Two skiers from Barcelona who came to Japan, got stuck, and built a backcountry home in Central Hokkaido.
Our story
Gerard and Sergi grew up in Barcelona with active, sporty lives in the mountains, and both worked as ski instructors. Gerard had just finished university and was travelling the world when the pandemic hit.
In 2020 the lockdowns made going back to Europe very difficult, and leaving Japan wasn't easy either. So they stayed. In Kamikawa, on the quiet north side of Daisetsuzan National Park, they started a small project for friends and riders who wanted to ski Hokkaido's deep snow. That project became Yukiumi Hokkaido, our main business today, with lodges in Kamikawa and Furano, a guide team, a bar and restaurant and a backcountry rental shop.
Co-founder & guide
Gerard has been skiing since he was a small kid and raced in his younger years before becoming a ski instructor. He speaks six languages: Catalan, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English and Japanese, so most guests can talk to him in their own.
Co-founder & guide
Sergi also comes from Barcelona and from years working as a ski instructor. Today he shares the running of Yukiumi with Gerard and still heads into the mountains with returning guests and exploration projects.
What we do now
Today we manage the whole company: our guide team, staff, lodges and every guest's trip. We still guide, mostly in the background: with returning guests who have skied with us before, and with riders who want something more challenging, from research days to exploration projects in terrain few people visit.
See our toursOur favourite place
If we had to pick one area, it's Kamikawa. It's quieter, the quality of the snow is pretty much unbeatable, and it's where everything started for us.
Ski Kamikawa with usQuestions about the people behind Yukiumi.
Yukiumi Hokkaido was founded by Gerard Martinez and Sergi Martinez, two skiers and former ski instructors from Barcelona who live in Hokkaido all year. They run the company and still guide.
Gerard and Sergi were in Japan when the 2020 pandemic lockdowns made returning to Europe very difficult. They stayed in Hokkaido and started a small project in Kamikawa that grew into Yukiumi Hokkaido, with lodges in Kamikawa and Furano.
Both hold Pro 1 avalanche training from the American Avalanche Association and are Wilderness First Responders. Both are former ski instructors, and Gerard raced as a young skier.
Yes. They guide mainly returning guests and riders who want challenging, research or exploration trips, and they run the company: the guide team, the lodges and every guest’s trip.
Kamikawa, on the north side of Daisetsuzan National Park. It is quieter, the snow quality is hard to beat, and it is where Yukiumi started.