And now for something completley different!!!

Haven't surf since I got home from Ireland. But what a filthy last surf I did have there! 4-6ft left point/reef sheltered from the 18-20ft+ swell battering the coast. Relatively easy take off out the back with a few carves before a beautiful bowl section stood up on the inside and wrapped its way through for another hundred metres or so. Kinda reminded me of a shorter version of Telescopes in the Ments. Hardly anyone out either, which is amazing as it was one of only a handful of spots working in that region on that day (due to the size of the swell and the wind). Hardly any surfers in Ireland at all!

its a secret here shaun...sorry

Local reef, mostly rights. Bit wobbly but some fun ones. 3-4ft.

6 out.

Going to be huge in a few days here though.

What's the tidal range like in your hood, Zen? Have much of an influence on the surf during the day?

I was in Ireland during the Spring high tides and there was 15ft between low and high! Which obviously saw a huge contrast on the surf conditions.

zen, what is the water temp there, and water quality ,clean and blue ? and does it discolour during large swells.

Just like that other question about getting good head is there really such a thing as bad?

Okay I may be a tad desperate but really all surfs a great some are just greater.

Tidal range similar to EC oz, on the lead up to the full moon we tend to get high lows and low highs. A couple of times a year we get really low tides that expose the reefs and the locals get out and collect wakame (kelp). No real tidal extremes to speak of.

Vic, water quality in my area is ok, but it's never really clear, kind of a dull green usually. Large swells stir heaps of shit up and after heavy rain, we get the odd chocolate barrell.

Where I am, I get one month if I'm lucky in boardies and that just came to an end. We are affected by the Pacific Oyashio (Parent current) for most of the year. It's cold, water temp bottoms out to about 6 deg Feb/Mar/Apr and early Autumn we just get a taste of the Kuroshio (Black current) Aug/Sep which is warm and the water gets up to about 22 deg at the peak. I wear full 5mm gear most of the year, that's the only real drawback.

I'm in northern Kanto on the boarder of Tohoku- we were smashed by the big earthquake and there's still heaps of reminders. The Tsunami did heaps of damage to the north and south of us.

But I'll tell you, we get world class waves year round here. We have some amazing spots and most need local knowledge to get them on. Taken me the better part of a decade to be considered local here, but I'll never be because I'm a gaijin.

Towards the end of the week we are going to get a giant swell from a double barrelled typhoon, little spot up north will be on. Only breaks a couple of times a year and tubes like Supertubos. This place is frightening and I'm amping.

No real crowds here and in winter, mostly surf with one or two others max. Usually alone.

And don't get me started on snowboarding here.

I love this place.

you got a ski??

No Jeff, but I'd love to give towing a shot.

Nobody that I know of tows in my area which is surprising. We got some pretty impressive offshore reefs that light up when there's a big swell.

I've seen some, by my estimate, genuine 20ft+ perfect surf here. Be pretty hairy to paddle out there but if you had a ski you'd be laughing.

you live in yamaha world brother...haha....sounds like a mad joint...good ta hear you are getting it wired too...im gunna keep an eye on it up there the nxt few days..yeeew

SS3D2 will be up there if you keep givn stiffys about 20ft clean things!!

ha, you got me thinking now. Don't know much about ski's but had a quick look. 2013 Yamaha MJ-VXR, about $16k new. Most new skis are in the $10k to $25k range. Thought I'd start in the middle. Like the looks of the VXR. You familiar with those?

I can write it off as a company vehicle.

Be fun when it's flat too, could take it fishing.

Jeff I reckon this whole media slut thing of yours has the ability to backfire on you. You want to do charters but the way you carry on I reckon you are going to isolate a big bunch of the kind of customer that is going to want to come to somewhere like your neck of the woods. You might have a bunch of people that want to use you right now for the platform you can provide but like the guy who tried to start a land camp in panaitan the more people you get off side the smaller your customer base is going to become.
I have only been logging on to swellnet regularly for a relatively short time and you have directed me to way more spots then swellnet ever has and by sucking people into arguments only compounded that.
Your desire to big note yourself and need to show off about places and people makes me think of the 15 year old kids naming spots on Facebook. Nothing but a self gratification exercise that irks the hell out of me.
If you didn't carry on like such a knob I would be keen on a wild west charter but after seeing how you carry on I would recommend everyone steer clear of you and hope that they kept you at arms length when you travelled so you didn't carry on about places and directions outside of your backyard.

well mr reese...juz for the record...if you decide not to come on one you yourself will miss out on of the greatest trips you could ever possibly do on the planet.......there will be a no wanker policy on any of the trips tho that will enhance the liklihood of a great time too....so in closing perhaps you shouldnt come.

