Hoddle Tokyo Summer – Issue 44 Article

Words  + Photos by: Bryce Golder

There’s nothing like a bit of cold weather to get you revved up to migrate north. The ticking clock of a Melbourne-to-Tokyo “return-free” airline sale ending at midnight planted the seed. An offhand comment to Caeylen, and he needed no more convincing. A quick text to the group chat and it was all locked in, everyone was keen. No more overthinking; we’d book it and figure the rest out later.

To be fair the seed had been planted years earlier by the late Keegan Walker, founder of Hoddle. Back in 2015, Keegan had tagged along on the first Pass~Port trip to Tokyo. He’d only just started his own board brand at the time and could see the possibilities ahead, so it felt right that this trip was finally happening.

The crew consisted of Shaun Paul, Simon Zuzic, Digby Luxton, Raphael Langslow, Reef Condon, Jim Roche, Ben Lawrie, Dean Johnson and the Hoddle heads Caeylen Norris and Gab Cole, with Geoff Campbell and myself on the tools. The trip Keegan always wanted was finally on.

Tokyo in August — the middle of the Japanese summer, in the world’s biggest metropolitan city. We thought it would be fine, but even just taking your first push down the street you’d be drenched in sweat, tee stuck to your back — assuming you even made it ten metres without a couple of dirty looks from locals or getting hassled by the cops for just existing. We knew from the start that we’d be skating at night, but even then the heat lingered. The city trapped it all in during the long days and the humidity was relentless.

We based ourselves at the beloved Hotel City Nuts — with a name like that, what could go wrong? Possibly a former love hotel, it was perfect as our home for the next two weeks. In classic Tokyo style the rooms were tiny, with some of the crew sharing beds. Fun at first, but it wore thin over time. Soon each room spilled out into the hallway, giving us a bit more breathing space to set up boards and stretch out.

Our friend and tour guide Meijin, who only recently recovered from ankle surgery, had fishing on his mind more than anything. With a red and white patriotic board in one hand and a collapsible fishing rod in the other, he led us to the best seafood spots in town. Skate spots often took a back seat on his missions, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. When fishing became the main focus, young Kelly Isharra stepped up, showing us fresh spots around the city.

On trips like this, everyone operates on their own rhythm, energy levels peaking at different times of day. With skate missions running late into the night, the crew quickly split in two. Some went sightseeing during the day, burning out by night. Others slept all day and skated into the early hours. We’d only cross paths in the late afternoon — some just starting their day, others winding down. It made for a wild mix of experiences. Some treated it like a holiday, taking rest days by the river, while others pushed themselves to the limit, skating in the brutal heat day after day. You really get to understand how people tick on a trip like this.

Dean Johnson took it as a holiday, skating whatever was in front of him, sneaking in a bit of urban fishing, then pulling an all-nighter on the hotel rooftop. Living it up, no sleep, no worries.

Then there was born-again skate rat Ben Lawrie, who just had to be on his board. Sticking to his Melbourne routine, he was up early, keen as and hitting the local coffee shop multiple times, turbo iced coffee in hand. No food, just a hunger to skate. He’d burn out by midday, sweating buckets and going all in on every try. He copped it hard, slamming on the most unnecessary stuff, heading back to the hotel covered in bruises and scabs that never had time to heal. Then he’d wake up and do it all again, until he was a complete mess.

Raph is a seasoned traveller, cool and collected. He paced himself, made the most of every day, chipped away at tricks and was always ready when a good spot popped up.

Midway through the trip Tokyo copped a typhoon, a perfectly scheduled blowout. The rain set in properly so we did what any skate crew would do; partied through it. Rain dancing our way to Shibuya, we braced for a meltdown. In the panic of potentially becoming public shaming fodder on the internet, we did the only sane thing and packed ourselves into a tiny karaoke room to hide away. Butchering classic hits, downing overpriced and watered-down beers, we sang our hearts out. Somewhere along the way, one of us ended up locked out of the station and fond a concrete bed, under a tree next to the famous bronze dog statue, for the night. A few croaky throats and sore heads later, the sun returned and so did the skating.

We quickly realised just how hard it is to skate in Tokyo. Mad respect to all the Japanese skaters — everything is so much harder over there. You’ve really got to seize every opportunity at a spot. The locals generally hate skating and the cops and security are on you constantly, even for just pushing down the street. It’s worlds away from the more relaxed vibe back home. Everyone seems a bit brainwashed by the old system — but I guess you need some rules when you’ve got a population of 37 million. Still, all we want to do is ride our wooden toys and have fun. The earth will keep spinning, even if there’s a bit of wax on a marble ledge.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Japan and everything it offers. But it can be a slog, and Tokyo isn’t the easiest city to skate. Maybe that’s what makes it so rewarding — when you do land a trick, it feels like it’s all been worth it.

With a nonstop diet of convenience store meals, the likes of FamilyMart, 7-Eleven and Lawson are a lifeline on any Japanese skate trip. A well-rounded diet of fried chicken, onigiri, perfectly frozen ice creams and every flavour of mystery booze you could imagine kept us going. Maybe not the healthiest, but enough to get us to the next convenience store. Any excuse, really, for cold drinks and a blast of air-con between spots. Breakfast, lunch, late-night snack — they never let us down, always ready for a pit stop and picnic out front.

If we learned anything from this trip, it’s not to go to Tokyo in the middle of summer if you want to skate and live like a normal human. Pick a cooler month, even if it costs a bit more. Your body and mind will thank you. That said, I’d go back in a heartbeat.