TOKYO 2012: An Epic Trip Deserves an Epic Post!!

My recent trip to Tokyo (with my buddy CJ Coccia) was INCREDIBLE!! I've been wanting to participate in the Tokyo Art Book Fair for a few years now, and it was fantastic! we met so many amazing people and skateboarders, skated all over the city (stay tuned for the video proof) and got into some hijinx:

I DID take 2500 photos while I was there... lucky for you all, I edited them down to... less than that for this blog... Click on the first image and scroll through them as a slide show, or scroll down to read my occasional captions: 

On the plane:

on the train:

note the guy getting a shave, spotted from the train:

first look at our new neighborhood, Koenji. such a RAD place... staying there made the entire trip perfect:

the door to our place:

got off the plane, checked into the place, got a beer and went for a roll... we met this great dude Suga within our first hour:

easily my favorite stickers in Tokyo... I saw a number of variations all over the city:

this is raddest motorcycle safety ad I've ever seen: 

curbside coke break: 

one of my favorite moments of the trip... stumbling across a Travis Millard sticker on a random pole. cool skull sticker right there, too: 

I'm pretty bummed I didn't buy this shirt: 

lunch break spot...

maybe my favorite photo of the trip: 

stair cleaner: 

taking the elevator up to skate across the Rainbow Bridge and into an area called Odaiba:

that's the bridge we skated over... it was epic:

great expression:

sneak peak at a forthcoming project:

Visited the Mori Art Museum... here's a little Louise Bourgeois in the courtyard: 

bummed I didn't buy this rad (untranslated) Yuichi Yokoyama book- he's one of my favorite Japanese artists: 

Excellent book, critical reference for some of Tokyo's best art spaces:

the views from Mori tower are amazing:

we took the train to Yokohama just to go a bar called Thrash Zone... it promised craft beer and thrash metal! how could we NOT go? 

cute train lady:

great expression:

we went to Odaiba again to find another skate spot:

bone skirt:

sneak peek at ANOTHER forthcoming project:

Here's a few shots of a (permanent?) Barry McGee piece outside the Watari Museum, from a 2007 show he did there: 

those are actual painted panels behind the windows:

painted on the outside of the window:

oooo... rad little skull sticker in the mix!

Little Shepdog cover-up:

shirt at the Supreme store:

They're all reading manga:

lost looking for punk/graffiti/skate bar:

cab driver:

homeless:

met a random crew on the street, we rolled with them to a gallery opening:

mall grab:

cool little space called Amp Cafe:

dude with a rad Jay Howell board for Creature: 

my booth at the Tokyo Art Book Fair, with my recent wallpaper pattern and all the drawings from the new book Ghosts on the wall. 

Four new books, a new print, a pile of skull stickers and some older stuff:

Couldn't have had finer table-neighbors: Goteblud (super rad vintage-zine shop in SF) and Ed Luce (creator of Wuvable Oaf)

we're about to roll into an awesome party:

rooftop bbq:

random American, homeless gutter punk, pissing off of the roof:

DJ with a two-man freestyle battle going down in one room:

and the room right next door to the freestyle battle... 

there was an awesome metal band! 

the famous sink/urinal combo:

another day at the Tokyo Art Book Fair:

and back on the train:

um... this little street party our friends were into got... crazy: 

the police were real nice about it... no, seriously... they were actually VERY nice! 

back at the Tokyo Art Book Fair the next morning... I'm bummed I didn't buy this Gonz book:

visitors to the fair:

tight ass sneaks:

CJ snapped a few photos of me hard at work: 

reminded me of Geoff McFettridge: 

sweet ST hat, spotted on the subway:

our station:

in our hood... "Bad-Nice":

party's over... we're headed back to the airport:

pre-flight lunch... something like cheese pizza, and vitamin water: 

at least we had a GORGEOUS sunset: 

It was such an amazing trip... I have to extend my utmost gratitude to everyone who helped me out at the Tokyo Art Book Fair- Futoshi, Oliver, Naoko, Heather... THANK YOU!!!  I'm hoping to return next year, maybe put up a little show at the same time as the fair.. And to all the epic skateboarders and friends we met and hung out with... I couldn't have dreamed of a better trip! See you in a year?