Chasing Waves (2023–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Episode #1.5 - full transcript
I think the best wave
I ever rode was Pipeline.
I'd say the size of the waves
was 10 feet plus.
When I took off,
I wanted to turn to the side but
I couldn't because it was going
way too fast and the wave was huge.
I went down to the bottom instead
and did a bottom turn,
and from that moment on,
I entered a completely silent world.
The wave spit me out and I made it out.
I don't think I'll ever forget about
that ride for the rest of my life.
When it comes to really heavy waves,
it's not easy to control the direction
of the board and drop in.
I heard about one or two meters before,
but never a seven-meter tsunami!
It was rough.
I thought I was going to die.
Hiromichi was probably
in junior high school
when I first met him.
After that, he became
a professional surfer and...
he won championships
and was quite active in competitions.
I interviewed and took pictures
of him at those events.
I had a chance to photograph him
many times.
Back then, there were not a lot of people
who took photos of surfing.
I was really lucky.
The photo I took of Inamura's wave
became my masterpiece.
It's quite wild that became
the one photo that determined my future.
Where? That rock?
That jagged one.
Got it. Got it. Got it.
Be careful since the wave is coming now.
When celebrities from overseas
came to Japan,
I had a chance to photograph them as well.
I used to live in Kamakura,
but I now I'm here in Hayama.
It's about an hour from Tokyo.
Tokyo is a place to work, and many people
from all over the world go there.
So, it can be a source of inspiration.
I was so lucky with my work
because I started out
with surfing as a hobby,
but then was able to take pictures
of my favorite heroes.
In this picture, Hiromichi looks young.
There are some young surfers
from a long time ago in here.
Is Hiromichi still surfing a lot?
Yeah, he is.
He's so cool.
Andy Irons passed away.
I like this picture though.
He showed me a really gentle side of him.
By the way, the recent Olympics
in Japan...
What do you think of the young
Japanese surfer these days?
Have you been taking pictures of them?
I don't have many opportunities to,
but I did photograph Kanoa though.
Since many of surfers are competing
all around the world,
I would like to work with them,
of course.
Do you think surfing became popular
in Japan after the Olympics?
-Absolutely, it became so popular.
-So many have started now...
Most surfing schools are full.
Thanks to this Olympics, a lot of surfers
will be able to make a living surfing.
Right.
Free surfers can support themselves
financially as well.
Their future is bright.
I feel like Yuma, in his heart,
is really not a competitor.
Oh, Yuma?
Yes, he's a talented free surfer.
His perspective is very worldly.
I think Japan will change
when we have more people like him.
Today we're going to Fukushima
and tomorrow we're going to Sendai.
Did you go to Fukushima a lot
when you were a kid?
I did, because there were a lot
of tournaments and stuff there.
WQS ones?
Yes, and NSA ones.
How long did it take you to get back
to the ocean after March 11?
Can't remember well, but I remember
a period we all stopped voluntarily.
That's right.
I was still in middle school and...
I didn't understand what was going on.
I just wanted to get back to surfing
as soon as possible.
My foreign friends were saying,
"That coastline is super dangerous."
They must've seen it in the news.
I was in middle school, in Chigasaki.
I was coming home from school
with my friends.
It shook like crazy.
The earth felt like a wave,
like I was surfing.
The pavement is cracking!
After that... you remember those alarms
that sounded when aftershock came?
That sound scared me.
At 2:46 pm, a strong earthquake
struck the Tohoku area.
Magnitude seven earthquake
has struck in northern Miyagi.
Magnitude six in central Miyagi,
central Fukushima,
and Fukushima coastline.
On television I saw this great,
beautiful break moving toward the seaport.
I realized something big was happening.
Couldn't believe my eyes.
Wow, that heavy thing?
The radiation level is displayed.
Fukushima prefecture.
We're in Fukushima prefecture now.
Oh, we're in Fukushima prefecture now?
Good luck!
Good luck!
Good luck on the big waves!
Time's up!
-Hello.
-Nice to meet you.
-Great to meet you.
-It's our pleasure.
Thank you so much for having us.
We heard that your shop was originally
in a different location.
-The first one was by the sea?
-Yes.
It used to be a minute walk
from the ocean.
That shop, attached to our house,
was there over thirty years.
That's a long time.
When you experienced the earthquake
and tsunami, were you there?
Yes. I went surfing in the morning,
came back,
left the board in the car,
hung my wet suit to dry,
then got in the shop and started working.
The house started shaking
and everything fell down.
Then the emergency warning announced,
"A seven-meter-high tsunami is coming."
I'd heard about one or two meters before,
but never a seven-meter tsunami!
Oh, crap!
Ah, it got washed away.
It's coming from the side.
We escaped to the evacuation site
in the mountains.
Hurry up!
Hurry up!
Hurry!
