NIJIMA TRIP 2011

NIJIMA SURF TRIP AUGUST 2011

The boat is booked and the Hotel as well , the trip is a go as long as we make the boat at 11.00pm tonight that leaves for Nijima we will be Ok , Team SIJ are going for it we are hoping to score some great conditions from this long distance swell that is being pushed towards us from Typhoon Number 9 called "MUIFA"

For most of the riders its a first so a real adventure, the island of "Nijima" has long been known for its perfect white sand beaches and crystal clear water with fast barreling beach break waves. We will fill in the daily dairy as often as possible with photos video and short write ups. In hope that it will be useful to other that follow in our foot steps. May the next 5 days be "EPIC" fingers crossed.

For more information as well as live cameras etc check out our "NIJIMA" break page by clicking here.

Thursday August 4th 2011

We woke up on the boat as we were pulling into Nijima Port , perfect Blue ocean and an amazing green looking Island, our Pension owner was waiting for us as we got of the boat with a big sign drawn out on a hand carved piece of wood. "Shibei" upon arrival we were blown away , a jem of a place hidden half way between the 2 sides of the islands we were welcomed with open arms. They had even got us a car at half the rate the locals charge per day. So 20 mins to dump our gear wax our boards and we hit the road for the surf breaks , first job rip round the island check all the points talk to some locals thus saving time in the future. It was 12.30pm by the time we got in the water at "Mamashita" just up from the free onsen, with a tide going out. Some nice set waves peeling through from the point with a a strong off shore helping them stand up.after 1 hour in the water the size had doubled and it was left hand barrel city. 7 in the water with every one getting shacked. We meet up with our good friend from Shizuoka Surf who paddled out with his water camera and spent the whole session getting primo pics for us all. Wow what a start to the Nijima sessions.

Friday August 5th 2011

An early start for the crew as we tried to catch the lower tide before it filled in at 8.30 , wind was blowing from the same direction so it was back over to Mameshta beach and a 1 hour session before breakfast. Head high on the set waves but the tide filled it in fast. On the way back we stopped in at Helicopters Point over near Habusha beach to check. This side the waves are in the double over head size but slightly on shore. This should change as the next 2 days go by. On the way back to our Pension we could not help talking about how amazing this little gem of an Island is. The pictures say it all.

We decided to go for a small drive round the missile mountain today , which turned into a magical mystery tour! we took every little side road we could find and we ended driving through the quarry right up onto the headland that looked more like the surface of the moon than a tropical island paradise. The colours of the ocean from the 500ft height were outstanding. We had a session out at Habusha main point with 4 in the water and massive over head waves breaking directly onto the sand bar if you stuffed the drop you basically to a huge pounding every time.

The after noon session and we went back over to the other side again for the low tide on Mamashta which turned into clean barrel heaven again some glassy hollow waves ripped through every 10 mins or so really magic stuff, a lot went un-ridden as many people got out when a rain squall hit the island about 20 mins into the session.

It was back to the hotel for a hot shower and a few DVDs then out for Yakiniku tonight , it looks like the winds will switch over night turning on Habusha and secrets so it will be an early rise for us all. Interested to see if a Saturday crowd will tuen up.Enjoy the pics.

We were lucky enough to meet up with Professional Water Photographer Thiago from Shizuoka Surf that is camping out on Nijima for 3 months

he was happy to meet up with some of the Surfing In Japan Crew and spent 2 hours in the water with us taking photos.

If you ever want a camera man on your trip here to Japan please contact us direct and we will put you in touch with him directly .

"A very big THANKS Thiago from the whole SIJ crew TOP PICS MATE "

Saturday August 6th 2011

Early rise for the team and a quick sprint down the beach in the old Buzz Box , upon arrival we found Habusha beach Pumping , massive A-frame style Bombs exploding onto the inside sand bars, mixed in with solid swell lines pushing 2 and a half times over head, it was breaking almost to perfection if you are Kelly Slater, and can pull into and out of anything that moves. Only 3 guys out 1 at Habusha and 2 at Helicopter a big surprise. But all the better for us.

The weekend has started well and talking to a few locals it should be getting better and better as time goes on!!! ENJOY!

