Words: Casey Kiernan-McCullough
When you think of Japan, the skim scene probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But with over 18,000 miles of shoreline throughout the country, there is plenty of opportunity for skimboarding all over Japan. World champion and team rider Casey Kiernan-McCullough recently took a trip where she got to meet some of the local skim community, coach, and even compete. Read below for the full recap of Casey’s trip!
Overall, Japan was probably one of the most incredible and wholesome experiences for a trip to a foreign country. Going there, I knew my husband Chris and I would have to bring along a lot of patience as there is a huge language barrier, transportation could be difficult, and really, just not knowing what to expect while over there. There was nothing that would make me not want to go back, but almost everything does make me want to go back one day.
The part of my trip that had the most meaning to me and felt like the best part was the time that we spent with the skimboarding community. From the day we got in town, a couple of skimboarders picked us up from the airport to take us where we needed to go to spend the night and then the next day, once we got to the skimboarding town, more skimboarders picked us up to take us to the beach. After a fun welcome skim session, they introduced us to conveyor belt sushi, Japanese shopping, and took us to a great dinner. It’s so fun meeting new people, but when you meet new people with a big heart and fun attitude, it’s truly heartwarming. The skim event was on that Saturday which Kaori organized. There I got to spend one on one time instructing skimboarders and teaching them what they wanted to learn to progress to the next level. After that we did a just-for-fun skim jam, and that was so interesting because the way that they organized it was so different from what we do in America and it was so light-hearted and fun without all the competitive pressure. Everyone was simply there to have a good time and support each other so I definitely learned some great life lessons from that. That evening, we all went to an amazing dinner, of which they graciously treated us to, and introduced us to many new foods. Chris and I were honored when they presented us with gifts, and a ceremony to honor our marriage. Everyone was so thoughtful, so caring, and full of such good energy that it made us feel truly welcomed into their culture.
On the next part of the trip, we traveled a bit more to the Mount Fuji area for adventure around one of the lakes by bicycle. There we explored the foods and had fun sightseeing as well as wakesurfing. It was awesome to unexpectedly find a wakesurf company out there to get some time behind the boat with a great view of Mount Fuji. The water wasn’t too cold and the weather was perfect.
That sums up most of our trip to Japan! If you have the chance, definitely go!
CHECK OUT CASEY'S PRO MODEL FUSE HERE!