Japan Love Note: Street Skating

Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Street Skating | Skate | VANS

The crazy thing about street skating in Japan is that in most cities it is not legal. Despite that jam up Tokyo, Osaka, etc have produced some of the best street skaters on the planet. This Love Note is an expanded version of the interview Jeff Grosso did with Tokyo legend Shin Okada and the T19 crew. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.

Japan Love Note: FESN

Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: FESN | Skate | VANS

The Far East Skate Network is the brainchild of Japanese skater Takahiro Morita. FESN is a series of influential skate videos spanning 15 years, it's a board company and a skate shop. Jeff Grosso sat down with Morita to get the history behind FESN. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation. Music Credits: Groove Speak "Birds & Frogs" Josh Landau/ Eliminator Music "Semi Automatic" "Drunk Jazz Fools"

The Far East Skate Network is the brainchild of Japanese skater Takahiro Morita. FESN is a series of influential skate videos spanning 15 years, it's a board company and a skate shop. Jeff Grosso sat down with Morita to get the history behind FESN. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.

Japan Love Note: Japanese D.I.Y. Scene

Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Japanese D.I.Y. Scene | Skate | VANS

Japan has as great a DIY spot building scene as any place around the world. This Love Note is an expanded look at the scene and the main players making killer spots. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation. For more Grosso Forever moments visit https://Vans.com/GrossoForever Music Credits: Groove Speak "Birds & Frogs" Josh Landau/ Eliminator Music "Baby i'm a Surf Creep" "Semi Automatic" Pedro Gravino "Bad Air Brazil"

Japan has as great a DIY spot building scene as any place around the world. This Love Note is an expanded look at the scene and the main players making killer spots. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.

Japan Love Note: Women Shredders

Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Women Shredders | Skate | VANS

There are so many amazing women in the Japanese skate scene. The Joy and Sorrow DVD series has been highlighting the scene for over a decade. In this Love Note we check in with the creator of the series, Yuri Murai. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation. For more Grosso Forever moments visit https://Vans.com/GrossoForever Music Credits: Groove Speak "Birds & Frogs" Josh Landau/ Eliminator Music "Baby i'm a Surf Creep" "Cranker Major Scale" "Semi Automatic"

There are so many amazing women in the Japanese skate scene. The Joy and Sorrow DVD series has been highlighting the scene for over a decade. In this Love Note we check in with the creator of the series, Yuri Murai. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.

Japan Love Note: Aki Akiyama/ Nishi

Two of the pioneers of the Japanese skate scene are Aki Akiyama and Nishi. Aki represented the clean, contest wholesome skater while Nishi was the wild man who skated, took photos, made art and published magazines. Together these two laid the foundation for the Japanese skate scene and their impact can still be felt today.

Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Aki Akiyama/ Nishi | Skate | VANS

Two of the pioneers of the Japanese skate scene are Aki Akiyama and Nishi. Aki represented the clean, contest wholesome skater while Nishi was the wild man who skated, took photos, made art and published magazines. Together these two laid the foundation for the Japanese skate scene and their impact can still be felt today. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation. Music Credits: Groove Speak "Birds & Frogs" Josh Landau/ Eliminator Music "Blue and Red Jazz" Hurricane Grind "Suea" The Scumbag "Money"

Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history.

This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.

Love Letters to Skateboarding: Japan

The second installment of the Grosso Forever Trilogy, Jeff Grosso’s Love Letters to Skateboarding: Japan, an episode that documents the final trip that the Love Letters crew took with Vans’ beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. The episode chronicles Jeff and the crew as they experience the vibrant skate community firsthand, meeting up with Japanese skaters from every generation.

Grosso Forever: Loveletter To Japan | Skate | VANS

Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.

Japan has a long and radical history when it comes to skateboarding, and a skate scene that’s worth celebrating and championing. With all eyes on Tokyo this year, Vans wanted to ensure that the rich skate culture and history didn’t get lost in the hype.

“Jeff Grosso wanted this episode to come out during the Olympics,” said Tony Hawk. “Jeff was very opinionated about skateboarding but especially about the Olympics. He wanted this episode to honor the skate scene and the skaters in Japan.”

From highlighting Japan’s pioneering skate legends, to the women’s skate scene and DIY skate spots, this wide ranging episode lives up to Grosso’s hope of celebrating the personalities, places and historical moments that have shaped Japanese skate culture over the years.

Five shorter Love Note episodes will dive deeper into these stories, including pioneers Aki Akiyama and Nishi, “Joy and Sorrow” women’s skate filmer Yuri Murai, Far East Skate Network founder and Japanese skater Takahiro Morita, the Japanese DIY skate spot builders, and a spotlight on Japan’s street skating scene featuring Tokyo legend Shin Okada and the T19 crew. Episodes will drop each Friday over the next month.