Mystery Revealed: Why That Japanese Surfer Was Out At Sea
Did you read about the Japanese surfer that was rescued six kilometres off Wollongong last weekend? A lot of people did, it was the most popular article on Swellnet last week, plus it copped airplay on national and international media.
The popularity was kicked along by the inherent mystery. What was old mate doing six kilometres out to sea? The surf that day was tiny, there's no way a current could drag him that far. It was a story ripe for conspiracy. Was it an immigration scam? A drug drop off? Aliens? Who the hell knew..?
Well wonder no more, dear readers. Swellnet has solved the mystery.
Coming in from a surf at Sandon Point today I noticed a fella, a Japanese fella, camped under a tarp below the cliff. He had a yellow mini mal by his side. I'd seen him out in the surf earlier but thought nothing of it.
But when I came in the penny dropped. And being a nosy bastard I sidled up to his makeshift camp and began a subtle line of questioning:
“Are you the bloke who got rescued last weekend?”
He looked at me warily. “Oh...no...nooo.”
However it was him, he was just hesitant to talk about it.
“What's your name?” I asked.
“Toru,” he replied.
“I saw you surfing this morning, Toru. You go alright. How did you get in trouble?”
And seeing I was genuinely curious, Toru, in his broken English, began telling me what happened.
“The surf was very small, and I paddled out late. It was going to be a full moon that night. I stayed out to watch the moon rise and then the wind died off and it was still. Very, very nice...”
And then he asked me a question. “Do you like nature?”
“I like to surf,” I offered.
“I much like being in nature,” countered Toru, “and it was very nice out there. I wanted to....feel it.”
“But you were out there all night.”
“Yes. I could see the lights [from the land] and I watched the full moon and I relaxed. I wanted to see the sunrise while the moon was still in the sky.” He made a gesture to represent this. He splayed his arms wide, held each hand open as if one was the moon and the other the sun, while planet Earth was his big smiling head in the middle.
So that was it then? He was out there having an extended communion with nature. An overnight enduro on the ocean.
I flashed on the time I crossed the Nullabor Plain in midsummer. Just as I was wondering how any living thing could survive in the 45° heat I came upon a Japanese fella on a bicycle laden with luggage and camping gear. I can also recall a few other times I've seen Japanese travellers shirking comfort and travelling hard.
Maybe the Japanese have an inclination for solo endurance travel. If so, Toru was simply continuing the tradition, albeit with a slightly herbal bent. I asked him about the boat that rescued him.
“I paddled near it because I liked the shape of it.” He again made a gesture, this time to show the enormous girth of the container ship.
“But then someone appeared on the rail and saw me.” Toru is adamant he didn't need to be rescued. “I was tired, a bit cold, but I was OK. It was...very embarrassing.” It's hard to be a stealth traveller when you're on the international news. He was also concerned he'd been a nuisance to the rescuers.
Since that day a week ago Toru has been camping and surfing around Wollongong, focussing on Sandon Point, but he's worried his infamy has cruelled a shot at the sets. Sandon locals don't give too many waves away at even the best of times.
As we were chatting in Toru's makeshift camp an older local walked past on his way for a surf. “You got the best view in town, mate.”
But the view also came with blazing sun and wind blown salt. I asked Toru if he wanted to come back to my joint, have a shower, sleep in a clean bed.
“Maybe tomorrow night,” he said. “I want to be first out in the surf tomorrow.”
It's 10pm as I type this. For all I know he's out there right now.
Comments
Fucking Classic !!!!!
Ha hah ha. What a buzz kill.
You see guys like Toru everywhere here from time to time, solo and seeming to revel in how tough they can make it on themselves. I kind of understand it in a way.
Next time you see him Stu ask him 'Anata wa shiizen O'taku deska?' (Are you a nature nerd?)
He'll probably get a chuckle out of it.
If I see him tomorrow I'll ask him, Zen. He had a sense of humour about it all.
Your a prick zen, that's Japanese for "may I lick your fine scrotum"
Damn 2Dogs, you've been studying!
That yellow and green board will probably be a burden on him now, or it could attract a great price on Ebay.
Well done.
Good on Toru.
Was that board green on the underside? As the legrope is also green. Could be something special as far as blending into the ocean and leaving your board up in the shrubs while you go into town for some spagetti.
so basically he got real high and went for a long paddle..in the dark..by himself.
and no-one picked it !
Well if he's going to do stuff like that OK, But someone should tell him that we found out Yellow is yummy.
