You probably already heard us make some noise about our delicious mission to powders of Japan with the Helgasons bros, Marko Grilc and Chris de Campo featured in Method Mag 13.2 , which is available NOW at your local shop (or you can view it online right here for FREE). Some good words from riders and photos full of grainy goodness shot by Carlos Blanchard that didn't fit into print for you to feast on below. Dig in to an extra serving of Hot Balls!

First of all peep the Method TV Hot Balls Special if you haven't already:

Japaaaaaan! This trip was insane. It was my second time there, but the first time I actually rode, and god DAMN that powder was epic. We were in Niseko for a week and it pretty much never stopped snowing, so we ended up not getting as much stuff done as we wanted, but it was all good because we were just cruising around in powder like there was no tomorrow. Can’t complain about that.

We did some night shredding and shot a cool zone, but didn’t do any extreme stuff – just jibbing around in the powder, pretty much. Then we met a whole bunch of cool Kiwis who showed us a sick spot and left us a jump (thanks a lot for that, boys!). Too bad when we got there the weather was really bad, we waited for like five hours just window shopping, waiting for sucker holes. We all ended up getting about four hits each, the jump actually turned out to be a lot smaller than we expected due to the massive amount of snow that fell, but it was still fun. We did one street spot as well – a super random rail to wallride to revert landing. Chris de Campo and Eiki got bangers on that one.

The whole crew we had in Japan was awesome – everyone super mellow with the same nasty kind of humor. Johannes (our filmer) was there so it wasn’t really possible to be in a bad mood, and Diggles (Method filmer) felt like a part of the group because everyone on the trip had a foreskin.

Overall, Japan was a lot of fun and the vibe there is so awesome – everyone respects everyone. Thanks a lot to the Method crew, Shinji, Chris de Campo and Grilo, and everyone else that was there. I would still take filming street over filming powder any day, but just riding powder is one of the most fun things you can do, and Japan is the best place to do it. Kampai! PEACE.
– Halldor Helgason
Our trip to Japan was insane. I could only ride pow for three days before leaving for the Toyota Big Air, but I wish I’d stayed for a whole month. We were the sickest, most mellow crew ever; I don’t know why, but everybody was just having a blast. And I have to say, snowboarding in Japan really impressed me. It was the first time I got to shred pow there and I thought the terrain was insane. There is so much stuff to do right off the side of the highway. I was bummed I missed the zone that the guys hit the day before I arrived, though. It looked like so much fun. In the end, I think the thing that stoked me out the most was that when I arrived in Niseko, straight off the plane and then the bus, we dumped our shit and went night riding, and it was blower pow. We did runs in the dark where the pow was just so blower. Fucking amazing. I love that place. I love Japan!
– Marko Grilc
Japan was a super sick trip. Before going there we had all seen footage and pictures of the powder, and it always looks so crazy. I was thinking we were super lucky because we got it as good as it always looks, but then you realize that those giant mushrooms on the signs and trees are always there, no matter what. We had a super sick day in a closed amusement park, and that day I filmed the sickest shot of Eiki that we’ve ever gotten together. I can’t say what it is, but it’s a true banger.
– Coach Thunder aka Johannes Brenning
The Japan trip was sick. It was my third time there, but the first time I rode pow. We didn’t get a lot of sun, but we had a lot of pow because it didn’t stop snowing the whole time we were there, and we just went out and rode it for fun. We stayed up in Niseko and the hotel was sweet – we had a natural hot spring (they're called "onsen" in Japan) that was so perfect after riding. In Niseko, they have night riding every night; it’s so sick to shred the pow at nighttime. There was a Kiwi crew that built a jump and couldn’t hit it because it just wouldn't stop snowing so they had to leave. They told us that we could just go up there and hit it. That doesn’t ever happen in the backcountry, so that was amazing – thanks guys! We filmed both urban and pow, so it was a fun trip; everyone got good shots and I really liked the food too. We went to some sick sushi places, but I have to say that in the end, I really wanted some pizza and burgers. Haha. Japanese people are awesome, though – they were so hyped on everything.
– Eiki Helgason
The Japan trip was a pretty surreal experience for me. I was chilling in Whistler, half-packing my bag for Lake Tahoe and half-lurking on Facebook when Chriso hit me up on chat telling me my “plans might be about to change real quick.” A day later, I was in Japan with the Helgasons and Marko Grilc, as well as an assortment of editors, photogs and filmers making up our 12-deep entourage.

Luckily, I had remembered on the plane to change the photo of Halldor on my laptop's desktop to avoid a potentially embarrassing moment. I was pretty star-struck around those guys for most of the trip, but they were all super friendly and funny dudes. It was also cool to see that the fame and money hadn’t affected them; they just seemed really stoked on snowboarding and having fun.

On the first day, we sessioned a double redirect rail, one that I probably wouldn’t have noticed even if it was out the front of my own house. It was definitely an eye opener to see how the world’s best go about scoping features and getting shots. Over the next few days we built a kicker and rode a bunch of natural hits, although the constant snowfall made conditions for photos tough.

The shooting aspect of the trip had to end prematurely as the other boys headed up to Sapporo to prepare for the Toyota Big Air. This was a little annoying, because I would have liked to spend more time trying to get some better shots, however it meant that we got to spend a few days just shredding pow in the resort. Our Aussie mate Grover (from Rhythm Shop in Cooma) played tour guide to what were some of the most fun runs of my life – no cameras to slow us down, just fast runs and face shots aplenty all day and even under lights at night.

For the last three days, we went to Sapporo to watch the boys ride the Toyota Big Air. Sitting for 8 hours through that seizure-inducing laser show/stuffed-toy musical was a real struggle in my hungover state. But after a cheeky spew in the rider’s lounge, I was feeling better and got to witness some insane tricks go down in front of 30,000 frenzied Japanese fans. At the after party, I couldn’t help but feel like the kid from Almost Famous, getting loose with a bunch of my idols. There is no doubt they live a pretty rockstar lifestyle.

After a recovery day in the city and a group blind date dinner set up by our Japanese tour guide Shinji, I was on the plane and shortly back in my bed in Canada, wondering if the last nine days had actually just happened.
– Chris de Campo

All Photos by Carlos Blanchard