Chasing Waves (2023–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode #1.3 - full transcript
Well, my family is nearby...
They have been supporting me
throughout my life.
I am forever grateful for them.
Left is nice, left is good. See?
I was in the professional JPSA.
I did ten years,
so when I was pregnant,
I just wanted to live close to the beach.
I wanted to go surfing.
Dad's really good.
Finbarr is very good for patience.
I've got no patience.
I'm a very bad mom.
Connor is a goofy footer.
That's amazing too.
We're both natural.
Where's he come from, goofy footer?
So, of course, not everybody
can get in
but everybody should get a chance.
Because the Olympic games
number one value is universality.
Connor's confidence is not enough
to be 100% yet.
He can do it.
He just needs to concentrate.
Please welcome Sara Kohrogi,
who won the first heat. Congratulations!
Thank you.
For me, competing with other surfers
wasn't something I ever really enjoyed.
Four, five years ago,
I stopped competing altogether, and
once I discovered the alternative world
of free surfing, I followed that path.
So now, as a free surfer,
I've turned this bus into a camping van
so I can travel around Japan,
and learn from the locals
about various Japanese traditions
as well as immerse myself in nature.
My final destination is Hokkaido,
so I'm guessing we'll be driving
more than 1500 kms.
It's quite a long journey
but it's not often that you can travel
across Japan in one go.
It's super exciting.
I may be a bus driver now,
but here's a surprise.
When I was young, I used to be a rapper.
That's right folks! I'm a very special
bus driver-rapper.
I decided to travel with my friend Guy.
You in the back, please sit down!
He's hilarious.
Just a really interesting guy
with a unique personality
and a very pure heart.
-Look.
-Froggy!
Are you joining us till Shonan?
It's really fun traveling with Guy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there is a parking lot
about one kilometer ahead.
If you need to use the restroom,
please let us know.
Yuma: Getting off next stop. Ding-dong.
Yes, sir.
This is the Mushroom Soba.
Thank you.
We're on a date.
Yeah, we're on a date.
Tasty.
Something flew from your mouth.
Alright! Let's go, Rosa.
Oh, it's so narrow!
Let's go, Rosa?
The road's ridiculously narrow.
Barely the width of this bus.
And... you're coming this way, are you?
Ok, I'll pull over a bit.
Wow, they just keep coming.
This is not good.
Oh no, there's a second car.
He's backing off.
Thank you.
-A traffic light! We made it!
-We're out of the woods!
I'm glad we didn't have an accident.
But it stinks!
-It smells like burnt rubber.
-Yeah.
I see a gas stand coming up.
It smells. Looks like something got burnt
from hitting the brakes so much.
I'm sure it's fine, but...
I wonder if we can make it.
Let's go, let's go Rosa!
I'm counting on you.
So we're heading to Shonan,
which is actually where Guy grew up.
We're about 4.5 hours away,
according to the navigator.
Looks like there's some waves.
I'd be happy if we could surf
a little bit.
I've never surfed in his home turf before,
so I'm looking forward to it.
It's getting dark now.
What time is it?
4:32 PM.
4:32 PM, which means the sun should be out
for another thirty minutes, but
our arrival time is now 5:21 PM.
Can we surf in time?
Can we make it?
-Doesn't it smell?
-It stinks.
It smells like something's burnt.
If there's no smoke, we'll keep going.
I want to move my body a little bit.
I want to see some waves.
Will we make it?
It's dark, but we can still get in,
just in time.
We're here! Alright.
It's the longboard!
It felt great to be in the ocean,
and I was really moved
to be in the ocean in Guy's hometown.
You know, I wanted to ask you about this.
Who are these people?
These were the then-owners of the Dodgers.
The owner and his wife.
He woke up at 5 AM and didn't come home
until the night game was finished.
Eventually, his English improved.
Back then there were no other
Japanese who could act as a
"bridge" between Japan
and America in that industry.
I think people always have to sacrifice
their family
when they want to accomplish
something really big.
True.
Just like grandpa
in the baseball industry,
I want to be a "bridge" between
America and Japan
in the surf industry.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Mom, she's going in a week.
To Japan.
Because of grandpa,
I want to follow in his footsteps.
I'll do what I can to support you.
The person who most influenced
my surfing life was my dad.
I've now quit shortboard competitions
and am enjoying riding other surfboards
like longboards, alternatives,
single fins, twin fins, and so on.
My father's the one who taught me
all of those surfing styles.
The best surfers are those
who can surf well on any board,
and be in harmony with any ocean.
My father used to tell me that
when I was a kid,
and I think about that a lot now.
You can access different waves
by using different boards.
A surfer's who's using the right board for
their wave looks so happy when riding it.
I know that's true for me.
