BEACHESTOKNOW
NearTokyoisHebaraBeach
inKatsuura.“It’soften
referredtoasthe‘Swell
Magnet’orthe‘Jewelinthe
ChibaCrown’duetothevast
arrayofbreaksandswell
directionscausedbyvarying
winds,”saysDaneGillett,
whoownsSplashGuest
HouseinIchinomiya.Thirty
minutesnorthbytrainis
TsurigasakiSurfingBeach,
wheretheOlympicsarebeing
held.It’sknownforhaving
consistentwavesbecauseof
theshapeoftheseabed,but
ingeneraltheyhoverinthe
2-to3-footrange.Kamakura,
anhourlongtrainridefrom
Tokyo,sitsintheshadow
ofMountFuji,butit canget
crowded.MorganCollett,
co-founderofsurf-inspired
fashionlabelSaturdaysNYC,
recommendstheKaifuRiver
inShikoku,a five-hourdrive
fromTokyo,forthewaves
thatformwheretheriver
meetsthesea.WHERETOSTAY
Therearen’tmanyfour-and
five-starresortsin Japan,
muchlessin remotesurfing
destinations.Butin AgoBayin
MieprefectureisAmanemu,
whichAmanResortsGroup
Ltd.manages.It offersa
privateonsen(hotspring)in
everyvillaaswellasnatural
onesontheproperty.Surf
nearbyatAgo-no-Matsubara
Beach,whereswellsare
strongandconsistent.
HalekulaniOkinawa, a resort
wrappedarounda white
sandbeachona secluded
peninsula,openedin August.
KeyspotsincludetheSunabe
Seawall,knownforitsreef
breaks,andAhaPoint.GEARTOGET
Japaneseneoprene,a
rubbermadefromlimestone
extractedfromthemountains,
is thewetsuitgoldstandard.
It’smorebuoyant,durable,
andflexible;bothPatagonia
Inc.andNineplusInc.useit.
SurfjournalistChasSmith
gotfittedforaRashwetsuit
ona tripandsays,“Itwas
moreintensethangetting
a tailoredsuit.”GlidzJapan
hasdevelopeda premium
neoprenecalledFiber-Light
foritscustomwetsuits,
handmadein a workshopin
Chiba.Stocksuitstake 12 days
to make and are almost $500,
so expect custom ones to run
more than that.SHAPER TO SWEAR BY
Like guitar makers, surfboard
shapers are integral to good
performance, and there
are several legendary ones
in Japan. Among them:
Masao Ogawa of Dick
Brewer Surfboards and YU
surfboards’ Yoshinori Ueda,
who’s worked with Gerry
Lopez, aka Mr. Pipeline,
arguably the best-known
shaper in the world. Rio Ueda,
Yoshi’s son, has also gone
into the family business; find
him on Instagram @rioueda_.
His boards come in various
shapes (long, quad, twin fins)
and are often embellished
with swirling abstract colors.
�Maxwell Williamsprefecture thatIgarashi’sfathersurfedendlesslyasa young
man. With a home-fieldadvantageandhisfather’sinside
track on the surf,Igarashishouldhavea clearedge.“Outof
every surfer, Ihavethebestchance,”hetoldmeina quiet
moment whenwemetupforthefirsttimeearlierthisyear.“It
shouldn’tbemesayingit,butjusttobedirectwithyou:With
everythingcombined,withit beinginJapan,withtherise-up
I’mhaving,I havethebestchanceofwinningtheOlympics.”
Although hewasbornandraisedintheU.S.,Igarashi
chose to seekqualificationforthegamesundertheJapanese
flag.Hesaysit wasa waytohonorhisparents,butit was
alsoaneasybusinessdecision.Forallofsurfing’spopular-
ityinJapan—theislandshave18,500milesofcoastline,con-
sistent waves,and,duringthefalltyphoonseason,swells
that can rivalthebestonEarth—he’sreallythecountry’s
only surf star.“InCaliforniaeveryonelivesnextdoortoa
pro surfer,” saysTannerCarney,Igarashi’sfriendandvid-
eographer. “ButinJapan,he’sit.He’stheguy.”
Exactnumbersarehardtocomeby,but
thereareanestimated 2 millionsurfersout
ofthe 126 millionpeoplelivinginJapan.
(TheU.S.countsapproximately2.5million
outofa populationof 330 million.)Manyare
concentratedinKamakura,where“train
surfers”whoworkinTokyowilltakethe
hourlongridetohitthewater.Accordingto
datafromSurfline,themostpopularonline
waveresource,there’sbeena 22%increase
innewusersfromJapansince2017.
AftertheOlympicsannouncement,much
ofthefocushasbeenonTsurigasakiSurfing
BeachinthetownofIchinomiya(popula-
tion500), where the competition will be
held. It’s 90 minutes by train from Tokyo,
and almost 600,000 visitors surf there every
year. The waves are consistent but not his-
torically big ones—which just happens to
be Igarashi’s specialty, according to Matt
Warshaw, author of the Encyclopedia of
Surfing. He anticipates that the conditions
there will be at best a 2- to 3-foot surf. “On
the other hand,” he says, “really bad 2-feet surf is where
Kanoa Igarashi is almost unbeatable.”
Shuji Kasuya, a former Japanese surf champion who lives
in Honolulu, says Igarashi has the potential to transcend the
sport in his home country. “He’s the first Japanese on the
Championship Tour, so there’s so much influence not just
as a surfer. It’s more like he’s always on the news, advertise-
ments, commercials,” says Kasuya. “He doesn’t just do surf-
ing fan magazines, he does fashion magazines. It used to be
surfers had long hair and a bad-boy image. But he’s clean-cut
and speaks like four different languages.”
Forthemoment,Igarashistandsaloneintermsofbroader
fameinsurfing-madJapan.Hesayshe’salready“waypast”
lastyear’s$2million figure, mostly because of endorsement
deals related to the Olympics. Corporate sponsors range from
Visa Inc., which has been running an ad on Japanese TV since
March that depicts Igarashi riding his surfboard on a wave
of the company’s cash cards, to a conglomerate called the
Kinoshita Group, which makes building materials and oper-
ates nursing homes.
A few other potential stars are coming up behind him.
Shun Murakami, a goofy-footed 22-year-old, has already
earned a provisional qualification for the Olympics. Closer
to home, Igarashi’s younger brother, Keanu, is also being
groomed for surf stardom, and after winning a few amateur
contests at the age of 17, he could end up being the Serena to
the Igarashis’ Venus.
At the Quiksilver shop in Harajuku, however, there was
no evidence of those kinds of thoughts. Igarashi was due the
next day on the beaches at Miyazaki, a 90-minute flight from
Tokyo, where he would compete in the ISA World Surfing
Games. After that, he’d go back to Slater’s wave pool for the
Freshwater Pro tournament.
One last bit of business remained: Igarashi’s father was in
another room planning a documentary about the family with
Japanese TV producers. Afterward, Igarashi, his father, and
Carney, all three dressed in black, rode the elevator down to
the street. As they headed out into Harajuku’s neon-lit night
to do some shopping, I was reminded of something Tsutomu
told me earlier. “My wife and I were making something,” he
said. “And we succeeded.” <BW>61