HE moved to Japan from Canada in the 90s and has been bringing pieces of his home land here ever since. Powderlife chats with West Canada Homes president, Paul Nikel.
How did the decision to start building Canadian-style homes in Niseko come about?
I came to Japan in 1991, and after a couple of weeks in Tokyo and Osaka I realised the concrete jungle is not for me and ventured up to Hokkaido, which is a similar lifestyle to my home province, Alberta. West Canada Homes was started in 1997, and is owned and operated by me and my business partner Russell Lefko. We began as a material importing company and to date have imported over 80 containers from seven countries. As foreign building products are very different to Japanese products, we found ourselves also importing the knowledge and manpower to educate our customers on installation of products. This led to our customers requesting complete construction services utilising many of the advanced Canadian building codes.
What do you think about the current Niseko market and the future of the area?
I am a great believer in everything Niseko and Hokkaido have to offer. It’s a beautiful place with great people. More than simple pure economic gains, all of our West Canada Homes customers genuinely believe in the area. In addition to skiing, they love the culture, the people, the food, the onsens, the freedom, the heated toilet seats and the clean air. As everyone knows this year has seen a slowdown in the market in terms of property sales and general activity. Whistler and other well known winter and summer recreation areas have taken 20, 30 and 40 years to evolve. The changes in Hirafu in the past five years have been staggering and in some cases a bit overzealous. I believe the slowdown is a great thing for Niseko, and gives the market a chance to correct itself at the same time the world is doing the same.
Have you thought about building West Canada Homes in other parts of Japan or other countries?
Before beginning work in Niseko, we completed several construction projects in Sapporo and the Hidaka areas of Hokkaido. We also regularly supply several companies in Sapporo and Asahikawa with building products. At this point in time our focus will remain in Hokkaido.
What has been your highlight since starting West Canada Homes?
Since starting West Canada Homes, the highlight for me has been the ability to work with an incredible cast of great people. All of our staff at West Canada Homes, The Niseko Company and West Canada Properties are professional, diligent and dedicated to producing a product we all believe in. Another highlight is the chance to be able to work with an amazingly diverse customer base and interact with so many divergent cultures. A successful project involves aligning expectations of everyone involved so that everyone knows the starting point, the end goal and every point in between. We have conducted over 50 projects in the Niseko area alone, and I am proud to say that we have great relationships with all of our past customers. This is very rare in the custom building business.