This year's firewood work is complete, just before the weather gets hot. We built a new woodshed this year, giving us enough room to keep two winters' worth of wood. That lets us settle into a two-year drying cycle.
From October through April, we keep the wood stove burning. Winter is cold, but I enjoy the stove and get to ski. I'm already looking forward to winter!
ありがたいご縁があり、今年もDJIの農業ドローンのインストラクターを務めています。夏は農業、冬はスキー。富山でこの二つの季節を行き来する暮らしを、気づけば25年ほど続けてきました。
僕にとってスキーは遊びです。冬は農業がないので、滑りに行き、自分の道具やチューンを試す時間にもなります。春になると今度は農業へ。4か月ほど農業にどっぷり入ると、スキーのことは頭からすっかり抜けてしまう（笑）。季節が切り替わるのが自分でもおもしろいです。
チューンナップは、プロスキーヤーだけのための仕事ではありません。ふだん働いて、休日にスキーを楽しむお客さんの板を預かる仕事です。専門の機械を使って、一台ずつ手入れをしてお返しする。その道具を任せてもらえることを大切にしています。スキーを楽しむ普通のお客さんを尊敬しています。
春は農作業が忙しく、チューンは雨の日に進めたり、9月から本格的に受け付けたりしています。HAPPY TUNEは地域のチューンナップルームとして、17年続けてきました。工房にいつもいるわけではありませんが、持ち込みや相談は歓迎です。毎日そこにいる店ではないので、来てくださるときは連絡をいただけるとうれしいです。
夏の農業と冬のスキー。どちらも自分にとって大事な仕事と暮らしです。支えてくださる皆さん、いつもありがとうございます。
Thanks to a generous connection, I’m once again an instructor for DJI agricultural drones. Summer is for farming and winter is for skiing. I have been moving between these two seasons in Toyama for about twenty-five years.
For me, skiing is recreation. In winter, when there is no farm work, I can go skiing and try out my own gear and tuning. Then spring arrives and I switch to agriculture. After about four months immersed in farm work, skiing has completely left my mind (laugh). It’s interesting how completely my focus changes with the seasons.
Ski tuning is not only a service for professional skiers. I take care of the equipment of people who work during the week and ski on their days off. I use specialized machines and tune each pair individually. I value the trust people place in me, and I have great respect for everyday skiers who make time to enjoy the snow.
Spring is busy on the farm, so I fit tuning in on rainy days and begin the main season in September. HAPPY TUNE has served this community as a local tuning room for seventeen years. I’m not always at the workshop, but you’re welcome to bring your gear or ask questions. Since I may not be there every day, please contact me before visiting.
Summer farming and winter skiing are both important parts of my work and life. Thank you, always, to everyone who supports me.
I sorted and organized the lumber that had been piling up in a jumble. After using the space for three years, I rearranged things to make it more practical.
I can’t get motivated when the workshop is a mess, so this was necessary. The space is now more comfortable for everyone to work in, and I can make better progress on my own projects.
Facebookで共有した動画です。動画の再生は元のFacebook投稿をご覧ください。
This video was shared on Facebook. Please view the original Facebook post to play it.
Team Hokkaido!! The first session is complete! Thanks for five hard-working days, everyone!! When will the next one be—during Silver Week?
“A workshop for eccentrics, by eccentrics, for eccentrics.” I once blurted that out in an interview. It’s funny how things have unfolded much as I first imagined.
A wood expert from a forest research institute in Hokkaido visited. We used bookmatched keyaki heartwood. Friends Osho and Ryu-chan milled Toyama-grown Tateyama cedar that they had felled, arranging its beautiful straight grain. I simply milled the wood to the requested specifications.
Then I finished the skis with a “complicated beam structure”: an idea of mine, developed and put into practice by Mr. Moru, in which continuous wood fibers wrap around the core. It delivered a wonderful feel in this season’s on-snow testing. I can’t wait to see the finished skis. Eccentrics find one another.
2026年5月1日、Wakka Shapesの工房に、北海道の森林研究所で木材を扱う専門家が来訪。ケヤキの芯材をブックマッチし、友人たちが伐採した立山杉も、美しい柾目が出るように木取りしてもらいました。
私はオーダーに合わせて製材し、その後は芯材の外周を途切れない木材繊維でつなぐ、独自の「拗らせビーム構造」に仕上げていきます。今シーズンの滑走テストでは素晴らしいフィーリングが得られた構造。木の個性と仲間の技術が合わさった板の完成が待ち遠しいです。
変態同士は引き寄せ合う。そんな仲間たちと、まだ世の中にないスキーづくりに挑戦しています。
工房やチューンナップについては、HAPPY TUNE公式ホームページをご覧ください。
On May 1, 2026, a wood specialist from a Hokkaido forestry research institute visited the Wakka Shapes workshop. We prepared book-matched zelkova heartwood, along with Tateyama cedar harvested by friends and carefully milled to reveal beautiful straight grain.
After milling the wood to specification, the next step is our distinctive “twisted wood-beam structure,” which wraps the core in continuous wood fibers. It delivered an excellent feel in this season’s on-snow testing. I can’t wait to finish a ski shaped by the character of the wood and the skills of our friends.
Like-minded makers seem to find one another. Together, we keep working on skis that do not yet exist anywhere else.
See the original Facebook post, photos and videos
For workshop and tuning information, visit the HAPPY TUNE website.
2026年9月22日 「めっちゃ板走って、また出しに来ました！」 今日、お客さんからそう言ってもらえて、めちゃ嬉しかったと同時に安心しましたです。 うちには、スノーボード用の「ストーンマシン」がありません。サンディングマシーンという機械で研磨します。 ス...
