What do you want to ride?

GentemStick / Gentem Niseko

Founded in 2007 in Niseko by former pro rider Taro Tamai, GentemStick grew out of a simple conviction: that Japanese powder — light, deep, and endless — deserved boards shaped like surfboards, not alpine skis. Tamai drew on his surfing background to design wide, tapered, set-back shapes that float and glide rather than drive and carve, an approach that quietly redefined how a generation of riders thinks about powder. The workshop remains small and hand-built, and GentemStick boards are made in Japan.

Gentem Niseko is the brand's home-base shop — the place to see and potentially demo these surf-inspired shapes in the very conditions they were designed for. Understanding GentemStick helps explain why so many Japan-focused boards look the way they do. Even if you never ride one, the shop is a window into a making culture — boards built slowly, by hand, for snow that most of the world only reads about. Verify current demo availability before visiting.

Snowboarding in Japan has its own character — quieter, more craft-driven, and shaped by the particular way Japanese riders and makers relate to powder, equipment and the mountain. It's less a scene than an attitude: take the snow seriously, take the gear seriously, and don't make a fuss. Understanding a little of it before you arrive changes how the trip reads.