Wanted to send a shout out to my bro, CD. He put me up for my entire stay in Tokyo. La Casa de CD could house a family of four, but he rolls solo...can you believe these views?!


Livin' large!

ES & CD in Ginza

Monja, House par~ty, Incubus, chillin' with your crew, meeting a lot of people and promoting Erosurfer all over Tokyo...good times!

CD, thank you for taking care of me and for your support of Erosurfer. Until we met again bro...
Rock On!!

Back to Maui
Warm weather, warm ocean, and no more kafunsho (hayfever)!

Final Thoughts
The response to the new Erosurfer items was a lot bigger than I had expected. The women were hot for the new Boy Briefs, pink and white, the Black Beanie, Black Eroha Tee, Black Fleece Hoodie and Navy Eroha Shorts! The men were into the new Gothic ES Tee, black and light blue, the Camo Hat, the Black Beanie, and new Black ES Fleece Hoodie! We look forward to a big summer for Erosurfer!

My first time ever in Osaka on a Sunday...my Maui surfing buddy, Marcy, owner of Secondreef, a graphic design company in Osaka and also the site of the Erosurfer Japan sales office, picked me up at Shin-Osaka station and immediately shuttled me off to his favorite okonomiyaki restaurant.

Erosurfer Osaka Sales Office

For those that are not familiar with okonomiyaki, it's from Osaka. Eggs, flour, water and cabbage are mixed together with whatever you like. You can order from the menu or customize your order. I ordered beef, mochi/cheese, and squid okonomiyaki...grill it up right in front of you, top it off with mayo, okonomiyaki sauce, nori and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and viola! you have the best of Osaka.

Shortly after our meeting, it was off to dinner at Marcy's local yakiniku restaurant (Korean BBQ), there's actually one on Lower Main Street in Wailuku, but I heard it's horrible. I had my usually kalbi, ro-su (lean meat), tanshio (tongue), horumon (intestine), and kimchee...but this time I was introduced to "reimen" or Korean-style cold noodle soup...great way to finish off a meal.

エロエロとありがとうto Marcy for feeding me all day!

Later that night, I met Kenji, the new Erosurfer Osaka sales rep. Former hip hop dancer turned retail guru, still can pull off multiple moves, old school, 80's style...hopefully, he has enough left in his arsenal to strike deals with some Osaka shops. Sporting new Erosurfer black gothic logo tee.

Kenji had a friend DJing at a club nearby, so we headed off to Sam & Dave No. 5 @ around midnight. Everybody showed up around 1am and it went off. Great music, really friendly vibe, and a great promotion opportunity for Erosurfer. Everyone came up to me asking about Erosurfer...couldn't have worked out better.

Erosurfer with local talent

I spent just a couple days in Osaka, but what I discovered right away is that I can't understand the Osaka dilect very well...wakarahen! Erosurfer was well received in Osaka and I look forward to getting back there soon. Marcy and Kenji, エロシク！

Since my arrival in Japan, I've been trying to think of the best way to promote Erosurfer. Someone told me that if I could get my product to a Japanese celebrity, that would be it, Erosurfer would take off. But not just any celebrity, the only one that can make or break a product in Japan is Takuya Kimura, better known as, Kimutaku, of SMAP. SMAP is a boy band from the days when I first lived in Japan in the early 90's...well, the members are still around doing t.v. dramas, commercials, basically, a huge part of Japanese pop culture. I have a connection to Kimutaku, but was told that he commands around $1 million for sponsorship...that's a bit above the Erosurfer marketing budget for the year.

You can see him everywhere in Japan, in magazines...

On t.v., here he is promoting his latest t.v. drama...

In an ad on a vending machine for Georgia can coffee...

As you can see from the pictures, Erosurfer can pull off the same poses as Kimutaku, if not better! We don't need Kimutaku!

先日私は、エロサーファーのプロモーションのため日本を訪れました。その際、日本の有名なタレントのスポンサーを出来れば、と思い、 自分のコネクションを活用して、SMAPの木村拓哉さんに是非エロサーファーのスポンサーをさせて頂こうと、プロダクションに交渉いたしました。 すると幸運にもプロダクションの担当から、返事を頂きました。スポンサー料は、最低でも1億円とのことでした。 それで、思い切って、毎日放送TVの前に木村さん主演のドラマの看板があったので、 自分でポーズをまねてみました。そしたら僕にも出来たので、もう木村さんは、いらないよ

On my way home, at Shiodome/Shiosite, there was a huge mural of Cameron Diaz holding a cell phone, part of a Softbank (Masayoshi Son's Company) ad campaign all over Tokyo...they're using Cameron and Brad Pitt.

