The Frenchman can Fly
Coco stood at the top of the ski jump.
He felt scared.
He tried not to overthink.
Looking down the steep narrow slope, 30 meters high, that would soon send him flying into the air, he took a deep breath and pointed straight…
Corentin Cesar aka. Coco a Nozawa Holidays instructor could ski before he could walk.
His parents put him on skis when he was just a toddler; three years old.
Coco’s home ski field in France is Les Arcs in Bourg-Saint-Maurice. It’s where he grew up.
“It’s one of the reasons I came to Nozawa… I didn’t want to travel to the other side of the world to ski in another resort,” he said.
Coco first visited Nozawa Onsen three years ago in 2019, pre-Covid.
A Danish friend of his had instructed with Nozawa Holidays and recommended the village and workplace to Coco.
He then messaged the head of Nozawa Holidays ski school and a few months later, Coco was working his first season in Japan.
For Coco, it’s been a long-time dream of his to ski in Japan.
“As a kid, watching ski videos, they were all set in Japan. It’s the best snow in the world here,” he said.
“Every two to three days, there’s a new snow storm, a fresh top up of 30cm. It’s crazy, I love it and I feel so lucky to be here.”
He eyed the ski jump back in 2019 but never got any official answer on whether he could try it out.
As Covid started to spread across the world and countries began to shut their borders, Coco had to quickly depart Japan and head back home to France.
“I didn’t enjoy the end of my season here,” he said.
“I knew I had to come back.”
He had to try the ski jump!
And here he is.
This is his 8th season as an instructor. For him, skiing is his career.
“In France, it takes a long time to become a ski instructor,” he said.
“But it’s my career, something I want to do for the rest of my life. No day is boring. You never know who you’re going to teach or what they want and need to learn.”
As soon as Coco arrived back in Nozawa, he asked the head of Nozawa Holidays Mark, and the head of the Nozawa Holidays ski school, Hugo, if this season, he could do the jump.
The end of January arrived and Coco finally got the go-ahead.
“The Frenchman can come and try,” he was told.
Not speaking much Japanese, and the Japanese coaches not speaking much English, Coco said it was a little strange to discuss.
“It was also a powder day and I was stressed I was missing the best powder day of the year to try this jump,” he said.
The day began with Coco helping the ski jump kids groom the jump.
With 40cm of fresh snow, it took them around 40 minutes to groom the slope.
Once the small jump was ready, he watched on, amazed as the seven year old kids, fearless, practiced their jumps.
Soon, Coco was instructed to fly.
He had experience in the park but had never ski jumped before.
“I was so scared,” he said.
“But I leaped. And it was so fun, so crazy. I felt free. It was like flying.”
After each jump, the head Japanese coach gave advice to Coco.
“Bend your knees more, open your ski boots, he told me. And I appreciated the advice so much,” said Coco.
In the back of Coco’s head was Mark’s voice reminding him not to crash.
“I’m so so grateful for having been able to do the jump. It’s an experience I will never forget.”
Coco would love to try the next size jump, 60 metres high… Maybe even the biggest by the end of the season. Ninety metres high.
“If you told me years ago that I would one day ski instruct and ski jump in Japan, I never would have believed you,” he said.
“Growing up, I thought ski instructors were gods.”
Coco wants to try out all the different types of skiing… From telemarking, to ski jumping to freestyle and beyond.
He said he discovered a new type of skiing in Japan; blind skiing.
“There’s so much powder, it blows up in your face and you can’t see,” he said.
Coco loves teaching his guests, any age, how to 180 and 360 down the Paradise slope.
“Skiing well is not just about going fast or going down the black course. It’s about having fun and trying different things, even on the easy green slopes,” he said.
Skiing is like a game for Coco. And Nozawa Onsen is his beautiful playground.
“I love Nozawa. It’s a good Japanese village, not a big resort. If you’re not skiing, you can enjoy a walk around town, hit the Onsen, try and speak some Japanese and meet new people.”
Matsuba is Coco’s favourite Onsen.
A goal for Coco this season? No showering, just Onsen.
When Coco isn’t skiing, he’s working as supervisor of a kids camp in Les Arcs. He hopes to chase winters soon, maybe check out New Zealand or Australia.
You can book Coco as your instructor here!