What's going on ladies and gentlemen welcome back to the channel right now I am in Okinawa in Japan
We're here shooting Budget versus Baller it's uh the one day off we've had in a very long time
and I've decided that I'm going to go try to go surfing. Okinawa has waves
it has some of the better waves in Japan so I'm told but getting there won't be easy.
I don't speak any Japanese I'm gonna have to take a taxi to a place that I heard has decent waves
the tide might be coordinating might be cooperating and there should be some waves
so join me for this little adventure I'm gonna try to get a surf in Okinawa Japan, Let's go!
Japan is a fascinating country where centuries-old traditions co-exist with cutting-edge modernity
in a cultural ebb and flow that exists nowhere else on earth.
Sitting on the edge of the western Pacific, Japan consists of over 7 000 islands that sit along the Ring of Fire one of Earth's most
volcanically active areas and it's that history of volcanism that's shaped the island chains
including the iconic Mount Fuji which is an an active volcano that last erupted in 1707.
These volcanoes give Japan its wide variety of hot springs known locally as onsens and
they've shaped the coastline of the island chains.
While not internationally known as a premier surf destination, Japan, with over 29,751 kilometers over 18, 000 miles of coastline there are plenty
of waves to be had. In fact, Japan has the sixth longest coastline in the world and with the
upcoming Tokyo Olympic games bringing surfing to the Olympics for the first time ever Japan is also
hoping to raise its international standing as a surf tourism destination.
Modern surfing is said to have arrived in Japan with American servicemen who were stationed there in the early 1960s during the
Vietnam War and would go for surfs on their R&R breaks in between combat tours before that locals
would surf waves using wooden boards known locally as Itago, a kind of wooden boogie board / Alaya
Surfing has come a long way since then and in Japan it's quite a popular sport now.
In 2018 I had the pleasure of visiting the southern islands of Okinawa known colloquially as the Hawaii of Japan
because of the tropical climate. Okinawa is one of the main islands in the Ryukyu island chain the
southernmost islands in the nation of Japan. They have a unique distinct culture and history which
I'll explain a little more about it later in this video. So back in 2018 while shooting a television
show I hosted called Basic verse Baller which is available on Hulu and Amazon Prime, if you haven't
seen it already, I had a day off so I packed up my bag and took my chances on a little safari
Hello.
No, I'm going to a restaurant
Sonabe?
Emerald Ocean Grill.
The Google translate app is coming in so so clutch right now
because I don't speak any Japanese but it's amazing actually it's very accurate and you
can communicate almost in real time with people uh who don't speak your language so
it's pretty cool I'm really digging it and um you can save useful phrases so right now
I have "Do you speak english?" "I can't speak Japanese." "What's your name?" "My name is." I think the next is
"How much?"
So my plan is pretty rudimentary our fixer here in Japan for the tv show is super nice. She surfs and she's told me the name of a restaurant run by her friend who can help
me find a surfboard and the restaurant is located right in front of a great wave so you know it is
a little bit overcast it's pretty windy I don't know how the conditions are going to be but I'm
just really fiending to get in the water and to me today this surf mission is totally worth it
I had a really light breakfast and I have not eaten lunch so I stopped into a local
convenience store called family mart which is supposedly like super famous here in Japan
I got an energy drink, an Aquarius, it's kind of like a version of Gatorade which
I am stoked to drink right now and then I got this thing
the "Calorie Mate" it looks like something from like the 1930s I love the packaging.
it's like super simple like proto industrial packaging but i guess it says calorie mate
nutritionally balanced source of energy needed for daily activities perfect let's try it
kind of looking like a Twix. There are two of them in there.
Definitely need water with this thing, it doesn't taste nutritionally balanced or healthy but I'm
hungry so whatever our hotel is in naga in Okinawa prefecture so Okinawa is a chain of islands far
to the south of mainland Japan it's almost I think it's closer to Taiwan than it is to mainland Japan
but the place that I'm going surfing is called Sonabe, it might be a little kind of reef but
all of the island is surrounded by these big coral reefs we actually tried to go scuba diving today
but we were a little bit late making the reservation and unfortunately there was no
more space on the boat so instead I decided to go for a surf it's going to be fun and I like
these little adventures it's like you have a free afternoon how much can you make of it?
All right I'm here at beach park and I am praying for surf!
it's flat maybe there's something down there it's pretty small though all right down there though
little wave there's another one down there
there is a surf shop 16 15. Shoot. That's like 45 minutes from now.
I found a surf shop, it's closed right now there is a dive shop around the corner could be kind of cool too because
there's not really any waves here maybe I can get a scuba diving sunday tuesday closed all
right well I have to wait 45 minutes so the surf shop is closed for another half an hour I just
popped into a scuba diving shop to see if I could go for a dive um it's a little bit late in the day
so that was a negative as well.
