check out these photos Uchiyama-san sent me from chigasaki! this was yesterday morning as a big typhoon was about to hit japan. gosh, i remember standing on that same bypass day after day checking the waves at chigasaki. 20 years ago, they didn’t have good wave forecasts so the only way to see if the waves came is by checking. i remember some days going up on the bypass and seeing the most amazing lineups with nobody out. huge beach closeouts as my friends and i use to paddle out. so seeing this photo brought back all the memories. thank you Uchiyama-san for the surf report. i’m glad you got perfect waves in hawaii last week and made it back to chigasaki just in time for some typhoon swells. keep on surfing!

surfing typhoon waves in japan is the easy part. getting out is the hard part. so much power and energy in typhoon swells. nonstop paddling with strong current. after duck diving over a hundred waves in less than an hour yesterday, i felt like i had the best workout in a long time. it’s times like this i wish i could have been in 2 places at the same time.

and yes, glad to get this report from a friend at a secret river mouth in japan. he told me that the heavy rain busted out the river again so the best sandbar of the decade is forming right now. i might be on the next flight to japan when another typhoon forms. see the river gushing straight out? well, the rocks and pebbles are getting pushed to the left forming a triangle sandbar. in a week or so, the river will stop flowing, then when the next typhoon sends swells, it will create a perfect long righthand barrel. this is what us river mouth surfers dream of! thank you M-san for keeping me updated. hope to see you soon.

i take off, bottom turn, and see the nicest wall in front of me. this is my view and this is why i love surfing so much.

and want to congratulate my grand nephew Mateus on his first birthday! happy birthday Mateus!!! you’re so cute!!!

Elephant vs. VW.
Good morning 6am.
Small South/East swell.
Diamond Head overhead and side winds.
Ala Moana chest high sets and clean.
Trade winds at 20mph.
Cloudy morning with some rain.
Going surfing.
Have a wonderful day!

i went back this afternoon to check the waves and it was pretty junky. too windy and ugly. lucky i went earlier and had the whole ocean to myself! a great memory for a very rare hurricane. next one 22 years later?

the honolulu fire department was out at diamond head looking for somebody. our firefighters are some of the best in the world!

a few days ago, there was panic throughout hawaii. kind of sad watching people buying more than they need. why can’t people be more calm and smart? going to tohoku after the tsunami, i learned that it is better to just get what you need so everybody can survive. it’s not a time to be selfish.

and since nothing happened, i bet you that the return lines tomorrow at all stores will be very long. once again, pretty sad.

and what’s more sad is some stores took advantage of people in need. selling a $3 case of water for $15? that is called price gouging and it is very illegal here in hawaii. businesses like that should be shut down. how can you take advantage of our people at a time like this? where’s the aloha? unbelievable.

hey, ever tried to eat this fish sashimi style before? i tried it for the first time the other night and it was amazing. i see this fish all over south japan and all over indonesia when i go diving. they are in schools and i never shot one before because they don’t look too appetizing. but after trying it, i’m sure i’ll spear a few on the next dive trip i go on. it taste so good!
welcome back to normal life. everything should be fine come tomorrow morning. waikiki reopened earlier tonight and it was packed. they were stores already selling “I Survived Hurricane Iselle” tshirts. i’m sure a lot of tourists will buy one. not me. haha.