Every snowboarder has a few dreams tucked away in their back pocket; usually it involves living out of your car chasing snow – or perhaps a trip to the all-powderful backcountry of Japan. If you fall into either of those categories, the Car Danchi crew is sure to make you jealous and stoked for winter all the same.

In literal translation, Car Danchi means “car apartment” in Japanese. And the Car Danchi crew lives true to its name once again in their latest epic powder chasing film. With the teaser for Car Danchi 6: D.I.Y. dropping a few days ago, I caught up with the mastermind of the Car Danchi series, Neil Hartmann.

Car Danchi is more of a movement than a video crew. How did this whole thing get started?

I would say it all started about 10 years ago when a bunch of young Japanese riders around me started to venture out away from the resorts and the parks and the competitions to explore and play in the backcountry. We found the best and easiest way to get the “goods” was simply by driving around the island finding great roadside spots to hike and ride. This developed into a crew of people who were willing to sleep in their cars many days in a row as we traveled and searched together. The word Danchi means apartment in Japanese so the title is actually Car Apartments, because that’s what it looks like at night when we’re all lined up in a parking lot getting ready to sleep.

Stephan Maurer insta’d something about linking up with the Car Danchi crew earlier this year. Will we see some footage of him in the full-length?

Stephan came over with the True Colors crew and they were guided around by Shinya, one of the long time Danchi boys. For the last two years he has been guiding the crew around to all the good spots that most foreign crews don’t get to or are more difficult to access without some local knowledge. I wasn’t there to film any of that, but I think they got some great stuff and maybe Shinya will make an appearance in their film like he did last season.

I couldn’t help but notice that the Car Danchi 6 teaser is in English and Japanese this time around. Have you been gaining more interest from people outside of Japan? Can we expect the same for the full length?

Yeah there is definitely more and more interest from the international community every year. I know everyone in the industry from riders all the way up to Jake himself loves to come to Japan and ride the powder, so I think Car Danchi has become a symbol of that. A little taste or reminder of how good it is. Even though the video is not sold in stores in the US or EU everyone seems to jump on the teaser and share it. I love sharing this side of snowboarding and it makes me really happy that people around the globe get stoked on it. The full-length version is always subtitled in English to make sure that everyone can enjoy it.

It’s kind of funny seeing the English words positioned in Japanese game-show style.

I have always watched Japanese TV while living here so I am definitely influenced by that style. I love the big letters all over the screen style! I think it makes the teaser stand out.

When does the full-length drop? Will it be available on Youtube or iTunes?

Right now we are looking at releasing the DVD in Japan on the 7th of September. Hopefully this year the movie will be available for download on iTunes. Working on that right now. Keep on eye on my Facebook page or my blog as I will make sure to have an official announcement posted there.

Is a Car Danchi 7 in the works for next year?

Not sure yet. Every now and then I take a year off, just to have a little break and take a step back. I don’t want people to get tired of it! I am sure we will be out there filming and traveling and sleeping in our cars regardless. I am also looking at trying to do the international version of Car Danchi. Taking a crew of Japanese riders to Europe or America and doing exactly what we do here. I think the cultural clash could be pretty funny.

Are there any Japanese chicks who rip in the backcountry? Do you think they’ll ever make their way into a Car Danchi?

You know there are a bunch of Japanese free riding powder rippers! The lack of parks here has lead to more free riding and so the girls are really strong in the powder. There has actually been talk of doing an all girls Car Danchi version! I will keep you posted on that!

Car Danchi 6: D.I.Y. Teaser (English)



Car Danchi 6: D.I.Y. Teaser (Japanese)