DANE GILLETT

BIO

Dane Gillett, originally from England, is a frothy surfer hell bent on documenting the ins and outs of the local breaks around Chiba, Japan. Even though Japan is not primarily known for its Surf culture, it really should be. Japan has some of the longest coastlines in the world and as such there is a vibrant surfing culture in the Land of the Rising Sun that any travelling surfer ought to explore.

What started out 15 years ago as a way to ease his frustrations with the overall lack of English surf information, later turned into Dane’s first business idea with the culmination of SurfingInJapan.com. His playful idea to try and put Japan on the map, would eventually become his passion and later on contribute to how he made his living. Fast forward to today and Dane has now become the unofficial voice of Japanese surfing on social media.

Team NSP is excited to welcome Dane, an avid photographer, waterman and owner of  Splash Guest House – a place you will definitely want to stay for a good night’s sleep, great company, great surf and amazing end of the day barbeques.

Dane on joining NSP:
“Becoming an Ambassador for one of the largest & best surf & SUP brands on the planet has been a dream for many years, coming to fruition today. My plan with Splash Guest House, Surfing In Japan, JapanSUP, Japan Surf Tours & Dane Gillett Photography has always been to offer a place where locals and foreign surfers can fly in and experience Japanese surf culture first hand. From beginners to experienced surfers, anyone can feel comfortable travelling with- or without their boards or knowing we provide high-quality service, accommodations and equipment. NSP is the perfect brand to team up with on this next chapter.”

More on SurfinginJapan.com:
“The story of surfinginjapan.com goes back to when I started surfing in Japan. I got frustrated very quickly by the lack of info in English. Luckily, I had my Japanese surf buddies and they were taking me to many different spots.I began taking notes to memorize the places. Plus, I was chasing webcams to check the surf conditions and to make sure the long drive to that beach would be worth it. Looks like I hit a gap in the market, because very soon I had over 600 links from surfers, bloggers and photographers in Japan, all driving traffic towards surfinginjapan.com.”

Hebara Beach in Katsuura, Chiba – the first Olympic surf spot for 2020, will be the spot to get in some training before the Olympics kick off. Having someone showing you the ropes of not just the spot, but everything around it as well will be valuable. Very few locals speak English and you will find it hard to get around on your own in the beginning due to the Japanese signage. Dane and his guesthouse are a mere 20 minutes away from that Olympic spot and are able to organize regular trips to Hebara and other local spots you would never know about as a tourist.