What a legend
If i win the PPass comp he's coming with me.
is that because he'll be AWOL from the perfect lineup, while having an extended nature moment 6k's out to sea?
Haha. No-ones winning that one it's a hoax
he should get a new board - the SP enforcers will see him coming from a mile off now
This is my favourite bit:
“Do you like nature?”
“I like to surf,” I offered.
Hahaha, Nature ain't that bad is it?
Great story - well done Stu. And you offered him a clean bed - good one.
Impressive Toru
What would've happened if he were to have pulled the same stunt in Japan?
Great article!
"What was old mate doing six kilometres out to sea? "
Article of the year. Journalist of the Year.
Well Done @ Stunet .
Stu, stories like this are the reason Swellnet is my favourite surf site. Keep up the great work, you're a genuine journo and I mean that as a huge compliment. You don't rant and rave, just find the story. And as you know it's always about people.
I hope he doesn't develop a penchant for sniffing train tracks.
Great story Stu,
So many people in Japan crammed into a small area they love to get out on their own. Living in Darwin we meet a few solo travellers. One guy showed us pics with his bicycle on top of ayres rock. He figured his bike had carried him around australia the least he could do was carry it to the top.
Classic, that's just Crazy, pushing the limits. Reminds me about 15 years back mid summer i saw a Japanese travler on his pushy between Aleron and Wycliffe Well or somewhere out there. It was over 40 and i stopped to see if he was ok. He nodded and kept on riding. I told the old lady at the Tennant hotel about the crazy Jap on his bike and she said, "well you think that's bad love?, last year one bloke used roller skates to get from Adelaide to Darwin".
Great story Stu, what a champ. Love that you offered him a bed for the night.
Cheers Tim. Just went back to the point to say g'day to Toru and repeat the offer. He's coming 'round for a wash and a feed later on. Said he'll play some guitar for my family.
Did he come around to your place? I saw him today as well and now the wind has picked up and I'm a little worried about him.
Nah, I popped down there around 7pm and had a chat. He was fine.
So next full moon we meet at Sandon on dusk?
OK, I'll be there. I can borrow my grandpa's little rowboat - I don't feel comfortable doing the night-shift on my board. (I admit I'm a pussy, but I know I won't be getting my 'being-with-nature jollies from paddling my board throughout the night 6 km's from shore)
Now who'se got the GPS co-ordinates for the trip out to the shipping lanes? I can take a thermos for coffee and some biscuits....
Im pretty sure this guy was living on the rocks at Bondi Beach ( Ben Buckler) for the last year or so.... anyone else recognise him?
Still doesn't quite add up to me.
So he paddled out and wanted to spend the night in the moonlight....OK.
But he still had to paddle the 6 k's out to sea......thats not something that just happens by lollygagging around in the moonlight. And then he thought he was going to paddle the 6 k's back to shore after spending all night out there? You spend all night out on a board in the ocean and you're going to be borderline hypothermic and extremely hungry. I very much doubt you'd want to paddle further out to a container ship.
Still got a slightly bizarre whiff about it.
Yeah the 6kms bit seems strange. 6ks is a fucking long way out to sea on a surfboard and a hell of a paddle knowing you have to reverse it. Sure 2 or 3km makes sense to get away from land and the lights but why keep going? Or is it just a case of the media calling it 6kms when they don't have clue how far out he was..
I dunno. I did that Bondi to Bronte swim recently which is 2.4km. Most people do it in around 40min. I was about that I think (never ocean swum, no training, just surf) and never felt I was pushing, could've easily gone again at same-ish pace. I reckon a none strenuous 1hr paddle on that colorful mini mal would take you most of the way to 6km. Tripped out, happy place paddling?probably 3hrs.
Stu, great bit of investigative journalism. Good to find those free spirits amongst us and awesome that you went straight to the source, broke down the cultural barriers and did the Good Samaritan thing. Well done Sir.
Checked the Facebook posting of this story? Sheesh! The comments!! All 500+ (and counting) of 'em!
Standing at sea level, the horizon is less than 5km away. I seem to remember that the ships waiting to get in to Port Kembla sit closer than the horizon. And, of course, if the ship was 6km out, it would not have been visible from the beach.
Love to hear how your little arvo catch up went Stu...
Take him to the Ryan's pub Stunet for a spiritual ale
Toru would be a more interesting tag and release experiment. We can watch him duck into Nimbin on his way to Byron.
He is still at Sandon.. I saw him today! I'm going to go for a swim tomorrow and take him some food and a cold drink as it's gunna be a hot one tomorrow!
