The Name We Didn't Choose

Wakaranai Lodge

"If you don't know, don't worry"

Lets take it back a couple steps. One of the mantras that we have lived by for as long as we can remember, is the loose echo of Plato.

"The only thing I know, is I know nothing."

It's a reminder, that life has a sense of humor, and the second you start pretending like you know anything more than that, it will find a way to put you back in your place.

This line has followed us, much like your tracks in the snow, looping behind every turn, and marking our way down the mountain.

While studying in Nelson, British Columbia, it took shape as a fictional ski resort we built for our Ski Resort Operations and Management degree. We called it Don't Know Ski Hill.

It was half joke, half dream.

Our quiet rebellion towards the norm.

A place where we could imagine what kind of mountain culture we'd create if we were ever given the chance.

That little project did more than any spreadsheet or case study ever could. It planted a seed.

Years later, this seed has begun to grow. Not as a resort, but as a lodge in Hokkaidō. The same spirit, new snow.

In all honesty, the Lodge had its name, before we even knew it existed, before we ever imagined it for the first time. Don't Know was the dirt this seed was planted in.

We translated it into Japanese, Wakaranai (わからない), not to sound exotic, but to honor where this dream found its home.

The name carries both humility and playfulness. It reminds us that the best things we've ever built have come from curiosity, not certainty.

We invite you to join us on our quest of not knowing, because...

"You don't know..... til you know"