SHIZUKUISHI, Iwate -- Jan. 12, "Ski day," marks the date skiing was officially introduced to Japan. Ahead of the 111th anniversary of being brought over in 1911 (Meiji 44), 12 ski enthusiasts and children at the Shizukuishi Ski Resort in the Iwate Prefecture town of Shizukuishi, northeastern Japan, recreated the atmosphere of the time by wearing hakama traditional Japanese clothes and using single bamboo poles to propel themselves across the snow.

       Ski day is named to commemorate the day in which Theodor Edler von Lerch, a major in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's military, gave the first ski lesson to Japanese people in the central prefecture of Niigata. Since 2008, an enthusiasts' group called Michinoku ladies' ski club has engaged in projects to encourage affection for skiing. Under a clear blue sky, the participants formed a line, and in a leisurely fashion they created lines in the snow with their skis.

       A pair of elementary school student siblings, 8-year-old Kazuma Kawamoto, and 11-year-old Kazuyuki Kawamoto from the prefectural capital Morioka, took part for the first time. They said shyly that it was a little difficult, but added with a smile that it was "more fun than normal skiing."

       (Japanese original by Ikuko Ando, Morioka Bureau)

       Ahead of Ski Day, ski enthusiasts and others are seen holding bamboo poles and wearing hakama to ski on the slopes of Shizukuishi Ski Resort in the Iwate Prefecture town of Shizukuishi, on Jan. 10, 2022. (Mainichi/Ikuko Ando)

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