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POSTCARD FROM JAPAN
Punker Pat, Ford Archbold and Daniel Jones get found in the Land of the Rising Sun
By:
Pat Towersey
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August 11, 2008
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I've always wanted to go to Japan.
It must've started when I watched Karate Kid and Daniel Russo became my idol. Shortly after watching the movie, I enrolled in karate class at the boys and girls club, then shortly after that received my yellow belt and quit the class.
So here we are, after all these years, in Japan. Our guides, Tetz and Yutaka picked us up from the airport; we were all still half asleep and the jet lag was making us drag our feet like zombies. We have a tight crew, Daniel Jones, Ford Archbold and myself. |
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Previous
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From Narita airport we drove three hours to Hamamatsu, the town where Tetz grew up. He took us to eat at an American-style diner and we all ordered this hamburger steak, which came out on a sizzling iron plate shaped like a cow. It was a tasty treat and everyone enjoyed it. The whole restaurant was adorned with pictures of the typical '50s American family. It was pretty bizarre and everyone looked at us like we were famous. After, we went straight to the hotel and slept for another 12 hours. I did the math and apparently I had slept a total of 24 hours. Here's the next week: Sunday, July 27th Had a funky breakfast, runny eggs, rice, some soup and coffee, and then headed out to the beach to catch some waves. We did a typical surf check, looking at every spot along the coast and putting in calls to all the bros, ending at a spot just the same as where we started. Before the session, all the locals crowded around and spoke their best broken English and in turn we tried to speak their native language. Needless to say, no one understood one another so we all went for a surf together. The waves were surprisingly fun and everyone caught their share. Many of the locals crowded on the beach to watch Ford and Daniel exchange blows in the chest high rights. The sushi train -- what a great invention! Sushi that goes around in a circle, it's the perfect place to stuff your face after a surf. Ford decided to be adventurous and try something new. It looked suspect and from his face it tasted like mold. We continued driving down the coast and made a few stops at local surf shops. The stores were small and our guide informed me that they were the bigger stores in each town; it left me a little puzzled because surfing seemed to be popular in Japan. The surfers we met at the stores treated us like we were a part of the same tribe and made us feel like rock stars. We finally made it to Irago, where the contest is being held, the waves were shoulder high and the crowd was on it! The contest area was set up and the loudspeaker was in full effect; every 5 minutes they would blast off all 20 sponsors in a really annoying game show voice. It started to drive me crazy... Monday, July 28th After milling around the hotel for three hours we headed to the beach at 6:40am, stopping by 7-11 for a hot can of coffee. The waves were firing! I never knew the waves got so good in Japan, guys were getting barreled and cracking the lip. Ford surfed his first heat and made it, his crucial mistake of catching a wave before the buzzer didn't affect him too much. Later in the day we went to check out point that had an incredible view of all the surrounding beaches. Then we ended the day at our dinner spot Skylark. This is where I figured out you can say anything you want in Japan because there are very few English speaking people. While ordering my food I told the lady to punch me in the face and to be sure to spit in my food. Wednesday, July 30th All the boys lost in the contest, Ford by only .07. We cruised around and found a fun wedge spot. There were huge stacks of jacks that made the wave peaked and close to the beach. Our Japanese team-rider "flyboy" came along and showed us why they gave him that name. Thursday, July 31 Finally made it to a coffee shop. I hadn't found a fresh brewed cup this entire time and I missed my morning ritual. We hit the pavement to surf and visit some surf shops. After our first session, Ford was stopped 3 times to sign autographs. Ford is big in Japan. Height and fame. Even people who know nothing about surfing want to take a photo with him; the ladies are loving him. At the mall the girls were calling him a Barbie doll. Monday, August 4th Missed a few days...Let's recap: We charged to Tokyo to check out Shibuya and hit Roppongi at night. The city is a TRIP, you walk the streets and there are thousands of stores upon stores, it's the shopping Mecca of the world. There are so many people that from an aerial view it would look like millions of ants walking back and forth. The Japanese people are infatuated with Western culture, and their style is a direct reflection. Everyone has their era or idol of style they are trying to emulate. You'll see a Japanese hippie girl, then a slick '50s guy, a punk rocker; a lot of dyed blond hair and every t-shirt has English writing with things like Malibu, Venice, "This is Hot", etc. on it. During the day we walked for miles, checked out stores and people-watched. After having a home-cooked meal we jumped on the train, a few transfers later we made it to Roppongi, the nightlife destination for Japan. Roppongi is filled with partygoers looking to have a sinful night, in a place where ANYTHING is possible... After milling around the streets for a few hours, and being dragged into clubs by 6'6" Haitian promoters, which is a little scary, we decided to call it a night and turn in. We only had one more night before we took off so we decided to drive to the coast to catch another surf and stay with our Japanese team rider Flyboy. The waves were small but we made the best of it, Daniel and Ford did their best to impress the crowd while Flyboy zipped around showing us how it was done. That night Flyboy threw a farewell BBQ at the beach and invited all his friends to come celebrate with us. We ate all sorts of exotic Japanese cuisine and drank Saporro. It was the perfect way to end the trip and this long, boring journal... till next time. MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |