I booked a private one-on-one full day ski lesson since I would like the lesson to be conducted in English (as explained in the website), although I speak a little bit of Japanese. Upon registering at the reception on the lesson day, they said to my Japanese friend that their English speaking guide was down with the flu and asked if I can't understand Japanese at all, to which I replied (in Japanese) that I understand and speak the language a little bit.
After that, without consulting me and explaining to me the further process, they immediately assigned me an instructor who didn't speak English at all or maybe he just didn't even TRY to.
The instructor was nice but I really had a hard time understanding all the skiing terms in Japanese. And when I fell and injured myself I couldn't even explain it to the instructor and I couldn't understand what he was saying when he tried to assess my injury (as it was in medical terms).
All in all, it felt truly pointless to book the private lesson if the school does not honor what you have reserved, and...
Read moreTerrible and rude, Zao Ski School has a food court that is open to the public with multiple tables for sitting and eating. There was a reservation on from 12:45-16:00 for the kids in the Ski School. At 10am the food court was empty with plenty of seats and I attempted to get a seat at one of the tables but was rudely and forcefully told to move due to the reservation. However, I was there way before the reservation time and all of the seats were empty. I’m not happy with the rudeness and hostility of the encounter and wish for an apology from...
Read moreHad an amazing ski experience at Zao! Didn’t catch our instructor’s name, but he was awesome so patient and understanding. I had to stop halfway due to some pain, but he kept teaching my partner, who picked up way more than expected for a first-timer.
His lessons really inspired us to get better at skiing! After the lesson, he even took us to another ropeway to see one of the mountain gods. Such a friendly and welcoming...
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