Saikou Psycho - Volcom Asia's first ever all-Asian skate trip

Volcom Asia skate team unites in Japan for its first ever all-Asian skate trip.

Volcom has been supporting Asian skateboarders for quite some time now. Some of them have recently made a name in the skateboarding community through bigger media contests. Sanggoe, for example, took home silver at the 2018 Asian Games, as well as Ju-Won who made a huge comeback in the same contest, which earned him the bronze medal. Taihou is another rising star, qualifying for major international contests, as well as receiving street creds for his best trick showdown at the 2018 Tampa Am.

It was only a matter of time before Volcom rallied Asia’s rising talents to hit the streets of Tokyo, Japan.

The diverse skate crew consisted of:

  • Taihou Tokura ‘T4’ (Japan)
  • Tatsuma Masuda (Japan)
  • Ju-Won Eun (South Korea)
  • Sanggoe Tanjung (Indonesia)
  • Mario Palandeng (Indonesia)
  • Pan Jia Jie ‘PJ’ (China)
  • Bank Nattapol (Thailand)

The diverse skate crew consisted of:

  • Taihou Tokura ‘T4’ (Japan)
  • Tatsuma Masuda (Japan)
  • Ju-Won Eun (South Korea)
  • Sanggoe Tanjung (Indonesia)
  • Mario Palandeng (Indonesia)
  • Pan Jia Jie ‘PJ’ (China)
  • Bank Nattapol (Thailand)

We had just a couple of days to hit as many spots as possible in Tokyo.

The Japan crew laid out a full itinerary starting with Maihama skatepark and some classic bay area spots around the city.

Day two was spent cruising along the Sumida River hitting all the spots we could find. With time against us, a proper lunch at a restaurant was out of the question. Luckily, there are plenty of convenience stores where we often made pit stops to stock up on onigiri and other snacks. Vending machines are also found everywhere on sidewalks and street corners, some providing hot coffee in a can! Only in Japan…

A downside of cruising around the city with a crew of 15 carrying skateboards and cameras is the attention we drew from the authorities. The more we moved towards the center of the city, the quicker it was for security or the police to show up and oust us from the spot. The time window to land a trick was a matter of minutes, sometimes seconds. But with pure diligence and the support of teammates we managed to gather some solid clips throughout the day.

We spent the remaining time we had in Tokyo sightseeing and strolling through the famous neon-lit streets of Shinjuku. Despite the short time we had in Tokyo, it was a very productive and fun couple of days.

Sanggoe Tanjung’s first time in snow!

On day 3 it started pouring.

We piled up the team riders in a bus and headed north to the mountains of Gunma, arriving at a traditional village and Kawaba Resort. Most of our riders had never snowboarded before, let alone seen snow, so everyone was hyped for the experience.

Conditions were great and the views were stunning. A few hours of practice and the boys were ready to hit the upper slopes! The team at Kawaba Resort were super helpful in giving us all the true mountain experience.  The next day everyone jumped on the Volcom first tracks snowcat tour. A snowcat, which takes customers to the top of the mountain before the lifts open, offering wide open runs. Most of us took a heavy beating going down, but it was worth the ride! 

Our final stop was Yuzawa, an iconic retro ski town about three hours from Tokyo and an hour drive north from Kawaba Resort. Essentially, we were there for the Mighty Crown X Volcom Japan Snow Music Party. Wrecked from a whole week of shredding, the skate team still had the energy to put down a show on the clubs quarter pipe. The crowd cheered them on and everyone danced the night away to the classic reggae sound. It was the perfect way to end the trip.