It's not that often that you hear of Aussie surfers heading to Japan in search of perfect uncrowded waves, and there are of course a number of reasons for this.
Japan is generally expensive, crowded, often cold and the waves are small and uninspiring.
The thought of millions of Japanese squeezed into super-sized cities is not one that accompanies images of a great surf adventure. I had first heard of Amami a few years previously, through some travelling Japanese surfers. They told me of an island more like Hawaii than Japan, with warm waters and perfect consistent, uncrowded waves, and only a handful of friendly locals. Yet, whenever I asked any Japanese surfers I met whether they had been there, their answer was always no. I would ask if they'd seen any photos of the place, and again, the answer was no.