PS. i did one trip and i thouht there were 10 coming and 27 rocked up at 4 am....i got in trouble with the locals for it yes but we only had 1 wanker on board...dunno how the lil prick got on there.{it was smokn too] go to the website for pics.

G'day Shaun, you just reminded me about the green water thing.

Was chatting to a bloke last week and he was saying one of the local guys up at Fukushima, who kept surfing not too far from the Daiichi plant, is always lethargic these days and is now getting constant nosebleeds.

Could be scaremongering, but sounds pretty heavy considering I'm less than 100 clicks away.

i dont know of the VXR'S mate...the FX models seem to be pretty bullet proof...the new FX 180 high output....them typhoons are spinning eh...looks mad

That's heavy zen! 100km is not that far but hopefully the ocean currents have started diluting the radiation! We might all be getting a little dose of it by now....

YS, we're kinda hoping that too. There's a government website that says the water in our area is safe. I'm not entirely trusting of goverments though.

I think the whole situation is pretty stuffed really.

@ Jeff, ha ha ha 27 people on board, wow what fun, sounds like the best trip on the planet for sure......
Good luck to you, hope your charters stay full, I would rather dive head first into a pit full of fire ants before I paid money to fuel your mad ramblings. Anyways as I said hope this whole media mass saturation and overt ramming home of your opinion doesnt work against you.

against me?? media saturation? theres less than 27 people on the forum eh?......if you can surf you would have only needed one of them pits that day to blow your little mind.....let me know if you yurn up for one 1 day....reece who?

Pay money for 1 pit that sounds like a winner. That is the same as sitting at a break in the mentawais and 3 boats rock up. Sh1t in anyones language (except yours).
against me?? - yes
media saturation? - yes
theres less than 27 people on the forum eh? - what?

guarantee i wont be "yurning" up to go out on a boat with you for the day

thats ok reece....if you ever change ya mind you're welcome xx

I googled 'wild west charter surf sa jeff schmucker' to see the website.

Google warns me that 'This site may harm your computer' and gives me chance to click back to the search screen. :)

There's a great way to promote a business. I think there is malware on it.

thanx funpeeler...we getn it sorted

@ Zen - I reckon the tell-tale sign is if you paddle out on a twinnie, come in after a surf and all of sudden, you have a thruster!

Good luck mate.

Or when your wife tells you to turn the light off after coming to bed and you say 'I already did'.

Cheers R2R.

I googled 'wild west charter surf sa jeff schmucker' to see the website.

Google warns me that 'This site may harm your computer' and gives me chance to click back to the search screen. :)

There's a great way to promote a business. I think there is malware on it.

By: "funpeeler"

Yeah, Firefox is really trying to keep me of that site, too!

However, would it be fair to say that Jeff is so so annoyed that someone is possibly giving away "secret surf spots", because he is busy taking boatloads of surfers to just those spots? Whoahahahaha!

Zen - This thread is aptly titled "Now for something completely different". I propose that we re-name this thread (or start a new one) titled "ASK ZENAGAIN".
Seriously, Japan is an amazing place - not that I've been there, but I've seen enough doco's on Japan to understand that it's another world all together, with an amazing culture. I've met many Japanese people through friends and family and found the people to be highly respectful, but they certainly do have their little idocsyncrasies like nowhere else...reckon you might agree.

But jeez - haven't they been through some shit over the decades/centuries.

Interesting to hear you talk about the surf. I'd love to get over there one day. Seen many a photo of rivermouths going off.

So - I've just said lots without actually saying anything.

Siyonara.

R2R, what can I say?

Japan is FUN! If you (metaphorically) swim against the tide, you will probably come away hating this place.

But, if you embrace it, you will have the time of your life.

I came here on a whim quite a few years ago now I've found a wife, built a business and surf some of the most amazing waves ever. We have our doldrums, our flat spells and times where the surf is just so big that there is nowhere you can surf.

To me still, everyday is a holiday.

Japan is so safe, I havn't locked my front door in years. The people are so cool. You get your cockheads but I grew up on the Goldy and lived on the North shore of Sydney and I can tell you there's probably more wankers per capita there.

