what weird weather! i was wearing 4 layers of clothes yesterday including a thermo long sleeve shirt, tshirt, jacket, and down jacket. and my underwear, thermo underwear, and long pants. and i was still cold! then today, i was wearing just a tshirt. well, we left shikoku at 10:30am and i just got to nagoya airport at 6pm. why am i here? because when i woke up this morning, i decided to go to the philippines. no hotel, no reservations, and no planning. just trying to ring up friends and go with the flow. my backpacking tour continues.

surfer style is driving all over the place. luckily i have the best drivers in the world. they know the roads, they know how to get around traffic, they know the cheapest way, and they always get there on time. here we are crossing the longest bridge in the world.

then once we go through the underwater tunnel, we arrive in kobe!

and of course we are hungry! so Seigo-san recommends to us the best katsu donbori in japan. and yes it was!

if we had this restaurant in hawaii, i’d go there everyday for lunch.

and you wonder why there is a long line? for good places like this, you have to wait. and after waiting, the food tastes even better.

cool to walk around in kobe.

and to think that a huge earthquake devastated this beautiful city. it’s crazy even thinking about it.

of course my team gets me to the train station on time. want to thank Kosei-san, Naoka, Inomata-san, Saito-san, and Kanae-san for always putting up with my selfishness. i’ll see you this weekend in yokohama!

then i jumped on the shinkansen. i was so tired but didn’t want to fall asleep and end up in hokkaido.

then i got a little lost at nagoya station. gosh, it’s so confusing!!!
but hey, i’m here, waiting for my flight, will take a sip of champagne, get to manila at midnight, get a comfortable hotel, wake up early tomorrow morning, and travel the philippines!
have a wonderful evening!

Place: Nagoya Airport
Time: Now
Destination: Manila
Mabuhai!!!

yesterday was just another great day of surfing in shikoku. the waves were small but the smile were big. i’ve been coming to this contest for the past 20 years and is part of my surfing history. the people are nice, the vibe is good, and i always have a great time. check out some of the photos i took from yesterday. competition, friends, and challenge.

happy surfer boys.

a magic board will change your life! cool, quality, and magic!

japanese surfer girl.

pioneer class legends.

off the lip.

Yassan on the right, Satoshi Kubota on the left. i’ve known these guys for the past 21 years.

cheese!

Bob-san winner of the pioneer class division.

judges. what’s up Matchi!

these 2 girls came to hawaii a few years ago and since i couldn’t guide them, i had Kelia Moniz do it. these are 2 lucky girls.

sharing is caring.

judging is a hard job, but these guys are the best.

friends, surf, and smile.

over 160 competitors. TSSC does a great job on organizing this contest every year!

Hinako and Kaito Kurokawa, japan’s surfing future.

peace!
full gallery coming on go-naminori tonight.
i just got off the internet and figured out where i’m going. it’s going to be 4 days of exploring and i’m looking forward to it. no plans, no hotel, and no information. just going to backpack it and go with the flow. hopefully take some nice photos and meet some nice people. see you all on the 21st at the yokohama Love Hawaii event!