In recent years, the festival has grown significantly, attracting support from major sponsors such as Patagonia and Arc’teryx, while also drawing international attention. Athletes like Travis Rice have worked with the event’s organizers, including collaborating on the Japan premiere of Scored a Quiksilver film, during the winter season. We met with AREA UNITE’s founder and organizer, Takuma Oike, to explore how the festival started and how it continues to evolve.
COULD YOU START BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF? My name is Takuma Oike. I live in Otari Village, where I work as a professional skier while also running an accommodation business. Depending on the season, I lead river trekking tours, run a campground, and live surrounded by nature.
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START AREA UNITE? We started AREA UNITE three years ago. As professional skiers, we spend a lot of time in the mountains filming our riding, but there aren’t many places to showcase that expression. So we wanted to create a space where skiers and snowboarders based in Hakuba could come together and share what we do. It was about expressing ourselves and seeing what people might feel when they watch the films.
HOW HAS AREA UNITE EVOLVED SINCE ITS FIRST EDITION? The kind of skiing I do is freeride, and challenging yourself is really important. I think that applies to this event as well. It’s always about pushing forward. So rather than saying how it has evolved, I’d say it’s still evolving. AREA UNITE is something we build together. It grows through different perspectives, ideas, and people coming together. That process itself is what defines it.
WHAT HAS BEEN MORE DIFFICULT THAN YOU EXPECTED?
Honestly, almost everything has been difficult. But building something together is both challenging and interesting. There’s a kind of chemical reaction that happens when different ideas and people come together. You never really know what’s going to happen until you try. That unpredictability is what makes it both difficult and exciting.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE WHICH FILMS OR WORKS TO SHOW?
At the beginning, it was about the energy of Hakuba’s mountains and creating a place for the people who live here to express themselves. From there, it naturally expanded through connections. No one is out in the mountains alone. We’re always working with others, and that network keeps growing. That same idea applies to the films. They’re connected through people, through nature, and through shared experiences. It’s not something we strictly select; it’s more that the right films naturally fit.
SO IS STORYTELLING THE MAIN FOCUS?
Not necessarily. Some works are story-driven, others are more about action. We don’t draw a strict line. It’s more about whether it feels like something that fits AREA UNITE.
WHAT DOES THE EVENT’S THEME OF “UNITE” MEAN TO YOU?
As professional skiers, we spend a lot of time in nature, and that feeling is incredibly powerful. When you’re in the mountains, you feel like you’re part of nature. You feel alive, like you’re truly living on this earth. We want to express that feeling through AREA UNITE. It’s about recognizing that humans are part of nature, and reconnecting with that idea. Bringing people together through that shared awareness is what the theme is about.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF AREA UNITE? DO YOU SEE IT EXPANDING BEYOND HAKUBA?
Ultimately, the idea of Unite is what matters most. In every region, there are communities of people who care about nature, who want to express themselves, and who want to experience that kind of connection. So I’d like to see it expand beyond Hakuba and reach other places as well.
YOU HOSTED THE JAPAN PREMIERE OF TRAVIS RICE’S QUIKSILVER FILM IN HAKUBA. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?
A friend of mine, Yuta Kobayashi, who is a Quiksilver rider based in Hakuba, approached me. He said Travis was coming and asked if we could screen the film. If we were going to do it in Hakuba, I wanted it to be something where the local community and Travis could connect—where they could “unite.” So we built it together with the community, with support from places like Blizzard by HHG.
