Gifu Trip

First off, I'd like to say how stoked I am about the write up in The Skateboard Mag. Templeton Elliott's write up is pristine. The Skateboard Mag is a rare find in Japan, but I'll try as hard as I can to find that copy for memory's sake.

I recently went on a trip to Gifu Prefecture with the Lesque Team (minus Masataka Yamashiro who will be in Cali until January). On Monday, locals Kome, Akinori Miyajima, and Daisuke Kato showed us around some street spots. Rural Japan well developed and is full of skatespots, and Gifu is no exception. Equipped with beautiful HD cameras with Leica lenses from Panasonic, we hit the Gifu streets until dark. Security guards with bad timing, the occasional drizzle, and the sharp drop in temperature at sunset hindered the session a little bit, but we still managed to have a lot of fun and get some ok footage.

Gifu locals: Akinori, Daisuke, Kome

Nice little town.

At night, we were rolling 15 deep and consumed a lot of beer. Shit got pretty rowdy at the bar, and the highlight of the night was definitely fellow CHILLPRIMO CREW member Yuuki Nishio dropping in on a steep 3 meter-high drop in proceeded by a sideways-superman into a street sign. I swear I heard his ribs crack...youch

The next day we went off to Nakatsugawa skatepark about an hour and a half outside of Gifu city. The park is new and beautiful.

The layout of the park was sick, but transitions were pretty lumpy. I wish I could hesh-dog it some more and really take advantage of a park like that, but I guess it's all a matter of time and practice.

The trip was a lot of fun, big shout out all the Gifu locals.

Akinori Miyajima recently released a local video called NEVER+LAND, and the standout section is definitely Daisuke Kato. He lived in Frisco for about a year and a half, where he bombed hills everyday and learned how to skate like a man. His influence on the Gifu skate scene is unquestionable. Check out his section:

And finally, as a side note, I suggest you watch Bert Wootton's section from RIPNDIP's Cosmic Vomit. I mean, his name is Bert Wootton, and he rides for a clothing company called RIPNDIP, and the video is called Cosmic Vomit. If that's not enough indication of awesome for you, just check out the section, ingrates.