paddled out in the dark again! i just knew backdoor was going to be perfect. solid 4-6′ and the best it gets. perfect peeling rights and lefts constantly. only 3 guys out in the dark getting barreled out of our minds. caught so many perfect barrels before the sun and army of surfers came out. scored again! then came in, grabbed my camera, and shot some photos.

stoked to see Shun Murakami back here in hawaii. lot of my hawaiian surfer friends rate Shun on the top of japanese surfers. still young, this boy still has many golden years to come. here he is with his boys before they paddled out.

i can’t believe how fast this kid grew up! from the first time i met him when he was 10, till now, he is still a gentle and very kind kid.

Shun on a very thick sandbar left.

great to see Mar Ohno charging backdoor. he pulled in and made this amazing barrel.

and always stoked to see my nephew Micah Moniz making a place in the lineup. the hardest lineup in the world.

Ren Murakami is Shun’s younger brother. he’s still a fresh face on the north shore but starting to make a statement. nice bottom turn kid. keep on charging backdoor and you will get the barrel of your life very soon.

yes, i’m a people watcher and when i see something interesting, i shoot it. this lady has a very good fashion consultant. matching top and shoes.

the north shore draws the most beautiful beach bunnies in the world. you will see beautiful women walking by all day long. full photo gallery up tomorrow.

i was talking to Kinsan on the beach today. we’ve spent years and years traveling together so he knows me very well. when i told him i was thinking about taking a backpacking trip, he recommended hokkaido. the drew me a map and told me where to go. so at that moment, i decided to go to hokkaido!

on the way back to town i passed by the famous japanese temple in china town. so i washed my hands, did the customs, prayed, and wished for health and peace.

super amazing place that’s been here for a very long time.

then i came home, bought my JR rail pass, and started packing.

i did some research on hokkaido. it’s going to take me 10 hours to get there from tokyo. and once i get there, i want to check everything out. i want to go deep, not to tourists spots, i mean so deep that i can’t understand the language. maybe i’ll get buried in snow? maybe i’ll get lost? who cares? but the first thing i want to do is to eat the best hokkaido crab in the world! going to snow country tomorrow morning!
**and if anybody has a recommendation on somewhere super deep in hokkaido, please let me know. mahalos!

Mason Ho. Photo by Go-Naminori.
Perfect waves.
Perfect rides.
Perfect weather.
Perfect wind.
Perfect day.
Perfect happiness.
Photo gallery coming up soon…

yesterday early morning was the best haleiwa i ever surfed, or even seen in years. absolute perfect conditions! when you see haleiwa barrel like this, you know it’s as good as it gets. red buoy, red board. cool!

and yes, you have your crazy moments too. abunai.

Ezekiel Lau came out and showed why he is one of hawaii’s top surfers.

seen this chick ripping! nice bikini turn!

Ross Williams and i were talking story on the beach about the conditions. Ross loves haleiwa and haleiwa loves Ross.

Ezekiel Lau on a 6’6 doing a sick floater snap.

Glenn Matsumoto? no, this is his son Kai Matsumoto. gosh, they look so much alike.

and yes, Kai surfs fast just like his dad.

was stoked to see Kaori-chan paddling out. another girl who loves to challenge big waves in hawaii.

i seen this girl ripping and didn’t know it was Kaori-chan until the end of the wave. so i got the end of the wave. sorry for missing the beginning Kaori-chan.

Ryota on a few good ones too.

no, this is not backdoor, this is haleiwa.

no, this is not off the wall, this is haleiwa. Kekoa Bacalso big boy big spay.

Ezekiel between the trees. gosh, the waves were so beautiful!

8:30am sharp is when the lifeguards starts to work. so you shouldn’t be in the water before that unless you are experienced.

Hayato Maki off the bottom.

Hayato Maki off the top.

Hayato Maki off the side.

and yes, when there are waves, there are drop ins. everybody wants to get that perfect wave.