I went to Japan with my good friend Frank. I didn't bring my skateboard, but I still had a good time.
Frank and I grew up together. He was my drinking buddy all throughout highschool. We share a mutual interest for art, skateboarding and punk rock. We remain best friends. He's also a wanderer (code Canoe).
We travelled to Nagano and stayed with Frank's friends Katsuhisa and Mizuho Hira. They are husband and wife glassblowers. They like punk rock and vintage Vespas.
The Hira's house was heated by a single, wood burning stove.
We ate dinner at Katsuhisa and Mizuho's friends place. It was a restaurant, but also their home. It was filled with skateboard artifacts and even had a few Margaret Kilgallen prints on the wall. I was immediately given a board and taken to a nearby hill. I remember having a hard time breathing because the air was so thin because of the elevation.
The next morning we ate at what many consider to be the best soba-noodle place in the world.
Back to Tokyo for the last few days of our trip. The bullet train can travel the equivalent of SF to LA in 3 hours.
This bag says "If you don't used it, don't buy it". There's tons of weirdly translated english phrases on tote bags in Japan.