The next day,
I heard that there was nothing left.
And when I saw the disaster on the TV,
I was devastated.
Oh, my car is destroyed!
Then you heard that the tsunami
struck the nuclear power plant
and it exploded?
Yes.
The nuclear power plant stuff
was all over the TV news.
Then, the next thing we knew,
they announced the area
was contaminated with radiation.
So we were worried
about what we should do.
There were people who were escaping.
That was when we noticed
the city hall staff
weren't there anymore.
They had left.
There were 75 homes in my community
and over 70 people died.
So it's like we lost one person
per household.
All the people from those 75 homes
moved to different places.
So the community doesn't exist anymore.
Right here was the shop.
-No sign of anything at all.
-Nothing's left.
-My neighborhood became a no-entry zone.
-Oh, wow.
So we can't rebuild
our house there anymore.
We had stayed out of Fukushima until they
finished building some temporary housing.
We were finally able to come back here
in June.
The contaminated water
became a big problem.
It could affect you if you went into
a radiation-contaminated ocean.
I didn't think about going surfing.
I couldn't even begin to think about it.
But then I thought,
if no one surfed in this area,
surfing in Fukushima
would practically end.
I went to the city office
and asked if I could go.
They told me, "If you have to,
go at your own risk."
So I asked experts to find out.
They said the radiation level
in the water was safe.
I found that the Kitaizumi area was safe
to go in, but nobody was surfing yet.
I thought a lot about my own risk,
and decided to go in.
When I told my family, they were against
it and begged me not to.
I went into the water the first time
in July of that year.
My body was so weak,
I couldn't even paddle!
Nor was I able to stand on the board.
But the feeling I got coming back
from the water was incredible.
I finally felt like I can survive this.
After that, the people who came back
to the ocean often said to me
that it was because I was surfing
that they were able to surf again.
In fact, I received quite a few words
of gratitude, like "Thank you!"
They said I was the only person
who could have done that.
Where is it?
Over here, look.
It's kind of cool
when you look at it like this.
Even my own photographs look different.
Oh, this turned out good.
There aren't many waves in Japan
like Pipeline.
That's why it was a challenge.
At that time, I went to Hawaii
for magazine jobs.
It was a time where Japanese surfers
were charging those North Shore waves.
So it was up to us to take their photos
and get them published in magazines.
It was so crowded
and the competition was fierce,
it was hard to ride even one attempt.
Now, many other Japanese surfers
are trying their best at Pipeline.
I think Gerry was one of the people
who really made that Pipeline so famous.
I feel a sense of affinity
since he's part Japanese.
The waves were so powerful
and intimidating.
It was intimidating but thrilling at
the same time. An indescribable feeling.
I thought, "This is surfing!"
It reminded me of the foreign movies
and magazines,
and it felt surreal how I was in that
North Shore that I had dreamt about.
I love you, good luck and do well!
Five minutes left in this heat.
First priority is red.
This is the last wave.
Please stand by for the points.
Athletes, please get in position
for the 6th heat.
Two summers ago,
the beach opened to swimmers
for the first time since the tsunami.
I have two granddaughters.
They were born after the disaster.
Last summer, we took them to the beach
for the first time.
-First time ever?
-First time ever.
And when they first went
into the water to swim,
they said,
"The water is salty and smells bad."
-Smells salty?
-Smells salty.
"It's smelly!" I was like, "Oh no!"
Koji, where would be good today?
The wind is still a bit northeasterly.
What do you think?
Probably Kitaizumi is best.
Kitaizumi?
The north part of Kitaizumi.
-The area further out towards the left?
-Over by the levee.
The tsunami went past the road here.
This bridge was damaged
but it's been repaired.
This?
Is this the entrance?
Yes, here on the left.
Well, let's check it out.
Check.
KITAIZUMI BEACH: We love it here.
This is not a thing where somebody
can decide it for you.
It's something you have to decide
for yourself.
Koji decided for himself
that he was going to surf.
When everyone else
was wondering what to do,
he said, "I need this in my life."
"I lost my house,
lost my shop, lost my job.
"If I lose surfing,
would this be my life?"
So, he made his decision by himself.
Me too. Going in today was my decision.
Not because somebody asked me.
Guy's competition starts tomorrow.
If he surfs like he did today,
he'll probably do pretty well.
I mean, the waves were really great.
Tomorrow, I'm heading out to Chiba
by bullet train to go compete.
I would say I'm relaxed
and just hoping for the best.
When Guy left at the end,
we had some good vibes.
I've never been north of Sendai.
I usually jump right up
to Hokkaido prefecture from there.
I've never been to the places
in between Aomori and Akita prefectures.
So, I am very excited.
I know absolutely nothing about
what those places are like.
Like absolutely no idea.
Oh, crap. Oh, crap.