Today, we're going to meet Mr. Naito,
who will tell us the history
of surfboards and surfing
in the Shonan area.
He's a pioneer of surfing in the past.
He witnessed Kugenuma's surfing history
through his own eyes as a surfer himself.
Good morning.
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
Welcome.
Thank you very much.
-I'm Takanuki and...
-I am Guy.
Nice to meet you.
It says,
"The beach was opened in 1887."
Wow.
Does that mean that Japanese surfing
started in Kugenuma?
That's right, that's right.
This room is about Kugenuma's history.
They rode waves with these wooden boards
called "itako."
They took the boards from the bottom
of the ships
and started riding waves with them.
That was how it started.
I see.
By doing so, surfing became popular.
So, you started with an itako.
That's right.
So you didn't know that you were supposed
to stand up while surfing?
I had no idea.
Well, along the coast of Kugenuma,
there was a sandy beach
that was frequented by American soldiers.
-We called it the "GI Beach."
-Really? "GI Beach?"
So, when I saw this,
I found out for the first time
that surfers in the United States
are in a standing position.
Incredible.
This one's an itako.
You use it like this.
First, like this.
Then, the waves will come.
I see.
Then, ride with this one hand.
It was very difficult to ride the waves
with this.
You had to really use your shoulders,
here, to ride the waves.
That's how you do it.
Amazing.
All we did was fun and play.
This longboard...
Yes.
So, this board is almost sixty years old,
isn't it?
That's right.
Can I lift it up a little?
Sure. It's quite heavy.
Because in the old days,
and when I made it, too
we used to cover it with two
or three layers of fiberglass.
-That's why it's so heavy.
-Yeah, it's really hard and heavy.
The boards now are much lighter
without all those layers.
Yes, they are.
This board means a lot to me.
It's amazing how surfboards change
with history.
It was my first time to see
an itako surfboard.
It just looks like a plank of wood.
I don't think that surfing
is a completely Western sport.
We had this culture from the past,
where people used to use
a wooden plank to surf.
If those guys weren't surfing
in Japan back then,
we might not be surfing right now.
If I think about it that way,
it might seem like we're inheriting
something.
And that we are still a part of that
history.
It feels pretty hot, no?
Yeah, it is.
This here is too hot to touch.
I'm going to stop the car.
Rosa.
Hang in there!
Let me check the oil.
It's hot.
The oil...
The oil is decreasing quickly
so I need to get to the bottom of it.
They have been supporting me
throughout my life.
I am forever grateful for them.
Left is nice, left is good. See?
I was in the professional JPSA.
I did ten years,
so when I was pregnant,
I just wanted to live close to the beach.
I wanted to go surfing.
Dad's really good.
Finbarr is very good for patience.
I've got no patience.
I'm a very bad mom.
Connor is a goofy footer.
That's amazing too.
We're both natural.
Where's he come from, goofy footer?
So, of course, not everybody
can get in
but everybody should get a chance.
Because the Olympic games
number one value is universality.
Connor's confidence is not enough
to be 100% yet.
He can do it.
He just needs to concentrate.
Please welcome Sara Kohrogi,
who won the first heat. Congratulations!
Thank you.
For me, competing with other surfers
wasn't something I ever really enjoyed.
Four, five years ago,
I stopped competing altogether, and
once I discovered the alternative world
of free surfing, I followed that path.
So now, as a free surfer,
I've turned this bus into a camping van
so I can travel around Japan,
and learn from the locals
about various Japanese traditions
as well as immerse myself in nature.
My final destination is Hokkaido,
so I'm guessing we'll be driving
more than 1500 kms.
It's quite a long journey
but it's not often that you can travel
across Japan in one go.
It's super exciting.
I may be a bus driver now,
but here's a surprise.
When I was young, I used to be a rapper.
That's right folks! I'm a very special
bus driver-rapper.
I decided to travel with my friend Guy.
You in the back, please sit down!
He's hilarious.
Just a really interesting guy
with a unique personality
and a very pure heart.
-Look.
-Froggy!
Are you joining us till Shonan?
It's really fun traveling with Guy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there is a parking lot
about one kilometer ahead.
If you need to use the restroom,
please let us know.
Yuma: Getting off next stop. Ding-dong.
Yes, sir.
This is the Mushroom Soba.
Thank you.
We're on a date.
Yeah, we're on a date.
Tasty.
Something flew from your mouth.
Alright! Let's go, Rosa.
Oh, it's so narrow!
Let's go, Rosa?
The road's ridiculously narrow.
Barely the width of this bus.
And... you're coming this way, are you?
Ok, I'll pull over a bit.
Wow, they just keep coming.
This is not good.
Oh no, there's a second car.
He's backing off.
Thank you.
-A traffic light! We made it!
