good afternoon, it’s such a bummer how good things must come to an end. i had yet another wonderful time in japan. meeting friends, and making new ones. the great surf, the great food, and the great people. you just couldn’t ask for more. this past 9 day went by so fast! hard to remember everything so thank goodness i took photos along the way. typhoon season is in full swing and it’s always been my goal to be at the best place at the best time. well, it happened again. best place, best time, and best people. i caught so many good waves and seen so many good waves ridden. when i get on the plane, i’ll sit back, sip on champagne, and fall into a deep sleep. then when i wake up, i’ll be back home. i’m recharged and ready to continue my endless summer in hawaii. keep on surfing!

this was the first photo i took on this trip. this is the land of the rising sun! awesome way to start off a day.

pulling up in the early morning and seeing all your friends pulling up at the same time. we all check the waves together, surf together, and laugh together. i traveled a long way by train, spent some money, but every yen was worth it. experiences like this, money can’t buy.

i had a 6’6 that i rode for the big days. it was kind of thin so i had to wait in the impact zone to take off. every drop was late, but i timed it perfectly and when i think back, i made every one. the take off is the hard part, the bottom turn in the important part, and hitting the lip is the fun part. i want to thank naohiro for taking this cool photo of me. super stoked to see i can still throw some spray. not bad for an old guy yeah? haha.

like i said before, each spot in japan has different people and different faces. i’m super stoked to travel around japan and call all these surfers my friends.

each trip, i usually have one special photo. this is it. local surfer kensuke nishikawa on one of the best waves i’ve ever seen at that spot. a super good big wave surfer and a super cool guy. one of the other locals told me that this day was the best he’s ever seen it. and big wave charger alex grey told me that the waves were like pipeline. the outside was the second reef, and the inside was the first reef hollow barrels. this day will surely go down in the surfing history books of this special surf spot. i’m glad i was there to experience it!
i want to thank all the locals again for sharing the waves. and i want to thank all of you who check out my blog. i met come cool people along the way, even another guy on the train that told me he checks out go-naminori. he wasn’t even a surfer but enjoys hawaii. i am stoked to see random people passing by this site. thank you again and please keep your dreams alive. i’ll be the first to tell you that anything you dream of is possible. set a goal, strive toward it, and when you achieve it, call me and let’s have a drink to celebrate it! kanpai!

Ina-style!
Itadakimasu!

i’m pretty happy to see toda-san looking a lot healthier. he’s more energetic and it shows in his surfing. when i first met him, he was a pretty scary guy. then once i started to know him well, he was actually a big teddy bear with a bigger heart. somebody you can trust, and somebody that i know will be there for me for the rest of my life. it’s an awesome feeling to know that.

toda-san loves anything to do with aircrafts. to fly in one, to play with one, or even just to see one. his staff at hula hawaii fuji bought him a new remote airplane for his birthday present. you should have seen his face when he brought it home. he looked like a 5 year old kid who just seen santa claus.

so we go to the beach to test it out. check out this location. freaking amazing!!!! this is where toda-san grew up his whole life.

ready, get set, GO!

this was the coolest thing. he flew it like a pro. i kept on watching it fly and am now thinking about getting one when i get back home. looked so fun!

a few days ago, i was surfing this perfect left point by myself. took off on a wave and decided to do an old school layback. we use to do these back in the 70’s and it was the coolest thing to do back then. sometimes i still do it and it feels like i’m going back into time.

the trick is to drag your back and right arm in the wave so you can get deeper and deeper.

then once you see the barrel going over your head, you pull your hand out of the water and ride it out.

then when you come out, you enjoy the feeling you just had. the layback barrel is coming back and i’m going to do it more and more. enjoy the ride!
anyway, going back to hawaii tonight and will be ready to surf and relax! can’t wait to feel the cool trade winds! see you soon.