About Us

Hikari is an online platform that connects you with qualified winter sports instructors across Japan's ski resorts. We help you search, browse, and book private ski and snowboard lessons with instructors you choose.

Think of us as a booking platform that helps you navigate the complex landscape of finding a ski instructor in Japan. We don't employ or manage instructors, each instructor operates through a local Japanese ski school, which handles their employment, insurance, and compliance with Japanese regulations. Our role is to make it easy for you to find and book the right instructor for your needs.

When you book through a traditional ski school, you're assigned an instructor on the day with no say in who teaches you. We think there's a better way.

Your ski instructor doesn't just help you improve your technique, they reassure you when you're nervous, joke with you on the chairlifts, and show you the best spots on the mountain. Depending on the length of your lesson, you could spend all day or even all week with them. That's why it matters who you choose.

With Hikari, you can:

• Browse individual instructor profiles with photos, qualifications, and detailed bios to find someone who matches your needs, whether you're looking for someone great with kids, experienced in off-piste terrain, or specializing in adaptive lessons.
• Read reviews from previous guests to understand what it's really like to ski with each instructor.
• Book the exact instructor you want, rather than hoping for the best on the day.
• Message instructors directly before your lesson to discuss your goals, confirm meeting points, or ask questions.
• Keep the same instructor throughout your trip if you find someone you click with, no need to start from scratch each day explaining your ability level and goals.

This approach means you can find an instructor who not only has the right expertise for your skiing goals, but also someone you'll gel with on a personal level.

Hikari was created by Alice Vigneron, Jack Lacey and Jack Reid (yes, two Jacks!), three former ski instructors who spent years teaching in resorts around the world. They saw a problem: guests struggled to find the right instructor, and instructors had no way to connect with students who truly valued their expertise and teaching style.

When everything is left to chance on the day, great matches are rare and frustrations are common. Alice and Jack (x2) knew there had to be a better way.

That's why they partnered with Shane Winterhalter to build Hikari, a platform that gives guests control over who teaches them, while helping instructors build their reputation and connect with the right students.

We've seen firsthand how much difference the right instructor can make to someone's ski holiday. Our team has delivered thousands of lessons between us, and that experience shapes every part of how Hikari works.