i cut my trip 2 days short for 3 reasons. one is because of the uncertainty of getting a flight out of japan. it’s summer time so most flights are oversold this summer. didn’t want to get stuck. second reason is i had 3 perfect days of perfect surf. today is sunday in japan so it’s local time. third, there is a big 6′ south swell hitting oahu right now! it’s a no brainer.

like always, i take my seat, close my eyes, and wake up right before landing. the most comfortable ride in the sky.

this is what got me excited to go to japan last week. then it disappeared. then it reappeared. weird typhoon but i’ll take it.

this is today. waves still pumping in japan. i almost went to okinawa but luckily i didn’t because i heard all flights out of okinawa were canceled yesterday because of the typhoon. i would have been screwed.

i woke up this morning, looked at the ocean, and knew it was going to be a good day. just got home, drank my kombucha, going to eat lunch, take a nap, get barreled, and sleep really good tonight. i’m watching the waves now and it’s perfect!

but hey, no spot here in hawaii is more perfect than japan river mouths. it’s super easy once you make the crazy drop. just have to turn sideways and enjoy the ride. and if you don’t make it, you fall into pebbles that feel like a giant bean bag. it’s pretty cool. once again i want to thank the japanese locals for sharing their precious waves with me all these years. i’m already checking the charts because i’m looking for the next opportunity to go back. enjoy your sunday in japan and hope you guys are still getting barreled!

Oh. Feel so good!
See you in Hawaii!

jumped on the Nankai Ferry yesterday evening. a nice relaxing 2 hour ride except for all the kids running all over the place. a kid even came up to me and stole my pillow when i looked the other way. he and his friends were laughing at me. classic. reminds me of myself at that age. haha.

happy people in shikoku! keep on surfing dudes!

i woke up this morning to a nice fresh bowl of shirasu on the table. so happy!

my Yamari power breakfast.

then played with the kids for a little while. amazing how fast kids grow up.

then went for a surf around 8am. super magical place and super locals only surf spot. waves overhead and barreling. i’m not going to say i’m lucky anymore, i’m going to say i’m dreaming because this can’t be real???

Kimura-san and Hatabo-san hanging out at the locals surf club. such a cool place.

this spot is very very shallow so if you ride too far in, you will hit the reef. Kimura-san smashed his board into the rocks.

as soon as i smashed my hand into the reef, the first thing i did was to check if my board was ok. board ok, hand not ok. freaking stinging all day!

why would a surfer light himself on fire and go surfing? i really don’t understand this.

if you’ve ever been to the mentawai’s, you probably saw the Rip Curls Search boat. not anymore. this beautiful boat sank during a recent charter so the boat sits on the bottom of the indian ocean right now. everybody survived.

now it’s time to go backwards. it was exactly a week since i took off in hawaii. i remember leaving the runway thinking to myself “i wonder how the waves are going to be?” well, the past 3 days answered that.

hope my motorcycle is still at the airport waiting for me. and glad i put in gas on the way to the airport because when i get back, all i want to do is go straight home, grab my board, jump in the truck, and go surfing.

$4.97 to fill up the tank. the cheapest way to get to and from the airport. a taxi would cost me $100 round trip. i pay less than a dollar.
anyway, great trip. can’t wait to get on the flight and go into a deep sleep. want to thank each and everyone that made this one week feel like a year full of wonderful experiences. thank you al from the bottom of my heart and hope to see you again for typhoon 13? haha.