First priority is green,
second priority is white,
third priority blue,
fourth priority is red.
I ever rode was Pipeline.
I'd say the size of the waves
was 10 feet plus.
When I took off,
I wanted to turn to the side but
I couldn't because it was going
way too fast and the wave was huge.
I went down to the bottom instead
and did a bottom turn,
and from that moment on,
I entered a completely silent world.
The wave spit me out and I made it out.
I don't think I'll ever forget about
that ride for the rest of my life.
When it comes to really heavy waves,
it's not easy to control the direction
of the board and drop in.
I heard about one or two meters before,
but never a seven-meter tsunami!
It was rough.
I thought I was going to die.
Hiromichi was probably
in junior high school
when I first met him.
After that, he became
a professional surfer and...
he won championships
and was quite active in competitions.
I interviewed and took pictures
of him at those events.
I had a chance to photograph him
many times.
Back then, there were not a lot of people
who took photos of surfing.
I was really lucky.
The photo I took of Inamura's wave
became my masterpiece.
It's quite wild that became
the one photo that determined my future.
Where? That rock?
That jagged one.
Got it. Got it. Got it.
Be careful since the wave is coming now.
When celebrities from overseas
came to Japan,
I had a chance to photograph them as well.
I used to live in Kamakura,
but I now I'm here in Hayama.
It's about an hour from Tokyo.
Tokyo is a place to work, and many people
from all over the world go there.
So, it can be a source of inspiration.
I was so lucky with my work
because I started out
with surfing as a hobby,
but then was able to take pictures
of my favorite heroes.
In this picture, Hiromichi looks young.
There are some young surfers
from a long time ago in here.
Is Hiromichi still surfing a lot?
Yeah, he is.
He's so cool.
Andy Irons passed away.
I like this picture though.
He showed me a really gentle side of him.
By the way, the recent Olympics
in Japan...
What do you think of the young
Japanese surfer these days?
Have you been taking pictures of them?
I don't have many opportunities to,
but I did photograph Kanoa though.
Since many of surfers are competing
all around the world,
I would like to work with them,
of course.
Do you think surfing became popular
in Japan after the Olympics?
-Absolutely, it became so popular.
-So many have started now...
Most surfing schools are full.
Thanks to this Olympics, a lot of surfers
will be able to make a living surfing.
Right.
Free surfers can support themselves
financially as well.
Their future is bright.
I feel like Yuma, in his heart,
is really not a competitor.
Oh, Yuma?
Yes, he's a talented free surfer.
His perspective is very worldly.
I think Japan will change
when we have more people like him.
Today we're going to Fukushima
and tomorrow we're going to Sendai.
Did you go to Fukushima a lot
when you were a kid?
I did, because there were a lot
of tournaments and stuff there.
WQS ones?
Yes, and NSA ones.
How long did it take you to get back
to the ocean after March 11?
Can't remember well, but I remember
a period we all stopped voluntarily.
That's right.
I was still in middle school and...
I didn't understand what was going on.
I just wanted to get back to surfing
as soon as possible.
My foreign friends were saying,
"That coastline is super dangerous."
They must've seen it in the news.
I was in middle school, in Chigasaki.
I was coming home from school
with my friends.
It shook like crazy.
The earth felt like a wave,
like I was surfing.
The pavement is cracking!
After that... you remember those alarms
that sounded when aftershock came?
That sound scared me.
At 2:46 pm, a strong earthquake
struck the Tohoku area.
Magnitude seven earthquake
has struck in northern Miyagi.
Magnitude six in central Miyagi,
central Fukushima,
and Fukushima coastline.
On television I saw this great,
beautiful break moving toward the seaport.
I realized something big was happening.
Couldn't believe my eyes.
Wow, that heavy thing?
The radiation level is displayed.
Fukushima prefecture.
We're in Fukushima prefecture now.
Oh, we're in Fukushima prefecture now?
Good luck!
Good luck!
Good luck on the big waves!
Time's up!
-Hello.
-Nice to meet you.
-Great to meet you.
-It's our pleasure.
Thank you so much for having us.
We heard that your shop was originally
in a different location.
-The first one was by the sea?
-Yes.
It used to be a minute walk
from the ocean.
That shop, attached to our house,
was there over thirty years.
That's a long time.
When you experienced the earthquake
and tsunami, were you there?
Yes. I went surfing in the morning,
came back,
left the board in the car,
hung my wet suit to dry,
then got in the shop and started working.
The house started shaking
and everything fell down.
Then the emergency warning announced,
"A seven-meter-high tsunami is coming."
I'd heard about one or two meters before,
but never a seven-meter tsunami!
Oh, crap!
Ah, it got washed away.
It's coming from the side.
We escaped to the evacuation site
in the mountains.
Hurry up!
Hurry up!
Hurry!
The next day,
I heard that there was nothing left.
