gosh, was a journey to wakayama, shikoku, and tokyo. my trip is only 4 days young but feels like weeks. traveling in japan is super fun for me. been doing it for so long that it feels like home. nice people, nice food, nice surf, and nice country.

being a winner is a great feeling. and after fighting through the tough conditions must make it even more rewarding. here is the winners for the special class division! thank you Kanae-san for the photo.

just another magic board in the testing. my 2nd surf in shikoku in 2 days. water was freezing cold but things warm up when you’re surfing with great equipment and awesome friends. now i have a clear mind what my next custom board will look like. Kanae-san took this photo and if you look good, you can see Inomata-san in the background.

and here is Inomata-san again. i took a few shots of our morning monday session. the waves were super fun and if you were lucky, you could have caught some really good ones. Inomata-san caught some of the best waves that morning. can’t wait to download the photos of that session. stay tuned.

another day, and another plane ride. i think i must have a million miles already.

i land in tokyo, jump on a 55 minute train ride, and end up in ikebukuro. coming from the country side in shikoku, then all of a sudden in the busiest city of the world in tokyo is shocking.

for the past 25 years, i’ve been seeing cherry blossoms every year in japan. i love it so much and it makes me so happy to see it in full bloom. i can take photos and photos of it every year and never get tired of looking at it. this is culture, this is japan.
**CLICK HERE FOR FULL GALLERY FOR TSSC USERS CUP 2015. sorry the photos are a little foggy, it’s because the weather was a little bit more than a little foggy.

Let’s go!

had a great time in shikoku. been going there for the past 23 years straight. gallery up soon on Go-Naminori.com. check it out. here is a little preview. it’s a huge job to put together a big contest every single year. 180 competitors this year so lots of work. perfect planning by the TSSC staff. great job Yassan, Tomoko-san, Kesuke, and the rest of the wonderful TSSC family.

great kid. known Kesuke since he was very young. now he’s a husband, father, hard worker, and surfer. good job growing up Kesuke.

shaper Mike Woo and i went to preschool together. been friends ever since and will be friends forever. Satoshi Kubota i met 23 years ago. another long time TSSC pro team mate and a super great guy.

over 4 years later and there are still a few people that didn’t forget about 3/11. We Are One! so stoked for the years of support.

Kenji Sahara. a surfer, photographer, and friend.

was so stoked to see TSSC rider Shun Murakami ripping it at ikumi. very impressive surfing that keeps on progressing.

very grown up. so stoked to see this kid living out his dreams.

Matsuo is another great friend of mine for the past 23 years. more like a brother to me. one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. and an awesome MC.

Nakajima-san probably has been with Dove Wetsuits the longest. i think 30 years??? so if you know Dove Wetsuits, you know Nakajima-san.

i just love shooting photos of anything, especially nature. isn’t this an eagle? we don’t have these in hawaii.

a great smile, a great man, a great boss, and a great heart. thank you again Yassan for all the years of support. great job on the contest and great job on your 60 years of life.