$20,000 Diving Penalty in Japan…


jet lagged and everything, i couldn’t resist a rare invite for a dive. luckily i had my mask, fins, and spear in my bag so i was ready and able. you got to be special to get permission from local fishermen so when ever i get the green light, i’m on it…. dive first, surf later…

after picking up abalone, sazae, and some fish. i’m just thinking about cracking open a cold beer…

if you dive without permission in japan and get caught, you will go to jail and pay $20,000 in fines. but if you get permission, it’s all good. but just to be safe, I DIDN’T DIVE IN JAPAN….

getting ready for the barbecue. ren is first in line….

this looks crazy yeah? but when it’s in your mouth, all you can say is “oishi desu.”
**CHECK OUT PART 1 OF 2 ON DIVING IN JAPAN….

Yumeya BillabongPro Tahara, Aichi Live!!!!

good morning. it’s 5am and i don’t know what day it is. all i know is that i’m looking outside and it’s going to be another 100 degree day. waves are waist high and i’m over it. going to catch up on some work and get ready for another road trip starting tomorrow… have a nice hot day….

when shun and i went to eat at L&L, he looked under the table and kind of freaked out. he asked what that was and i told him it was gum. yeah, the mentality of the kids in hawaii are kind of off. i admit, i did it before but now when i think back, that was pretty stupid. sticking your gum under a table is the lazy way of throwing it away. i don’t think the kids in japan do things like that. well, i hope not….

shun hand carried his trophy all the way back to japan. that was pretty cute…

naoka showed me the new surf1st magazine. they ran an interview on alyssa wooten. super cool!!! this girl has the potential to make it big. she’s cute, got a great personality, speaks fluent japanese, and already has her own earring business…. good job alyssa….

the billabong pro at tahara, aichi is on!!! CLICK HERE FOR LIVE COVERAGE….

Lucky Lucky Lucky!!!!

oh my gosh!!!!! i finally had a chance to open my email now. i got over 150 mails and couldn’t get to all of them but i got to this one kaz sano sent me. here are some photos i’ve been waiting for. i know my sister won’t send me some, even though i’m worried about lucky. well, if that’s what they ended up naming him lucky. but now, i’m so happy to see him doing so good. ever since that day, i had the image of him falling down the cliff and lying there to die. and him in the hospital and stuff. but after seeing these photos, i can finally get some good sleep. and so can shun….

here is kelia and my sister taking care of lucky. look at him smiling….

kalua wa a little bigger and wilder when i brought him home. lucky is much smaller and mellower. what a perfect match…. i just hope they don’t feed him as much….

if you were with me that day and seen seth’s face when he saw the pig fall off the cliff, you would have cried. seth told me that was the heaviest thing he’d ever seen. he was in shock the whole day and wasn’t himself. i didn’t know what to say or do. it was his and shun’s idea to save this pig. seeing the smile on seth’s face in this photo makes me want to cry. he told me that everything happens for a reason. yes seth, you were there for a reason…
**wanted to say thanks to everybody that sent me emails about this little pig. and to the people in japan who came up to me asking about lucky. shit, i’m so happy now… can’t wait to go home and see him. thanks so much kaz for the photos… you made my day….
**oh, i woke up 4am this morning and went to surf a secret river mouth. had a super fun session, ate an awesome lunch, and am now sitting in a room at 100 degrees typing this blog. i gotta go get some water… have a nice evening or nice day or nice morning. i’m so jetlagged i don’t even know what time it is…. see ya…..
**last, the long awaited big rights gallery is up on go-naminori. so you guys stop bothering me and check out the photos yourself…. haha… CLICK HERE….