And when I saw the disaster on the TV,
I was devastated.
Oh, my car is destroyed!
Then you heard that the tsunami
struck the nuclear power plant
and it exploded?
Yes.
The nuclear power plant stuff
was all over the TV news.
Then, the next thing we knew,
they announced the area
was contaminated with radiation.
So we were worried
about what we should do.
There were people who were escaping.
That was when we noticed
the city hall staff
weren't there anymore.
They had left.
There were 75 homes in my community
and over 70 people died.
So it's like we lost one person
per household.
All the people from those 75 homes
moved to different places.
So the community doesn't exist anymore.
Right here was the shop.
-No sign of anything at all.
-Nothing's left.
-My neighborhood became a no-entry zone.
-Oh, wow.
So we can't rebuild
our house there anymore.
We had stayed out of Fukushima until they
finished building some temporary housing.
We were finally able to come back here
in June.
The contaminated water
became a big problem.
It could affect you if you went into
a radiation-contaminated ocean.
I didn't think about going surfing.
I couldn't even begin to think about it.
But then I thought,
if no one surfed in this area,
surfing in Fukushima
would practically end.
I went to the city office
and asked if I could go.
They told me, "If you have to,
go at your own risk."
So I asked experts to find out.
They said the radiation level
in the water was safe.
I found that the Kitaizumi area was safe
to go in, but nobody was surfing yet.
I thought a lot about my own risk,
and decided to go in.
When I told my family, they were against
it and begged me not to.
I went into the water the first time
in July of that year.
My body was so weak,
I couldn't even paddle!
Nor was I able to stand on the board.
But the feeling I got coming back
from the water was incredible.
I finally felt like I can survive this.
After that, the people who came back
to the ocean often said to me
that it was because I was surfing
that they were able to surf again.
In fact, I received quite a few words
of gratitude, like "Thank you!"
They said I was the only person
who could have done that.
Where is it?
Over here, look.
It's kind of cool
when you look at it like this.
Even my own photographs look different.
Oh, this turned out good.
There aren't many waves in Japan
like Pipeline.
That's why it was a challenge.
At that time, I went to Hawaii
for magazine jobs.
It was a time where Japanese surfers
were charging those North Shore waves.
So it was up to us to take their photos
and get them published in magazines.
It was so crowded
and the competition was fierce,
it was hard to ride even one attempt.
Now, many other Japanese surfers
are trying their best at Pipeline.
I think Gerry was one of the people
who really made that Pipeline so famous.
I feel a sense of affinity
since he's part Japanese.
The waves were so powerful
and intimidating.
It was intimidating but thrilling at
the same time. An indescribable feeling.
I thought, "This is surfing!"
It reminded me of the foreign movies
and magazines,
and it felt surreal how I was in that
North Shore that I had dreamt about.
I love you, good luck and do well!
Five minutes left in this heat.
First priority is red.
This is the last wave.
Please stand by for the points.
Athletes, please get in position
for the 6th heat.
Two summers ago,
the beach opened to swimmers
for the first time since the tsunami.
I have two granddaughters.
They were born after the disaster.
Last summer, we took them to the beach
for the first time.
-First time ever?
-First time ever.
And when they first went
into the water to swim,
they said,
"The water is salty and smells bad."
-Smells salty?
-Smells salty.
"It's smelly!" I was like, "Oh no!"
Koji, where would be good today?
The wind is still a bit northeasterly.
What do you think?
Probably Kitaizumi is best.
Kitaizumi?
The north part of Kitaizumi.
-The area further out towards the left?
-Over by the levee.
The tsunami went past the road here.
This bridge was damaged
but it's been repaired.
This?
Is this the entrance?
Yes, here on the left.
Well, let's check it out.
Check.
KITAIZUMI BEACH: We love it here.
This is not a thing where somebody
can decide it for you.
It's something you have to decide
for yourself.
Koji decided for himself
that he was going to surf.
When everyone else
was wondering what to do,
he said, "I need this in my life."
"I lost my house,
lost my shop, lost my job.
"If I lose surfing,
would this be my life?"
So, he made his decision by himself.
Me too. Going in today was my decision.
Not because somebody asked me.
Guy's competition starts tomorrow.
If he surfs like he did today,
he'll probably do pretty well.
I mean, the waves were really great.
Tomorrow, I'm heading out to Chiba
by bullet train to go compete.
I would say I'm relaxed
and just hoping for the best.
When Guy left at the end,
we had some good vibes.
I've never been north of Sendai.
I usually jump right up
to Hokkaido prefecture from there.
I've never been to the places
in between Aomori and Akita prefectures.
So, I am very excited.
I know absolutely nothing about
what those places are like.
Like absolutely no idea.
Oh, crap. Oh, crap.
First priority is green,
second priority is white,
third priority blue,
fourth priority is red.