Toru paddled 6 klms out to sea with no leg rope!
haha, I was sitting on Thirroul beach having a beer on Sunday night and was discussing with my friends how it was impossible to be taken out to that boat by a rip but we couldn't come up with a plausible theory as to why he was there.
Thus may explain it .... if he is telling the truth. He's already lied about what happened once
Acid is a hell of a drug!
yep. why else would you paddle 6km to get to a ship just because you liked the look of it.
also explains why he initially lied. apart from the obvious embarrassment, he was probably worried about the cops nabbing his stash hidden in the dunes.
incredible. This guy was squatting in my front yard in Mona Vale for 3 nights in late November. He said he was here for 'surf training' & thought he could live in our front yard under a tree. interesting character.
maybe a screw loose?
Get off my lawn !
You started something Stu...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-24/japanese-surfer-found-6km-offshore...
Oh no...
I live in Japan, and know this dude....he's a genuine soul-surfer...Toru's pretty well known in the community and a proper legend!
I think he used to be a lifesaver at Shichirigahama Beach, where one of Japan's best left-handers is.
Glad to see he's representing well, down under!
Where in Japan do you live TC?
Sounds like a great short film. Non fiction.
Maybe he ends up in a big container ship destined to Herd Island..
Now we talkin!!
Woops. now its fiction.
Soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Script by Murukami.
That's Toruman. He also plays guitar and sings. He is one strange cat. He will show up at our live gigs oat the Surfers Bar in Zushi, and paddle his SUP back a few miles to his house in the middle of the night.
Been waiting for someone to have a dig about using Kays in the heading ..surfstarved ?
I copped a bit of stick about it on the FB page. I'm not stubbornly unrepentant about using 'kays', I wanted the story to have a loose vibe, but if I knew how popular the story was gonna be then I might've used 'kms'.
What the fuck is a " Kay " ?
And while I'm at it , what the fuck is a " barbie " or an " arvo " ?
Ha ha...yeah, had to laugh at some of the Seppos who couldn't figure out a kay. Meanwhile, here's the rest of the world inured to ketchup, hoagie, hooker, hookie, jonesing, wassup, and innumerable other examples that show cultural imperialism really only flows one way.
On the other hand, I thought I was writing that article for just the Swelnet faithful, the crew who know us and wouldn't judge a journalist on a deliberately breezy headline, when the article went waaaaay beyond the usual readership.
If I knew that I might've put on my serious face and written 'kms'.
Au contraire Stu !
Australian Surfing is the one subculture that has the seppoes hanging off a foreign culture's every nuance like Pottsey Webber hanging on to Fonzie's every word.
They love us !
Boardies, beachies, grommets ...I've even heard seppoes talk about going for an Arvo surf.
Calling Shane Dorian " Shane-o " . Fuck, only yesterday Surfline ran a headline with the word " footy " as in Freeride's abbreviation of footage.
Yep, most Septics I've met are full parrots for the Aussie surf lingo. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for it. It's everywhere. They can't help but love the little Aussie bleeder/ ripper.
One US surfer at an Indo surf spot heard an Aussie insult then would not stop repeating it for the entire duration of his stay. Fuck, for all I know he's still yelling out to people that they are " on glue ".
I'll put up more examples as they come to me.
Go you Aussie good things !
PS You should really be ashamed for turning Toru into the next Kardasian.
Haha !
"You should really be ashamed for turning Toru into the next Kardasian."
Mate, every flash in the pan needs an agent. You think this happened by chance?
I actually just saw a photo of him on a magazine whilst waiting in line at the supermarket checkout.
He was head to toe in Prada paired with oversized sunnies , clutching a little dog and a XXL Starbucks cup whilst being flanked by security.
You better hit him up for residuals .
If your thinking of getting his ramshackle estate burgled for publicity, give me a heads up as I know a bloke.
You're doing God's work ,Stu.
If you really want to see a gaggle of Seppos look confused
Throw in "She'll be Apples Mate".
I guess for Japanese... stripping back to the bare minimum Container Ship,surfboard,tent, beachbed,watertank,computer,cups,jugs,pots and kitchen sink... is getting back to nature.
Toru must reside freely on his chosen idyllic Pacific Pointbreak until his Oz debt is repaid.
Tread lightly Emperor Toru !
Please spare us a cupful of unspoiled paradise.
Surf just Surf
Old mate Toru has had a Shibuya meltdown. Was no doubt trying to source some late night chicken strips and kidney drinks from his local familymart. Sleep it off until the Yamanote fires up again
What a cool guy.
