River Surfing in Gifu - Japan Style

While in Japan, the Minor Planet crew went on a surf mission in Nagoya or the Aichi Prefecture area. The original plan was to drive a couple of hours to the ocean but the weather and swell forecast was not looking good. As an alternative, we decided to go river surfing. River surfing is when you ride a stationary wave waves, tidal bores, or upstream waves in a river. For our set up, our friends had a boat that creates a continuous stationary wake that you surf.

Minor Planets partner Takihyo Co., LTD is conveniently headquartered in Nagoya, so we were able to mix this mission with a business trip to check in on our team. Who says you can't have fun while on the job?

Anyway, we got up early, packed our gear and drove out from Nagoya to Gifu to meet up with our crew of friends for the day.

The first crew member was Okochi Noriaki, who Takashi had met on the beach in Japan years ago. It was one of those meetings where you don't really know what each other does for work but you get along fine. To be honest, your profession is not the only thing you are. In this case, we were all surfers and that is what brought us together. BUT for those that are interested, Okochi san is a water driller - which is where you drill deep underground to find aquifers for public and private water projects.

We meet in Kaizu, Gifu to eat and pray for a good year of financial fortune. It was a small Japanese town and the main street was busy since it was the weekend. We made our way through the street to Chiyoho Inari Shrine aka Ochobo Inari to pray to the fox spirits. It is said that coming here brings good fortune in terms of financial success. So, of course, we prayed for the success of Minor Planet. After we felt good about our future, we walked a bit back down the same road and went to a Udon shop that makes a style of Udon that the region is known for. In this Udon you will find a flatter-wide noodle with a more red miso soup base. Not your typical round noodle and it was good! A nice warm pre-surf meal that hit the spot. We also found out Okochi san knew the folks that ran the shop. We said our thank yous and we were off to the next stop to pick up the rest of the crew.

After about 10 mins of driving we ended up at a Lawsons parking lot and we waited for the rest of the crew. Of course, we went into Lawsons to get some drinks and Konbini snacks.  After about 5 mins, our second crew member, Kusano Shingo pulled into the parking lot. We were told he is a bit famous in the area for his artisanal shaved ice that got some TV air time. Unfortunately, that lead to too much popularity and his waiting queue got too long which annoyed local residents. So, he had to shut down earlier than expected in the summer. Not good for a shaved ice man. With that said, he was in happy spirits as he was excited to get on the water. We all thought he looked a bit like the Japanese Sean Penn. Tell us what you think. 

Now that we had the crew assembled, we drove as a caravan to the river dock to meet the boat driver. We got to a spot and started to get ready. At this point in the story, we note that the fleece uniforms this season was really the perfect outfit of the weather that day. A bit cloudy with some wind. We surveyed the scene and got ready. After screwing in the right fins, waxing the boards, and fitting into wetsuits we were ready to go.

Our friend, Uno Takahiro lead us to his boat tied to the dock and we found our seats on the boat. The key was to keep more weight on the back so the boat can really make a good surfable wake.

Dropped the engine in the water and we were good to go. 

We each rotated 10 minutes sessions in the water. You might think 10 minutes is a short amount of time but when was the last time you were riding a wave for even 1 minute. All the maneuvers and little adjustment take a toll. You realize 10 minutes is just the right amount of time. It was fun to see each person's style as they played on the wake. Okochi san did some nose riding, Kusano San was getting his river legs again and working out his new board, and Takashi laid back longboard style. 

About half way through, we are join by Uno Taeko, who is a pro wakeboarder from the area. She was nice on the wake. She practiced her turns, snaps, airs, and cutbacks effortlessly. When do you get to see a pro wakeboarder do her thing? That was inspiring to watch. 

After a good amount of rounds, we were all gases so we headed back to the riverbank. What a fun day on the water. The last surprise was a Aqua Turning fork message by Uno San who had just become a practicer a month before. It was the type of unprofessional technology we love - using the body and sound waves to bring some relaxation and healing. 

Thank you to the crew - Kusano Shingo, Okochi Noriaki, Uno Taeko ,and Uno Takahiro for such a fun day. It was truly a eclectic crew from all walks of life. We hope to be back soon!