A report published this year by a national association of ryōkan (traditional inn) owners notes that one of the most common problems facing its several thousand members is a dearth of suitable successors — meaning there will be no one in line to run them when the current operators retire.

If only they all had sons like Toshiro Maruyama. The multi-talented 38-year-old is savvy with the Internet and has a flair for creative marketing. He's also fluent in English — a particularly important attribute because in the ski resort of Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, where he now runs the ryōkan that his grandfather started some 75 years ago, business has recently taken on a very international flavor.

"Early in each season, we get Thais and Singaporeans, who come to just get a taste of snow," Maruyama explained. "Then we mostly get Australians. On weekdays in January and February, 80 or 90 percent of our guests are Aussies. They come for the powder snow."