Nice story too. :—]
I was just wondering where toru is, and If all is well.
He changed campsites about a week ago. I had a session with him at the north end of Thirroul on Sunday night and he was throwing down spinners, going switch stance, and generally buzzing about. He was in great spirits.
His visa runs out shortly and he'll be heading back to Japan soon.
Thanks for that Stu, I heard today we could have some flooding rain on the way. I bet he would have some epic stories to tell. Great to see people enjoying life like that.
Hi. I'm a researcher for a documentary-maker and I'd love to get in touch with Toru. I'd be really grateful for any ideas about how to contact him. Thanks so much, Debra Shulkes ([email protected])
Cult of Toru ... (Sponsored by Port Philip Bay Outreach Centre)
Spate of Silly Season Drifters. (No paddle board was harmed in these Rescues)
Salute to all rescuers & crew wish these Paddleboarders a brighter future.
Respect to others not making it back to shore...with bodies drifting for days...found in shipping lanes!
UK SUP Rescues Total (15) to 2020 (44) July 2022
(Call out) Response Life-Boat (At sea) Incidents 2020 (88) > 2021 (144)
Lifeguards 2020 (217) > 2021(504)
Same fast rising stats are reflected in Deaths
SUPs are not the highest Water Deaths but are well on their way to being so...
US 2020 > 10 SUP deaths
US 2021 > 18 SUP deaths
https://www.rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com/paddle-board-accidents.html
Was the recent Fab 4 Vic Inflatable SUP Sojourn just another accident waiting to Happen?
Whilst reviewing the wayward crew...often their very first paddle was to the Lost Island of Toru!
Not doubting recent teens version, but many fitting this demographic are doing exactly that!
Meaning many have never even seen the Ocean before attempting to cross it on inflatable Toy.
Officially the new Silly Season Death Wish!
tbb has no desire or need to push this onto the front page (New Plane sailing is Plain Terrifying as it is!)
Just a few more "First Timer" News Stories from UK...(Toy recall be like flying under the radar!)
Got hooked on a dream > Dazed & confused > Far gone & outta here > Never stood a chance! {R.I.P}
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/dad-who-couldnt-swim...
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/20701321/paddleboard-death-emma-powell-conwy/
Tales of Toru's People that know no limits...the lucky ones!
Sure...tbb took some liberty with these lucky ones...Reckon the Rescue crews warmed 'em up a little!
15th Jan 2015 ~ Morton Bay Mystery Solved (False Alarm)
https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/moreton/2015/01/07/paddle-board-found-margate/
3rd Sept 2017 ~ Moruya Heads 40y/o Paddle Boarder battled 2hr Strong winds to reach 1km zone.
https://www.surflifesaving.com.au/news/paddle-boarder-rescued-far-south-...
13th April 2020 ~ Port Philip Bay Paddleboarder attempts a breakout & reaches 400m off shore!
Dan's Police Boat hunted him down.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/coronavirus/elwood-beach-paddleboarder-alle...
19th Dec 2022 ~ Mornington Peninsula 4 Teen Paddleboarders reach 30km out across the Bay
Infiltrating a Top secret Military Base
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-20/search-for-missing-teenagers-rose...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-20/melbourne-teenagers-paddleboard-p...
20th Dec 2022 ~ Mornington Peninsula 2 Women Paddle Boarders breach the 1 km perimeter.
Half an hour search by Volunteer returned them to shore.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/news/second-paddle-board-rescue-victoria-22231...
Cult of Toru ~ The Continental Drifters
15th Aug 2020 ~ 2 Paddleboarding Irish Lasses clocked 15 hours at sea
31st Aug 2020 ~ US/Canada Border beach Woman Paddleboarder escapes for 40 minutes.
https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/hypothermic-paddle-boarder-foun...
20th March 2021~ UK Paddleboarder netted by Fishermen.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/paddleboarder-blown...
8th June 2022 ~ US Grom Body Boarder 300m offshore + Other Tragedy here & read next...
https://www.fox29.com/news/3-rescued-after-being-trapped-in-rip-current-...
5th Sept 2022~ US (Same Spot) Missing Paddleboarder found in the dark in Marshlands
https://www.breitbart.com/pre-viral/2022/09/05/good-samaritan-helps-coas...
28th Nov 2022 ~ UK Woman Paddle Boarder reaches 2kms offshore
https://www.swanage.news/paddle-boarder-rescued-after-blown-a-mile-offsh...
Dedicated to The Cult of Toru