Aki checking out which goggles to demand from the kind Oakley dudes.
On my last day in Japan I went to my first snowboard tradeshow, Interstyle, in Yokohama. Aki registered me as one of his TRIAL staff and I was in like a kid in a candy store. The event was spread over 4 different halls, the main one huge, really surprising me. All of the usual suspect brands were there, along with a whole range of brands you've never even heard of. I love that about the Japanese snowboard industry; whilst the US brands are still there, there are so many domestic brands doing really well for themselves and making great gear. There are alternatives to American, and they are alive and well.
I took a roll past SURGE, Aki's snowboard brand, they make a great Fish.
Of course there was a wicked mini there.
I spent the whole day there and still didn't get around to all of the booths. The event ran for three days, but I was unable to change my flight and had to cram it all into one. There weren't any strippers or free booze, and certainly no free-flowing narcotics as there seems to be at the Vegas industry circus (allegedly), but it was a very interesting day none-the-less.
I was keeping my eye out for Jeremy Clarkson, but apparently this Murcielago was just a skateboard stand.
Get it? Very witty.
I happened to bump into my fellow YES team rider, the BOSS - Tadashi Fuse - and rapped with him a little about the boards (the 10/11 YES boards look dope by the way) and how he reckons that Hokkaido has the best snow in the world - it's official! It was a great time until he very politely requested that I remove my hand from his pants and then it wasn't a great time any more.
