowshoeing. Jim keeps our marketing ‘on piste’ although we do try to head off and get in amongst the trees when he’s not looking. He comes with a wealth of ‘travel industry’ experience and these days, as well as helping us, spends a good part of his year travelling.
After years of skiing in the same old European ski resorts our perpetually inquisitive minds faced a conundrum: how could we continue to quench this thirst for snow without offending our adventurous spirit? So we headed East, Japan was embraced and Different Snow was born.
Japan should never be merely an appendage to a worldwide ski programme, as is the case with most other ski tour operators;
"we sell Europe & North America...so let's do Japan as well! Someone get on a plane and head for Niseko, and perhaps also another ski resort if you've got time (are there any other ski resorts in Japan?). Let's get it on our website as quickly as we can"
Unfortunately for them, it's just not that easy. To operate successfully and offer real choices you need to really know and understand Japan. Which takes time. And we've lived there, we've worked there for years at a time, and we spend a great amount of time in Japan each and every ski season. Japan is a country which dances to its own (taiko) drumbeat and here at Different Snow we have the knowledge, the relationships, the experience and the know-how to help you get the most from your available time and money.
Suffice to say, no-one else in knows Japan and its ski resorts as well as we do and you need us.
We've skied in every ski resort we feature (and many others which didn't quite make the cut). Indeed, each and every year you'll find us back in Japan; researching new opportunities, servicing our relationships and making new connections, negotiating and contracting to secure the best value for our guests, and...well, just skiing an awful lot across both Hokkaido and Honshu islands.
We’ve thought about you, whether you’re a nervous newbie or brazen adventurer, and if we don’t like something, or we don’t believe it is right for you, we simply won’t suggest it. Think of us as up-front, honest guardians rather than sugar-coating sales spinners. Whether you’re travelling as a couple or with family or friends, and whether your budget is limited or limitless, we want to share our passion and help you experience winter in Japan, which is just waiting to be explored.
And Different Snow are ATOL protected, meaning you are protected financially - your money is safe!
Tailor-Made Holidays to Japan
Our sister company - Different Japan - specialises in unique holiday experiences, tailored to the individual. Across all seasons, we've travelled from the beaches of Okinawa to the wild National Parks of Hokkaido, and everywhere in between. Our luxury tailor-made tours often include the major highlights - be it neon-drenched Tokyo, picture-perfect Mt. Fuji, or Kyoto's many temples & shrines - and then also many off-the-beaten-track villages, hidden ryokans and enthralling experiences.