We stayed in Akasaka for eight weeks, during which time we went to Shibuya skatepark about twice a week for the first four weeks and had some rad skates with the locals. Finally on The 24th of January we finally boarded a plane at Sydney airport bound for Haneda airport Japan.įirst of all, what was the most fun to skate in Tokyo? So then I was able to organise accommodation for 8 weeks in Akasaka, at The Imperial Akasaka, just behind the Akasaka Elementary School, 10 minutes walk from the agency office. It wasn’t until mid January 2013 that we got the work visa and final confirmation from the Japanese agency that the opportunity still stood. The agency in Japan insisted that 1 month would be too short for Oceana to gain work and insisted on a 2 month stay, also an original letter of sponsorship would have to be presented at the Japanese embassy in Sydney to apply for a work visa for Oceana to enable her to work in Japan.This process dragged out past the end of December into 2013. I had annual leave owing and the bank said that I could re-finance the home loan, stretching it out for another 10 years. So we accepted the opportunity and started the organizing process. Hoping to spend one month at the most as this may be achievable budget wise and would minimize the time off from school if we could go before Christmas. Lennon would also come with us being an opportunity for him to experience another country and different culture, also to skate and explore with me. Oceana mixing it with the Harajuku girls… So we decided to go for it, I would accompany her as she is under-age and unable to sign contracts or official documents and required a guardian. I considered this an opportunity for her to experience life as an international model that would help her to decide if this was the career path that she wanted to pursue or if not to return to school and concentrate on a different career direction. Japan sounded more appealing than Korea and Oceana said that her agent assured her that the working experience would be better in Japan. The agency contacted her again at the end of November to inform that now there is possibility of work for an agency in Japan and they may want you there before Christmas.
She discussed this with us, being 17 and unsure about travelling alone overseas, and concerned about the effect on her HSC if she was to miss school.
November 2012, my daughter Oceana’s modelling agency in Sydney contacted her about an opportunity to model overseas, possibly in Korea. So to begin with, tell me about why you went to Japan Barry. Here is Barry’s account of a recent trip to Tokyo, Japan…. See below.īarry Strachan ripping the rounded hip at Fairy Meadow, Wollongong.īarry Strachan ran the skate section of Extreme skates in Wollongong when i lived there and we used to catch up regularly at the local skatepark or at the indoor park in Thirroul which is a piece of skateboarding history.
Thanks CB Ishii for editing my translation of the intro. Barry and son Lennon visited some great spots you might be interested to read about. This article describes a recent trip to Tokyo made by Wollongong ripper Barry Strachan supporting his daughter’s modelling career.