FlatWebTV 2012 Winter Japan Special

In this special edition of FlatWebTV, Anthony travels to Osaka, Japan to check out the riding scene and interview pro rider and back wheel assassin Tomokazu Morinaga. The Kansai/Osaka locals do their area proud with some great riding (highlights from Fumiya Sasagawa and Ikko Tanaka). Pro rider and FlatWebTV friend Shinichi Kiba (Russia) has a few nice clips as well.

8 thoughts on “FlatWebTV 2012 Winter Japan Special

  1. Thank Effraim. Tomokazu was very nice (as were all the Osaka riders) and put in a long day of riding as well as the interview afterwards.

    I wanted to clarify one of his answers, the one about having a lot of good spots but that they are not able to ride them due to the prevailing opinion of flatland/bmx over there.

    When I first worked through the translation with Nana, I was kind of surprised because I think they have the best spots. Nana followed up with Tomokazu and he reminded me of something I forgot. Brakeless bikes are basically illegal there, and the cops will issue tickets (same thing if you are caught at night without a light). In addition to that, the very best spots are starting to see a little more scrutiny from police and security.

    All of that said, I still think the worst riding spot in Japan is better than the best here in Portland, but I do understand what he was talking about as far as wanting to visit places with strong bike cultures (not just bike commuter cultures).

    • Interesting Anthony about the brakes.

      I wonder if in the next year or so, some different types of styles will come out of japan. Does this explain why Moto Sasaki now has two brakes? I definitely hear you about riding spots! Thats a real shame the police and security are cracking down on all the good riding spots, I wonder if that is due to the rise in street, flat dudes grinding ledges? Or if its just a crackdown in general. Great to see Tomokazu given some props! Plus Fumiya Sasagawa and Ikko Tanaka are so good also!!

  2. I’m really starting to see the broadening of styles in Japan (in the whole world really). It’s very refreshing. One guy in the video, Ikko Tanaka, was charging everything super fast and aggressive that day, mixing in street touches in every flat link. Lot’s of nose wheelies, 360s, half cabs. Just like Chad J with no pegs, riders are setting up their bikes very differently, almost forcing new styles to be born. It’s pretty exciting to see actually. Everytime I think flatland has reached a peak, I’m reminded the possibilities are endless.

    • Definitely something in the air Anthony! Ikko is so stylish, love how he moves around the bike, also really like the front scuff out thing hes doing, he did it a lot in Zizai and it’s in this episode also. Its an old technique that Paul Osicka used to do, but died of death pretty much after Phil Dolan stopped doing it. Good to see a rider like Ikko bring it back, like you said it can be fresh with a different riders take on that same trick.

  3. Wow just wow. riding scene in Japan just makes me want to move over there. There are so many riders with different styles, it just amazing. Don’t realy get the thing about brakes though, but anyway Japan flat scene is exploding and every edit from there force me to hit replay button hehe.
    Big props to Anthony and Justin for bringing us reports like this. Keep it going and wish u all the best. Greeting from Slovenia

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