In part 2 of Lena Stoffel’s exclusive behind the scenes insight to the making of Way East, the girls hit the Island of Rishiri to find some swell. Surfing through a Japanese winter is certainly not for the faint-hearted, with water temps in single digits and wetsuits thicker than a decent novel.

Read about Lena’s coastal highlights below -

Imagery courtesy of Aaron Jamieson

The Island of Rishiri: Wow, such a magical place. We had surf, powder and Toshi our mountain guide was amazing.

The mountain, referred to as “the floating mountain“, is so spectacular and quite big for such a small island, rising dramatically from the ocean.

It only takes you an hour to drive the whole way around and the best thing is, you always have an offshore break.

The Onsen (hot spring bath) saved us! We would go to the official onsen almost everyday to get warm again before heading back to our vans and camping for the night.

Deciphering the menu….The food was traditional Japanese, which was a bit of a challenge at times.

On the way back to Niseko, we were driving along the north east coast of Hokkaido and found a beautiful beach with this perfect wave. A small peeling left-hander. We decided to put up our tents, pitch camp and jump in the water. The guys collected firewood and after the surf we had a huge bonfire which kept us warm for the evening.

All in all I think this was the best trip of my life. Lots of challenges: Surfing in freezing cold water with no one else around (also, no one to help us if something went wrong). Hiking with a 20kg backpack for hours into the night with little to no sleep pushed me to my limits, but it’s incredible what the body can handle.

The reward was too many amazing moments to mention, breathtaking landscapes, beautifully kind locals and stunning views from the mountains out to the ocean. I’d could never imagined sitting in the ocean in full sun, a snow storm rolling in over you only to return to full sun again a few minutes later…

Just being out in the elements with good people made this trip really, really special.

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