TL:DR Surfing was amazing even though I ate it so many times.
Whenever I go on a trip, I always like to book something that I’ve never done before. Airbnb experiences was the perfect place to see what was going on in Japan. I came across this one experience where someone teaches you how to surf. It was company run by a family in Katsuura, which is in the Chiba prefecture.
The surf lesson included a gear (i.e. surfboard and wetsuit), transportation to and from the bus or train station, and time to explore Katsuura for a bit. I arrived to Katsuura by bus and it was about a two and a half hour train and or bus ride. It was rather relaxing to just sit and not think about much in the morning. There was also a storm coming through so the rain made it even more relaxing.
Anyways, I met up with Dane, who is the owner of Splash Guest House, which is the surf company. He drove me around the neighborhood, pointing out the restaurants that were nearby and some of the local fair. Since there was a storm still rolling through, we decided to have the surf lesson in the afternoon. I took it upon myself to go out and explore and get some food. I settled on a Denny’s nearby. Let me tell you. This Denny’s was lit…like the food was amazing. They still had that diner feel, but the food was mostly Japanese. I had a chicken nanban and it was amazing. I probably shouldn’t have eaten such a big meal before doing something extraneous, but it was fried chicken. Who can resist fried chicken??
After lunch, I got back to the guest house and started the surf lesson. We got into our wetsuits and headed towards the south shore where there were more calm waves and a bigger sand bar.
Surfing is a lot harder than I thought. Since I skate and snowboard, I’d figure it’d be the same. But nope. I think I only caught one wave but despite of all the falls, it was a memorable experience. The instructor was very knowledgeable of the sport and always encouraged us to keep trying. He also taught us to respect the ocean, which I think not many people do.
Dane, who is the owner, is also an action sports photographer and he took pics of our day out in the ocean. The pictures in this post was taken by him. If you’re in the mood to do something adventurous and fun, definitely check out this Airbnb experience.
Good Morning February 