Japan has a ton of coastline, and recently we found out there’s even more than previously thought. In 2023, a survey by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan revealed that Japan has twice as many islands as previously believed. The previous survey, completed in 1987, estimated around 6,852 islands, while the 2023 effort estimated around 14,125. That’s a lot of potential surf breaks.
The latest video from Jamie O’Brien took him to Hokkaido, Japan’s second largest and northernmost island. The region is primarily known for snow sports, so JOB and company stopped by the Hanazono resort in Niseko to stack some snowboarding clips. “It is a beautiful bluebird day, but the storm is coming in,” said Jamie at the top of the video. “We’re going to try to get some epic shots before everything kind of changes really fast, here. We’re supposed to get a lot of snow.”
Of course, the crew didn’t stop there. That coastline was calling to them, even if it was literally frozen over. Though the Hawaii denizens seemed a bit trepidatious about the blisteringly cold temperatures (and the impending blizzard that wasn’t going to make things any more hospitable), they saddled up in a van and went on a tour of the Hokkaido coast.
It took four stops to finally find a ridable break, each one more visually spectacular vista than the last. In the end, the break they landed on turned out to be a temperamental beast, but there were corners to be had.
Oh yeah, and their car decided to give up on the way. Turns out the humans weren’t the only ones struggling with the cold.