-We're out of the woods!
I'm glad we didn't have an accident.
But it stinks!
-It smells like burnt rubber.
-Yeah.
I see a gas stand coming up.
It smells. Looks like something got burnt
from hitting the brakes so much.
I'm sure it's fine, but...
I wonder if we can make it.
Let's go, let's go Rosa!
I'm counting on you.
So we're heading to Shonan,
which is actually where Guy grew up.
We're about 4.5 hours away,
according to the navigator.
Looks like there's some waves.
I'd be happy if we could surf
a little bit.
I've never surfed in his home turf before,
so I'm looking forward to it.
It's getting dark now.
What time is it?
4:32 PM.
4:32 PM, which means the sun should be out
for another thirty minutes, but
our arrival time is now 5:21 PM.
Can we surf in time?
Can we make it?
-Doesn't it smell?
-It stinks.
It smells like something's burnt.
If there's no smoke, we'll keep going.
I want to move my body a little bit.
I want to see some waves.
Will we make it?
It's dark, but we can still get in,
just in time.
We're here! Alright.
It's the longboard!
It felt great to be in the ocean,
and I was really moved
to be in the ocean in Guy's hometown.
You know, I wanted to ask you about this.
Who are these people?
These were the then-owners of the Dodgers.
The owner and his wife.
He woke up at 5 AM and didn't come home
until the night game was finished.
Eventually, his English improved.
Back then there were no other
Japanese who could act as a
"bridge" between Japan
and America in that industry.
I think people always have to sacrifice
their family
when they want to accomplish
something really big.
True.
Just like grandpa
in the baseball industry,
I want to be a "bridge" between
America and Japan
in the surf industry.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Mom, she's going in a week.
To Japan.
Because of grandpa,
I want to follow in his footsteps.
I'll do what I can to support you.
The person who most influenced
my surfing life was my dad.
I've now quit shortboard competitions
and am enjoying riding other surfboards
like longboards, alternatives,
single fins, twin fins, and so on.
My father's the one who taught me
all of those surfing styles.
The best surfers are those
who can surf well on any board,
and be in harmony with any ocean.
My father used to tell me that
when I was a kid,
and I think about that a lot now.
You can access different waves
by using different boards.
A surfer's who's using the right board for
their wave looks so happy when riding it.
I know that's true for me.
Today, we're going to meet Mr. Naito,
who will tell us the history
of surfboards and surfing
in the Shonan area.
He's a pioneer of surfing in the past.
He witnessed Kugenuma's surfing history
through his own eyes as a surfer himself.
Good morning.
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
Welcome.
Thank you very much.
-I'm Takanuki and...
-I am Guy.
Nice to meet you.
It says,
"The beach was opened in 1887."
Wow.
Does that mean that Japanese surfing
started in Kugenuma?
That's right, that's right.
This room is about Kugenuma's history.
They rode waves with these wooden boards
called "itako."
They took the boards from the bottom
of the ships
and started riding waves with them.
That was how it started.
I see.
By doing so, surfing became popular.
So, you started with an itako.
That's right.
So you didn't know that you were supposed
to stand up while surfing?
I had no idea.
Well, along the coast of Kugenuma,
there was a sandy beach
that was frequented by American soldiers.
-We called it the "GI Beach."
-Really? "GI Beach?"
So, when I saw this,
I found out for the first time
that surfers in the United States
are in a standing position.
Incredible.
This one's an itako.
You use it like this.
First, like this.
Then, the waves will come.
I see.
Then, ride with this one hand.
It was very difficult to ride the waves
with this.
You had to really use your shoulders,
here, to ride the waves.
That's how you do it.
Amazing.
All we did was fun and play.
This longboard...
Yes.
So, this board is almost sixty years old,
isn't it?
That's right.
Can I lift it up a little?
Sure. It's quite heavy.
Because in the old days,
and when I made it, too
we used to cover it with two
or three layers of fiberglass.
-That's why it's so heavy.
-Yeah, it's really hard and heavy.
The boards now are much lighter
without all those layers.
Yes, they are.
This board means a lot to me.
It's amazing how surfboards change
with history.
It was my first time to see
an itako surfboard.
It just looks like a plank of wood.
I don't think that surfing
is a completely Western sport.
We had this culture from the past,
where people used to use
a wooden plank to surf.
If those guys weren't surfing
in Japan back then,
we might not be surfing right now.
If I think about it that way,
it might seem like we're inheriting
something.
And that we are still a part of that
history.
It feels pretty hot, no?
Yeah, it is.
This here is too hot to touch.
I'm going to stop the car.
Rosa.
Hang in there!
Let me check the oil.
It's hot.
The oil...
The oil is decreasing quickly
so I need to get to the bottom of it.