Representing The LBC...

Cameron is coming to Japan to promote her latest movie, The Holiday, with Kate Winslet, time for tea and spank the monkey, Jude Law, and Jack Black. J-man gets to hang with her the entire time she's in Japan...you dog! Make sure you're wearing your "Eroha" tee when you're with her...Represent Erosurfer!

On Saturday, I headed out to meet Erosurfer team rider, Julian Hopkins, at his home break, Shichirigahama.

Unfortunately, there was no surf...Julian says that Shichirigahama break is a lot like Launiopoko in Maui.
I'll be back later in the year to check it out. Even if there was surf, there's something not very inviting about being in the water in a 5mm wetsuit with the air temp in the 40's.

Launiopoko on the west side of Maui, my favorite surf spot in the summertime

Master & Julian

"Master" is an old school local Shichirigahama surfer and owner of American House, a bar-restaurant. It's right across the street from the surf break and has great views of the coastline.

Why write about ramen? Because it's my favorite thing to eat while in Japan...not the "cup-o-noodle" variety or the 1000-pack case from Costco that we all ate in college...I'm talking about Kyushu-style Tonkotsu ramen! Kimutatsu took me to Jyangara Ramen in Akasaka, supposedly one of the more famous ramen houses in Tokyo and it didn't disappoint.

Look at all of the oil in the broth! The pork melts in your mouth. I like to add fresh pressed garlic to the broth...no one will want to be around you for the rest of the day.

For about $8 you can sample a little bit of heaven in a bowl. And for a nominal fee, you can order more noodles "kaidama" if you are still hungry. I advise against drinking up all of the broth...it took me two days to recover from this meal. Not for those who are dieting or watching their cholesterol...but it's sooo good!!

I have two other favorite tonkotsu ramen houses in Tokyo...one, Azabu Ramen, is a standing ramen house, salaryman style...no seats, located across the street from Keio Univ. and the other, I can't remember the name, but it's right in front of Nishiogikubo Stn. off the Chuo Line.

For some reason, I ended up at Muse in Nishiazabu every Friday night...at Muse you'll find a bunch of guys, who are in finance, looking for women who are looking for guys in finance. While that is not my story...it's still a fun place to hang with your crew esp. when they're sporting Erosurfer wear!

Representing Erosurfer!

SteveO, trader by day, Erosurfer after 12 midnight.

My favorite bartender, Hiromi wearing 100% Pure Ero tee...Go Beavers!

Yuichi will be wearing that ES camo hat at Muse every Friday night...エロエロとありがとう！

At Nishiki in Tsukishima, a 5-min. walk from Kachidoki Stn. you'll find the best monjayaki in Tokyo, according to Brother CD.

For those that have never experienced "Monja," it looks like someone threw up on a skillet, but tastes really good! It's indigenous to Eastern Tokyo and in Tsukishima, you'll find one main street that is lined with monja restaurants...and they are packed every night.

The Mexican- tomatoes, ground beef, cheese and spices

Cooking monja is an art. It's all about finely chopping up the ingredients and combining them at the proper time as Master Chris displays below in preparing mentaiko - mochi cheese monja...

Monja CD sporting new Men's Eroha Tee

Went to check out what's new with street, surf, casual fashion in Japan for 2007 at the Interstyle Trade Show.

Hurley, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, as well as some brands I see in Fine magazine a lot, like Honey and 73. Not that impressed, Erosurfer rocks!

Ran into Rob Machado at the trade show...when he came in nobody recognized him initially??? Perennial top 5 surfer in the world, musician, golfer (10 handicap), he has a Callaway golf print ad in Japan. He's got this really mellow vibe...got to like the surf/golf combo.

Erosurfer and Rob Machado

ES and Manager Shiraishi sporting new powder blue ES logo tee

"Moyashi" means Bean Sprout in Japanese and is name of my favorite izakaya-style restaurants in Tokyo! Start out with a draft beer, shochu or an orginal house cocktail...order appetizer-sized dishes...unique and creative cuisine at reasonable prices. Some favorites include: Steamed moyashi with ham and mushrooms, indonesian yaki soba...excellent service and a very friendly staff.
Located across from Zara, a 5-min. walk from Hachiko exit at Shibuya Stn.
〒150-0042 東京都渋谷区宇田川町16-8 渋谷センタービルB1
03-5728-6807
Open 6pm - 12am
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g492121/