wow, the tssc contest after party was nuts. live music, awesome food, happy faces, and a lot of fun….. check out the snapshots…

i was so surprised to see my friend koji-san from osaka. he owns a bar called isoko and i often go there for a few drinks…. small world man…

there was even a hula show. gosh, made me feel like i was in hawaii…. except, hawaii doesn’t get that cold… it was freezing until jacksan kicked in…

i see customers coming back every year. it’s such an awesome event….. what’s up boys…

the kids were running around the place all night. these kids will be long time friends for sure… and that’s pretty dam cool….

and the adults were having fun too. these are all good people….

this couple told me that they just got engaged. so i gave them some advise. guy, keep on surfing. girl, be patient because your boyfriend is a surfer and surfing will always be #1. and if you can understand that, you will both be happy forever…. haha…. wish you both the best life ahead….

then this live group called SPIA B-ILL played live. gosh, the were soooooo goooood… i was hopping all around the place…..

live music, cherry blossoms and good friends. what more could you ask for? this night was the bomb….

this is tokura-san and akazawa-san. lifetime friends…..

some people came from tokyo just to see this group live. it was like jack johnson in shikoku…. awesome….

more of the happy faces….

and last, i was a little pissed at the end of the night because these guys drank all my jack-san. haha. just joking… but they really did….
anyway, wanted to wish tssc and the customers another happy year of surfing…. see you in the water…

good morning. by the time your reading this, i should be in chiba already. i gotta surf… rain, storm, snow, boots, gloves, or anything, i just got to get in the water. i feel like a fish that was taken out of the ocean. i’m having a hard time breathing…. have a nice day and see you in the water…

holy cow!! check out this sick bottom turn by wade tokoro at pipe this winter. kenji sahara took this sick shot. and since kenji didn’t write a comment on the photo, i will write it for him. “this is wade tokoro. wade tokoro is a top world shaper. wade rips and is a really nice guy”. anyway, i found this photo on the GO-NAMINORI PHOTOGRAPHERS BLOG…. click here to check it out… also wanted to congratulate photographer nakajima-san on the birth if his new baby… congratulations!!!!
***i remember the first time i surfed a river mouth. it was back in 1992 somewhere near the seisho bypass. the waves were waist high and perfect. i just got off the plane and didn’t know where i was going. but i found this spot and paddled out. there were 8 guys out and on my first wave, i got dropped in on. then on my second wave, i got dropped in on again. but the second time was different, the guy actually looked back at me while riding the wave and laughed. i caught 8 waves that day and got dropped in on 8 times. i was tripping out. then i told my friend in japan where i surfed that day and he told me “oh my gosh, that spot has the heaviest locals in japan”. and the funny thing is they were telling me something after every wave. i couldn’t understand japanese back then but now i know what they were saying. they were saying “go home”. haha… i’ve been going back there ever since and those very same guys that dropped in on me are now my friends. thanks guys for understanding i was just a foreigner lost in japan….

10 year old seth moniz got a better first experience surfing a river mouth. we pulled up and there were only 3 local guys out. had a few locals in the parking lot too but everybody welcomed seth. i’m glad he had a better experience than me….

seth paddled out in freezing river water. his wetsuit was really thin, too big for him, and took in a lot of water. but he managed to catch a few waves before freezing do death…. this is seth moniz’s first wave at a river mouth in japan. gosh, i wish i had a photo of me on my first wave too. but then somebody would have been riding in front of me…. haha..

seth paddled in across the freezing cold river again and was so cold, his face was red…. i hope he never forgets his first experience. and it sure ain’t going to be his last…. thanks to the locals for the warm welcome….
**check out seth’s first river mouth experience on video. click on the play button…

gosh, it was another cold day here in japan. grey sky, rain… ah…. i don’t know how much longer i can handle this weather. i miss my trunks, tshirt, and slippers…. but paradise is just a flight away so that’s keeping me going… just been spending some time dreaming about things. things i want to do. things i want to happen. a lot of postive things. i’m a dreamer and i’ve learned that you have to dream big to keep motivated. so dream big is what i do and if one of those 100 dreams come true, i guess it’s worth it. right? oh yeah… so everybody should make a dream today and I hope it comes true for you. take it from me, DREAMS DO COME TRUE….

gosh, everytime i come to japan, i freak out on how small this country is. i bump into people everywhere i go. and for some reason, there is some link between everybody i know. the girl on the left is rie-chan. she surfs in shonan and i’ve known her for a few years. then fuki-san is in the middle. fuki-san came to hawaii last year for a photo shoot for stunning lure and i was lucky to be their guide. then kanemo-san is on the right. i just met her the other night at the jack johnson concert. then i saw makitani-san from stunning lure there too. then i seen takeshi-san too. gosh, japan is so small…. anyway, these 3 very smart girls run a big company from osaka/kobe. until a little while ago, i had no idea they worked together. what a trip. and they really know how to have a good time. i had a blast. gosh, my stomach is still sore from laughing so much…. good to see you girls again. and next time, keep the noise down when your laughing… haha…

after the concert as i was getting on the train heading back to chigasaki, akko called me and invited me for a drink with her and sayuri-chan. i’d thought i’d stop by for one jacksan but one led to another, then another, then another…..

i had a great time talking to akko and sayuri-chan. sayuri-chan lives in chigasaki and attends one of the top colleges in japan. her home surf grounds is yanagishima. another smart girl with a good future ahead of her…

when i walked out of the bar, i seen all these bottles of bintang. i asked the bartender if he was collecting the bottles but he told me that they sell bintangs there. shit!! i didn’t know. if i did, i would have drank that… then my head wouldn’t be as sore as it was the next morning… the bar is called IKAT and is right near chigasaki station. pretty cool place. surf videos, bintang, and a cool vibe…. oh, wanted to thank jack and jack for that awesome jack night….