Days like these are what we travel so far for sometimes , all because we have read in a book or got second hand information from another surfer that there is something special somewhere you just have to get out there and try and find it.

"As surfers we live for Adventure"

Saturday Afternoon and the best way to describe what we had is that "The planets Aligned" here on Nijima Island and showed why Habusha Beach on its day can produce world class waves, even the locals were saying it is as good as it gets here, massive double over head sets rolling in and just lining up perfectly on the sand bars , Huge fast take offs followed by one bottom turn then pulling straight into the barrel. As the tide filled in so did the longer rides with huge pumping walls up for grabs on the bigger sets from out the back. Really a world class day of surfing. Even Akiko "Japan No.1" lady's body board champ was out getting shacked time and time again. The weather was stunning and the wind perfect the and the colors of the ocean blew us away.

This is a day will long remember, empty line ups perfect waves and all only 2 hours from Tokyo. happy Days.

Augst 8th 2011 is a day on Nijima Island that 3 of the SIJ crew will long remember as the day that got "Secrets" perfect all to themselves all day long a once in a life time surf day . Thank You Mother Nature For Letting Us Have Our Fun .

Sunday August 7th 2011

Well we awoke with slightly sore heads this morning after a pretty fantastic night out at the local Isakia which is owned and run by Aiko Japan No.1 Lady Pro Body Boarder, great food great beer and great company, this was then followed up with more ice cold beers at "WAX" surf shack on the beach which was having here monthly Party. The story's of Saturday Barrel sessions were flying around and we found out that there was a total of 5 broken boards on that day and unfortunately one of the locals took a really heavy hit and got smashed into the sand bar on a monster wave and broke his back, then was air lifted directly to the main land. Put it into perspective, our thoughts are with him. Any way onto this morning session it looked like the swell had dropped by about a foot so we had a quick buzz roud the island checking the breaks before deciding to head back to secrets , where upon arrival we realized that although we thought yesterday was epic , we were wrong as today it was perfect 6-10ft faces and peeling left and rights with longer lulls than yesterday , to be honest i have surfed in japan for more than 15 years and todays session is up there in the top 10 for sure maybe even 5 , it was world class with only the 3 of us out for the whole time and truly amazing, i myself got an increadable barrel as my two buddies were paddling back to the line up so they both saw me get fully shacked.

"too say this has been a great surf trip is and understatement, this has been EPIC from start to finish and we still have a few sessions to go" WOW!

Although these photos are good we have to say it was way better out there than any photo can ever show!

All Photos Are Taken By Dane Gillett Available For Any Surf Trip In Japan.

The afternoon session! Well it was straight back to where we had left off in the morning looking to surf 2hrs each side of the low tide, Mother nature was still being nice with almost windless conditions, size was still there with bomb sets way overhead we still had our peak to ourselves but a lot of locals had moved down from Habusha beach to secrets to get some of the action , great to watch them taking off on the bombs 300m away and seeing people get tubed from side on. As we walked up the 100 plus steps to the hidden car park our thoughts were all in the same place " how lucky we have been on this amazing surf trip to NIJIMA" & Tomorrow we go home.

Thank You Mother Nature For Giving Us A Great Day

Monday August 8th 2011

So the last day then !! We woke up early to make sure we could get one final solid session in , We had a quick look round a few places but settled on Secrets as the place for our final session , waves were a bit smaller than the day before but every 20mins a 10 wave set would come through and break in the head and a half range, but throwing massive barrels for anyone who was willing to take of well down the line.

As we got out and headed for the stairs we saw a few friends that we had made on this short trip , so we said our fair wells.

We walked the 100 stairs for the final time and turned to bow at the ocean and say Thank You for providing us with some of the best surf we have ever seen here in Japan.

We checked out of our pension at 10.00am and Mr Shimbei -san drove us to the port to catch our ferry home.

Nijima has left a huge mark on the whole SIJ team and we know 100% we will be back for more of her Natural Beauty, Fantastic people, empty line ups and those EPIC CONDITIONS she seems to forever produce.

NIJIMA JAPAN WE THANK YOU

Below are our Top Pick Of Photos From The Trip.

A map of all the breaks on Nijima That we tried to Surf.