But at the top of my list was getting something to eat so I headed to the local market and got an idea of what the daily diet consists of for the average
Okinawan. You see Okinawa is what's called a blue zone an area of the world with a high percentage
of centenarians or people who live over a hundred years old. In fact, it has one of the highest
percentages of centenarians in the world and a lot of that comes down to their diet. I knew that
Okinawans and Japanese people, in general, eat a lot more seafood than we do over in the west and I had
a hunch that one of the reasons why they lived so long was because of that but further research on
their diet really surprised me. It turns out that it's the whole plant foods, not fish, that make up
ninety percent of the traditional Okinawan diet. Less than one percent of that diet was fish and
less than one percent was meat and less than one percent was dairy and eggs so most of the
diet was based on vegetables and beans as well as seaweed and most of the calories coming from
purple and orange sweet potatoes if you haven't had an okinawan sweet potato try to find one at
your local grocery store they're incredible. It's not only a highly anti-inflammatory diet
but it's also one that's high in antioxidants. Okinawans who eat this way don't only live the
longest they're also extremely healthy into old age with 6 to 12 times fewer heart disease deaths
than in the United States, two to three times fewer colon cancer deaths seven times fewer
prostate cancer deaths and 5.5 times lower risk of dying from breast cancer than the U.S
I don't know what this I don't know what this, Goya, Is it seaweed?
Okay
I got a glimpse into the local diet at the market and had a couple of healthy snacks
while I was there but it was time to get back to the beach for a surf.
The surf shop opened, the owner Taka, is super friendly and is hooking it up with a board. I got this fun little
511 kind of like a little swallow tail quad fan the tide is coming up the whole island is like
surrounded by coral reefs so the reef breaks um there's a couple of points not too many
like beach breaks sand beach breaks but the place I'm gonna go surf is called California's
and I'm super stoked because the tide is coming up the swell is coming up and it's been a long
time since i've been in the water so the owner taka is super friendly this place is called
Source surf supply it's been around since 1994 right on the beach and I'm so stoked
because there was a moment of doubt there was a moment of
maybe I won't get to surf today but I think I do. What's the surf scene like here?
many people surf in Okinawa oh yeah yeah yeah many it's popular yeah sport not not like California
or Australia that's right yeah here is just a reef break yeah so just a point break so
if like uh 10 people gets out it's crowded yeah crazy all coral reef yeah nice what's the why is
the water temp warm yeah the wetsuit nah not right now just like a lot more tropical yeah cool yeah
that was the biggest that's the biggest you got yeah work that's perfect yeah that's good yeah
For me when traveling, one of the coolest things about surfing is like this instant connection
that you have with other surfers around the world doesn't matter where you go if you're if you're
into riding waves, you can find other like-minded people who can give you tips and try to show you
the ropes and in this case I'm stoked thank you Taka. I needed a board and you've come to my rescue
thank you goodbye, oh yes that was fun the water was so so nice surf was pretty small not not
huge by any standards it was maybe waist high with sets but it just felt so good to get in the ocean
again to get out surfing again water was super warm coral reef down there
awesome sun's about to go down so I am gonna head over to a little rooftop bar
right here grab a beer watch the sunset.
The next day I went and visited a cultural treasure that i had no idea wouldn't be around very soon afterward. The Shuri Palace was a 500 year old
Unesco World Heritage site that was once the seat of the king of the Ryukyu kingdom which prospered
from 1429 until 1879 as a maritime trading nation between medieval east asia and southeast asia
unfortunately this incredible building burnt down in 2019 in a fire that ravaged all of the
main buildings in the palace complex looking back at it now I feel really privileged to have been
able to experience this place before it burnt down.
In addition to visiting Shuri Palace, I also got to learn a lot about the island's unique religious beliefs the indigenous Ryukyuan religion was
characterized by ancestor worship which celebrated the relationships between the living the dead the
gods and the spirits of the natural world some of its beliefs come from ancient animistic roots
like those involving local spirits and many other beings classified between gods and humans
these animistic Ryukyuan religious practices were also influenced by Chinese religions like Taoism
confucianism and folk beliefs as well as buddhism and japanese shinto the blend is uniquely okinawan
my time in Okinawa although short taught me a lot about the diversity of beliefs and culture within
the nation of Japan as well as different climates that exist there I was really surprised by the
the tropical climate in Okinawa a big change from my visit to Tokyo in the winter while I didn't
score the best waves it was a great experience to get in the water and share the surf stoke with
the locals I'm excited to see what happens in the olympic games and how surf culture evolves in the
future of Japan. So thank you so much for watching if you enjoyed this video please take a moment to
hit the subscribe button give this video a thumbs up and let me know your thoughts in the comments
while you're at it tell me which sport you're most excited to watch
in this year's olympic games alright catch y'all in the next video
peace