Breaking: Japan’s New Wave Pool Has The Best Chlorinated Air Section In The World

I firmly believe that there will come a day when word of a new wavepool won’t garner any attention from the public eye. That day, however, isn’t coming any time soon.

The most recent update in the wide world of chlorinated goodness comes from Evan Geiselman in Makinohara Shizunami, Japan. The Florida man received an invitation to the newly constructed pool to help the engineers dial in the fresh hardware. The wave is bigger and provides a significantly better air section than we’ve seen in other artificial bodies of water.

Evan had some more than positive feedback to share with not only the Perfectswell team, but with us as well. Check it out below:

Stab: Where are you?

Evan Geiselman: I’m in Japan, in a surf town called Makinohara Shizunami, about 3 1/2 hours south of Tokyo. I’m helping the American Wave Machines team commission their new PerfectSwell surf pool there. The venue, PerfectSwell Surf Stadium Shizunami, is playing host to the Japanese and USA Olympic surf teams that will be training here before the games.

How was the travel experience to Japan?

I have a funny story, actually. So I flew here by myself with a stamped visa stating that I only had to do a 3-day quarantine instead of 14 because I was working on the Olympic training pool. 

So I landed in Japan, and apparently, Florida is flagged in their system, so they pulled me aside. Luckily, there were people on the flight who spoke Japanese and English, and they filled me in on what was happening. I was held in the airport for six and a half hours, tripping out, wondering if they would send me back to the US. After three negative covid tests, they took me to a government hotel, and I did my 3-day quarantine.

How was the hotel?

It was like a crazy 10×8 ft. small room. There was no microwave, and the food was so cold. It looked like two-day-old halibut or something; it was basically inedible. Good thing I brought some protein bars with me.

How was the area surrounding the pool?

This pool is going to kill it. It’s two blocks from the beach, right in the middle of a cool little surf town. Great restaurants and super friendly locals.

Why do you consider this wave to be better than Waco?

The crystal-clear blue water helps. The pool itself is much smaller than Waco, but it seems like they crammed more waves into it. It’s probably a foot bigger, and there’s more variety of shape; it barrels pretty well, too. 

The air sections in Waco are incredible, but they get repetitive. The future of surfing these pools will be like skating; You need to put a run together. This pool in Japan has a wave that you can get in two solid turns, then hit a big air section. It’s called the HighBall. It’s definitely a game-changer. 

Are you the only one there?

No, I’m alongside AWM technicians Miquel Lazaro and Willy McFarland and the venue staff. Many different efforts are combining to get the place ready for the public and the Olympic training. 

How the hell did you score that gig?

My manager and long-time family member Mike Lopez is SVP of American Wave Machines, so he introduced me to McFarland family and I joined the team. I was like, “Yeah, I’ll go surf a pool for three weeks and give feedback, no worries.” It’s been a great experience. I’m very thankful for the opportunity.

There’s a PerfectSwell surf pool going in your hometown of New Smyrna, right?

Yeah, they’re working on a bigger pool with the same technology. I’m excited for the future of surfing with these pools. You saw that 11-year-old kid (Cruz Dinofa) do the front flip or whatever it was. It’s going to provide endless opportunities for this next generation of surfers.