Enjoy winter in snow village and help around our guest house in Hakuba Village, Japan

Details

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  Description

  👋 About Us
  
  Hi! We’re Shawn and Jane, a couple living in Hakuba Village, Nagano, Japan.
  Shawn stays in Hakuba during the winter to manage our ski & snowboard guesthouses, while Jane works in Tokyo and visits Hakuba often. We’re originally from China and have been living in Japan for over 12 years.
  
  Our house is located in the Echoland area — surrounded by peaceful forests, vacation homes, and lively restaurants and bars. Most importantly, we are close to the most popular resort, Hakuba Happo-One, a venue of the 1998 Winter Olympics. It’s just a few minutes’ walk to the free ski shuttle buses. Hakuba Goryu & 47 is only a 10-minute drive away.
  
  We’re both passionate snowboarders and certified instructors with SAJ (Ski Association of Japan). Whether you’re a beginner or already a snow lover, we’re happy to teach you or go riding with you!
  
  ⸻
  
  🏠 Our Guesthouses
  
  We run two guesthouses in Hakuba:
  
  1. The Inn
  Our main lodge, hosting up to 27 guests including families, couples, and travelers from around the world.
  
  2. The Lodge
  Located right next to the Inn, this is our smaller lodge with 8 standard twin rooms and 4 loft-style rooms.
  
  Both places attract friendly, international guests who love snow sports and share a passion for riding the legendary powder of the Japanese Alps.
  
  ⸻
  
  📣 Positions Available
  
  We’re looking for helpers (4–6 people) for our daily guest house tasks
  • Period: Minimum 1 month stay from December 2025 to March 2026
  • Full-season stay is very welcome!
  • If you would like to staying longer than March, we are also flexible
  We are especially looking for one long-term helper(preferably from early December to mid-March) who is passionate about hospitality and enjoys being a core part of our team.
  If you’re someone who’s happy to help organize daily routines, assist others, and take a lead when needed — let us know in your message!
  This is a great chance to immerse yourself in mountain life and gain experience in lodge operation while riding powder snow in your free time.
  
  ⸻
  
  🙋‍♀️ Ideal Personality Traits
  
  We’re looking for people who:
  • Are host-minded and feel responsible for the place
  • Are self-motivated and able to work independently
  • Pay attention to detail, especially during cleaning
  • Can live and work respectfully in a shared environment
  • Can handle unexpected situations or guest issues calmly
  • Are friendly team players and happy to help each other
  
  ⸻
  
  ✅ Preferred Skills
  • Driver’s license is recommended (especially for guest pick-up/drop-off)
  • English communication skills recommended
  • Experience in hostels, guesthouses, or kitchens
  • Basic cooking skills
  • Beginner Japanese is a plus but not required
  
  ⸻
  
  🎁 What We Provide
  • Free accommodation (shared room by gender, 2–4 people per room)
  • Stay at either the Inn or the Lodge
  • Shared Hakuba 47 day pass
  • Discounted Happo One season pass for who can stay the entire season(name- registered, non-transferable)
  • Discounted snowboard gear rental, depending on guest use
  • Minimum wage per hour
  ⸻
  
  📩 Interested?
  
  If you’re passionate about snow, meeting people, and being part of a friendly, active guesthouse team — we’d love to hear from you!
  Please feel free to message us with your available dates and a brief self-introduction.
  
  Looking forward to riding with you in Hakuba!
  – Shawn & Jane

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Fashion or beauty

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Winter sports

  

  Beach

  

  Adventure sports
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You will:
  - be able to visit Japanese sightseeing spot such as the Matsumoto Castle, the ZenkoTemple and Snow monkeys in Jigokutani Valley Onsen.
  - be able to experience Japow, the unique quality powder snow in Hakuba.
  - Learn about Japanese and Chinese language and culture.
  - Meet guests speaking different languages and learn their culture.
  - Practice snowboarding and Ski skill.

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  Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage

  This host offers accommodation and payment.

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  Help

  Work around 5 hours/day, with at least 8 days off per month.
  *Sometimes we may need more help during busy days (especially New Year), and we try to balance it with more free time on quieter days
  Weekly meetings to discuss work schedules
  *For long-term stayers, there may be additional chances to learn and take initiative in daily lodge operation and scheduling.
  Tasks include:
  - Cleaning rooms and common areas, bed making
  - Snow shoveling and using snow-blower machine
  - Assisting with breakfast preparation (training provided)
  - Guest transport between lodge and ski resorts
  - Guest check-in and helping respond to guest requests
  - Assign rooms and update calendar
  - Summarize to-do lists and check task completion
  - Handle household errands and grocery shopping

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Japanese: Fluent
  Chinese (Mandarin): Fluent
  English: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  Teaching Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. -Native Chinese speaker -Bachelor's degree of Japanese language and culture. Interesting to improve English speaking.
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  Accommodation

  Bedrooms with a bunk bed, table and Television divided by gender
  Shared restroom and bathroom with 24hours hot water.
  Heater to keep the room warm.
  Kitchen(Micro wave, Fridge, Gas Stove etc.) available all time
  Free Wi-Fi access.

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  What else ...

  Snow sports is the main activity during winter, we will do our best to arrange your work and off time to make sure you can go riding often.
  We can help translate when go shopping, go to the clinic, or other living activities depending on guests check in/out schedule.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Internet connection available all around the house.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

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