Cheap food, beer, cars and clothes. Bottle of Wild Turkey or Glen Fiddich $25.

Snowboarding- unbelievable! Lift ticket $45 and awesome powder 2 hrs from my front door.

Women- I only have eyes for my beloved but I swear the women here are breathtaking. I can tell you right now I know three of the most stunning surfie chicks dead keen for an Aussie boyfriend.

I don't know if you have heard of the 80/20 principle. I love 80% of this place but despise 20%. It's not all beer and sushi. The coast is gradually being cemented over and in my time I've seen 5 great surfing spots disappear. Racism out of the main cities is very real. Can you believe it, but for a middle-class white boy, I've actually experienced it many times. Shocking, blatant littering and on a larger scale, really questionable environmental practices.

Don't let that put you off though, the pros outweigh the cons.

I had a WA mate come over a few years ago and he went away blathering about how many good waves he surfed and often with only me and a couple of others. Get out of Kanagawa/Chiba and this place is empty.

Earthquakes are very real and since the big one, we still get tremors every couple of days but since the big one, there has been so many that no one really raises an eyebrow.

Did I tell you, you can legally drink a beer on a train?

G'day Shaun,

Yeah mate, I've read the threads and understand what you're refering too.

Regardless, I'd prefer to read about Zen's perspective from another land (and anyone elses for that matter). It interests me. I only buy a surf mag if there's a real good emphasis on travel. I take an interest in everything else surfing, but travel and variety is where it's at for me.

Zen - interesting stuff mate and thanks for sharing your thoughts/perspective on your adopted homeland...even if you aren't a local!!!

As for the 80/20 rule, That formula sums up my existence from a working perspective. When at work, 80% of the time I'm thinking about surfing, the weather, travel..the other 20% I just don't want to be there. Ha..ha..ha..

Cheers Shaun (and Zen).

On topic ben....the bommi is 10-15 ft and smokn ATM and theres no one out....just wondering if anyone wants to come for a wave....theres a spare ski avail....if not have fun at work all u swellnet junkies!! yeeew xx

We're at 6ft @ 11 sec atm with a mixed bag of swell. 35knt nor-easters pretty much negating everything.

This arvo and through tomorrow we're looking at 12ft @ 16 secs and slightly better winds.

That little spot I mentioned up north could be on. Needs 10ft + here to break, offshore in a northerly.

That ski is looking better and better Jeff:)

Sun/Mon looking the goods, light offshores.

You are a lucky guy or maybe just a smart one to be where you are Zen.

I live on the west coast of Japan in Northern Niigata prefecture. The coastline near me very rarely gets anything other than small, messy windswells (larger swells are generally accompanied by howling onshore and heavy rain from nearby storm systems), is almost completely built over by tetrapods and rockwalls parallel to the shoreline and is covered in rubbish that everyone says comes from South/North Korea even though it is all Asahi beer cans, Yokohama tires,Toshiba televisions, Pocari Sweat bottles and those white little foam containers that Natto comes in.

It is "yukiguni" though, so the snow is nice and abundant.

I hope Typhoon number 18 brings you some joy while we both wait for the snow season to commence.

Away, Otsukaresamadesu.

Don't worry mate, all that you speak of we have in abundance here too.

We do got the waves though, that and the snow keeps me here.

This wind is getting into it today so just waiting it out.

I can't wait for December too, gonna hit up Zao. You been there?

Zen,

I have been to Zao although only in the summer. It is a very impressive place indeed. The Caldera is quite a sight to behold and there are walking trails around it.

I have heard that skiing and snowboarding amongst the snow monsters is a pretty surreal experience too, although I don`t think you can see them at their best until February. I talked to a person who went there last winter and got a pretty super deal on accommodation and stuff as no tourists, domestic or international were very keen on Tohoku at that time. I wonder if things will have changed this season.

Another bonus is there are lots of onsen around which will keep the wife happy while you spend all day on the slopes. I found that nearby Yamagata city is a strange place, it must be the least lively and most depressing Prefectural capital in Japan. It was so dead when I was there that it was eerie. That was just my impression though.

On a more positive note, how did you go with the Typhoon swell?

away-san,

Only one sesh, funky onshore winds have been the norm.

Got another burst of swell later in the week, but again, unkind winds.

Looking at hitting up Nozawa onsen and Zao this winter in addition to my regular Sundays at Alts Bandai/Nekoma.

Winter Yee hah!!

YP got the better of us this week, 2 boards into 4, spewin',