back in 1995, a group of us Japanese flew to Tonga and stayed at the Ha’atafu beach resort. it was the first Japanese surf trip to Tonga so it was pretty special. this was the shack i stayed in on that trip. it was a pretty cool experience. 
Tokura-san-san, Matchi, me, and the 3 little girls who where the daughters of the owner. come to find out, 2 of the girls took over running the surf camp. pretty cool to see these lovely girls growing up making surfers feel comfortable in Tonga. check out my surfboard we used for a cutting board. 
cameraman Yoshiro Nakayama and pro surfer Taro Taniuchi enjoying the kawa party. that was the first time i ever drank kawa and it tasted like mud. but after all those years, i started to love it. not necessarily the taste, but the culture.
i was 27 years old at that time. very young, very skinny, very curious, and very wild. if i were to meet a kid like that now, i would run away. 
this Tongan ferris wheel was pretty classic. 
anyway, that huge volcanic eruption caused a tsunami that destroyed the entire Ha’atafu surf camp. i was shocked to see these photos. 
this is where the kitchen was so if you went there before, you would be saddened by this. i hope they can rebuild because i’m sure thousands of surfers from around the world have amazing memories there. i want to wish the best of luck to the owner Steve and the entire Ha’atafu Family…
