**check out this short clip i took last year in april here in japan. matchi and i were driving around the japan sea area doing promotions for tssc. it went from perfect cool weather to cold snow in a flash. the temperature was 1 degree and it started snowing. the worst thing about the situation is we were driving to the beach to go surf. i had a 3mm wetsuit with no boots or gloves. i remember sitting in the car freezing my ass off and everybody was trying to get me to go surf. shit, there was even snow on the beach. i guess it’s normal for surfers here because everybody went surfing. so felt like i had too. i remember walking on the beach and my feet were numb. then when i paddled out, i thought my head was going to fall off. talk about ice cream headaches. oh my gosh…. i surfed for 30 minutes in freezing cold water, rain, wind, and snow. that was my first time… and my last…. it wasn’t fun at all for me. but at least i gave it a try….

good morning. wow, i actually woke up at 4:30am. i guess my jet lag is getting much better. it’s another cold day here but the weather man said it’s going to get warmer from now. i hope he’s right. anyway, gotta pack and get ready for a long road trip that starts today….

i checked out the new surf1st and there was a spread in the front of an underwater photo u-ske took. i know u-ske knew that was me because he sent me that photo that same day he took it. surf1st probably didn’t know but who cares. that’s such a cool photo. this one is going in the front page of my portfolio. thanks a lot u-ske….

also wanted to thank akko for making me and the boys such a nice breakfast yesterday. ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. it was awesome. and the nabe/sushi dinner party last night was awesome too. i’m still full….

i had lunch with nao in kugenuma yesterday. this girl is going to get famous. or she already is. check out her article in the new surfer girls magazine that came out in japan. i wish her the best…. and wanted to say thanks for showing me that awesome restaurant. and thanks for the oishi cake you made… nao’s uncut video interview coming soon on go-naminori. also check out nao’s blog by CLICKING HERE….

i ate the maguro donburi with yamaimo and okura over rice. oh my gosh…. i’ve been in japan for only 3 days and i gained 8lbs. 8 happy pounds….

this is the spot. it’s on the back road of of kugenuma that runs parallel with route 134. good healthy lunch and awesome french desert…..
**anyway, i’m off to narita airport now to pick up tony and seth. they should be here this afternoon. i hope they brought jackets because it’s freezing… we will be on the road driving thru japan ending up in shikoku. it’s going to be long drives but it’s all good when your having fun. have a nice day and see ya later.. by the way, got some waves in shonan. chest high and clean. hope we can get an evening session in….

good evening. gosh, it seems like it’s getting colder and colder. this morning was 6 degrees. i was freezing my ass off. i got a new board and a new wetsuit but i didn’t want to go in the water. i didn’t even want to leave matsuo’s house. that’s how cold it was….. i forgot what the sun looks like already….

this was my first photo in a japanese magazine. i use to ride for local motion back in the day and they ran this ad on the inside of the cover of a surfing life magazine. this is backdoor in 1993. do you know how stoked i was when i first seen it? i was so stoked that i blew it up and hung it on my wall in my room. and to this day, it’s still there. still there to remind me of how lucky i am to be still living my dream after all these years….. just wanted to say thanks to everybody that made it happen… i’ll never forget….
**and last, check out this short clip from 2 days ago at shichirigahama, kamakura. we went to check out this new building that just popped up. there is this surf shop called “blue horizon” and a clothing store next door. both places filled with people…. it was pretty cool to see so many people shopping across from the ocean. looked to me like things are happening down there….

and last last, i thought this photo was super cool. check out this flower farm in scotland. i would love to jump in there and mess things up. haha….
***and last last last…. i was shocked to hear the news that aloha airlines is shutting down tomorrow. that’s freaking big sad news… it was go airlines that came in and screwed everything up. that’s the bottom line. i learned in college about companies like go airlines. i thought our laws in america prevent things like this happening. should i borrow 1 billion dollars, form go surfboards, and start selling 99 cents surfboards in hawaii? then after every surfboard company goes out of business, start selling surfboards for $1,000? that’s freaking screwed up. come on government, if you let companies like go get away with what they did with a slap on the wrist, other giants will follow…. anybody want to bet me that they will somehow drive hawaiian airlines out of business too? then our interisland airfares will go up to 3 times and nobody can do anything about it. that’s called a fucken “monopoly”…. excuse my language but i’m pretty dam pissed off about this. i feel sorry for the thousands of people that won’t have a job tomorrow. some of my friends too…