omg, shocking news from the surfing world. young pro surfer Ricardo Dos Santos was shot and killed on the streets in brazil. this kid won the tahiti trials in tahiti and went on to beat kelly slater and other top talent in that contest. he was just making his mark in the surfing world at the young age of 24. omg, this is very sad news for everyone.

after many delays because of the bad weather yesterday, i finally made it to niseko. got picked up by Tokura-san and we headed deep into the mountains. it’s been such a long time since i was up here so i was pretty excited.

first, we stopped at Tamai Taro-san’s shop. gosh, the three of us have some awesome memories. from going to snow back country, to indo boat trips, to hawaii, all great times in our lives. Taro-san, Tokura-san, and i with our 19 year Niseko reunion.

i will never forget this day 19 years ago. this is when niseko was still unknown to the world. Taro-san was and still is the legend of snowboarding. known all around the world. Tokura-san and i were very lucky to have this wonderful experience that we will never forget. omg, i look so young in that photo. what happened? haha.

right when i got here, Osamu-san and the boys got me dressed up. it was already 4pm but just in time for a night snowboard session.

going up the lift was scary because it’s just been too long. the thoughts going through my mind of falling over the edge of the mountain, or hitting a tree. now i know how it feels when people come to hawaii to surf after being out of the water for years. that’s how i felt. Tokura-san, Kenjiro-san, and Osamu-san watching over me and keeping me safe.

it’s been 19 years since i snowboarded. a bit nervous to tell you the truth, but once i hit the powder on my first drop, i felt like i was surfing the biggest wave in the world. i was yelling and screaming with joy! what a great feeling!

then had a wonderful dinner and beers with the boys. thank you Tokura-san, Osamu-san, and Kenjiro-san for my first day of niseko experience!
another day, another snow. see you on the mountains!

OMG, this is really cold!

i finally get to sapporo and see it go from clear sky, to snow storm in 1 hour. everything got covered with white powder snow so fast. even inside the train station was freezing cold. went shopping for warm clothes but decided to use what i already have.

but first, while in sapporo, i had to eat its famous miso ramen. omg, it was so good!

then i went to get my train and found out that all the trains were backed up. crowded and finally started to move very slowly. slowly towards snow mountain.

the deep and deeper we got, the snow got deeper and deeper too. it was pretty dam beautiful!

when ever i see the ocean, i get super happy. maybe next time i’ll try to surf over here. it actually looked pretty fun.

such a great experience for me. the white snow is keeping the christmas songs in my head. today i was humming White Christmas. so happy! while i’m slipping and sliding with my sneakers everywhere. and my feet are getting cold again. i don’t know how much longer i can handle this cold weather. one part of me wants to keep going deeper and colder, and one part of me wants to back to somewhere warm.

it was pretty warm in tokyo just a few days ago with Inaida-san keeping the fire nice and hot. i feel like sitting in front of the fireplace and roasting a marshmallow right now.

i just had to look at the blue sky again to bring my body temperature up. as much as i love traveling, i really miss hawaii. i think i’m getting homesick? haha.
by the way, since these storms that hit japan turn and head for hawaii, expect huge swells this week and next. and i mean huge!
have a wonderful evening!