Rhythm Happo, Hakuba

So so good, gear is great, but the real winner is the staff. So willing to help and properly go above and beyond. Huge shoutout to tahne for the best boot fitting experience of my life, best way to start a ski trip!

英語と日本語の両方が話せるスタッフがいらっしゃいます
（英語のみのスタッフもいらっしゃいます）
スタッフの方は優しく、フレンドリーな方が多いです
私はここでスキー板とシューズとヘルメットを借りました
シューズも何足か試して、一番合うものを一生懸命探してくれたのでスキー中も足を傷めずに済みました！

外国人スタッフがたくさんいて、海外みたいでした。日本語でも対応してくれたので安心しました。

The gear was great and for the most part, performed well! (rented skis, boots, poles, and a helmet)

However, my boots were a different story. During the fitting, they checked my foot measurements and asked my skill level, where I expressed that I’m beginner-intermediate but I ski regularly at home and own my own setup. I gave them the sizing of the setup that I own. She brought out a boot that is 23.5. I told her that my boots at home are 24.5. My friend has 23.5s and I tried them on and they were far too small, hence why we came to rent. She had a weird attitude from the start but I continued on friendly, as she could have just been having a bad day. I tried the boots on and as I presumed, they were too small. I expressed that my toe area was feeling veryyyy cramped and my toes weren’t able to lay flat, even after banging my foot into the back of the boot and leaning into the shins, my toes had no room to flatten out AT ALL. My big toe was fully bent and my other toes were scrunched up. She told me that “once you clip in and lean into the front of the boot, your foot will slide back and you’ll be fine.” She also said that I have an “narrow foot” so these should be good. I understand that but centimeters are centimeters, my foot is still longer heel to toe than 23.5, that doesn’t change. Essentially, she convinced me to rent a boot that was a full size too small for me, and my big toes paid the price. I ended up with excruciating toe bang and bruised toes after 2 days of skiing. The second day I could hardly control the skis because I couldn’t put as much pressure on my big toes to turn because they were already so sore from day 1. Luckily this didn’t result in further injury but I can’t say the same for everyone.

Outside of this, the gear was good and reasonably priced! But my recommendation for improvement would be that if a guest is expressing how boots are too small and explaining that they have a setup at home that is a size that works better for them, please listen to them so they don’t end up hurting themselves. Skiing is just one of many things I planned to do on this 14 day trip so I didn’t want the hassle of taking my gear to all 7 cities that we are planning to visit, and skiing only being 2 days of that. The convenience of renting made more sense. But that doesn’t mean I’m uneducated about what size boots and skis I need for my size and skill level. It just felt like she didn’t take any of my previous ski experience and ownership into consideration when assessing my rentals. She was talking to me like I was someone that had never skied before.

Still a great place to rent, just stand your ground and ask for a different boot size if they truly are too small and your toes will thank you.