High Return
OMG. Itai!

gosh, seems like yesterday was a year ago. time just flies when you’re having fun. anyway, better document yesterday before i forget about it. started off with the golden colors of the land of the rising sun. so beautiful!

we passed by a few spots on the way to our destination. this perfect left point had 5 surfers out, too crowded for us.

i was walking around the road checking things out. started talking to the grandma’s waiting for the bus. they were so cute! the only thing is i couldn’t understand what they where saying??? country japanese dialect.

dried squid. good for the bbq.

and dried fish, good for the beer.

coming all the way to japan from hawaii and getting good waves is a huge gamble. a gamble i’ve been taking for many years and will do for the rest of my life. pulling up to this empty lineup yesterday morning was like winning the jackpot. i still can’t believe how lucky we were!!!

near where i stay, there is a little restaurant that serves the best and cheapest lunch. i always ask the lady to read off the amazing menu for me.

this day, i ordered the saba and shrimp tempura teishoku.

it was amazing! and can you believe everything on the menu is only 500 yen or $4? the cheapest and healthiest lunch in japan! if we had this back in hawaii, i’d eat here every single day.

then went to a little snack shop to buy my dessert. mugi tea with mochi filled with azuki beans.
jumped on the ferry and came to wakayama last night. going to surf the swells here and head to the airport tonight. heard there is a high surf advisory for the south shores of oahu for the next 3 days. omg, wave magnet!!! have a wonderful day!

last night, Matchi and i didn’t know what or where to go today. the swell was still small so you don’t want to make the 2 hour drive to the wrong side of the island. if you do, you’re screwed. anyway, we just decided to sleep early and meet up at 4:30am. i jumped in his car and since he knows shikoku more than anybody, i left it in his hands. the good thing is Matchi and I love to get barreled so that’s what we went searching for.

we gamble and drive pretty dam far. pull up to the spot and nobody? really? super perfect rights and lefts barrels and nobody out? it was kind of unbelievable. in a daze, we change, head to the beach, and paddle out.

minute by minute, the waves got bigger and bigger. and hollower and hollower. no space to do off the lips, it’s only take off and get the barrel of your life.

absolute perfect rights and lefts barreling all the way. if you look close, you can see Matchi seated into a perfect backside grab rail barrel.

an hour later, still nobody? we exchange wave after wave enjoying every barrel and every moment. then Matchi yells out “I Love Shikoku!” i said “Me Too!” we were 2 of the happiest surfers in the world. surfing with each other at a secret river mouth with nobody around. it’s pretty unbelievable when you think about it.

every single wave i got barreled either right or left. good thing i had my go pro or else this would only be a dream that nobody would believe.

got some really deep barrels too. just taking off on the most perfect wave you can imagine. pulling into a glassy tube, watching the lip go over your head, and getting spit out. a surfers dream come true.
hey Matchi, we scored again! thank you for your expert decision. this is yet another dream session that will go down in our history books of dreams sessions. not the first, and definitely not the last. i gotta go back to hawaii to work but i will definitely be back. we have to do this again and again. thanks again brother. i really appreciate your kindness and motivation to get the best wave on any given day. i think that’s why we’ve been the best of friends for the past 23 years straight. surfing is our life dude. cheers!