Wabi-Sabi follows Charlie Wood and Henry Johnson on a winter road trip through central Hokkaido

Adventure of the best kind. Charlie Wood and Henry Johnson set out on a winter road trip through central Hokkaido in a Japanese kei truck on which they’ve built a cabin from recycled materials. They have no route or plan, only to ride as much powder as they can.

The film begins:

“This is the tale of two boys, a comradeship established in the north. A filmmaker and hack of all trades. Come winter months, the boys belong in the northernmost of Japan’s main islands – Hokkaido. Riding snowboards is where they feel the state of sublime. Sharing love and appreciate for the mountains. The road is where they seek new exciting vistas.”

Kei truck cabin construction

Building a cabin on a Japanese kei truck

Like all the best trips, there’s plenty that goes wrong. After completing their work on the cabin, they run into a fairly large dilemma.

“We’ve discovered that if it sticks out from beyond the sides of the tray, it’s definitely illegal and we’re going to get pulled over”, says Henry.

Wabi Sabi snowboarding

The road trip delivers

“So we’re back here today, and the only remedy we can think of is cutting one of the side off and doing our best to put it back together. It’s a bit of a stitch up, but the show must go on.”

The show does indeed go on … until day two when Charlie dislocates his shoulder riding Asahidake.

“…the snow was all-time, really nice. We were having a great day until I managed to take a silly fall and dislocate my shoulder. I’ve had plenty of problems with it in the past, but it’s been a few years since I last dislocated it. That wasn’t much fun.”

But again, it’s just a momentary lapse in an otherwise epic road trip, and in spite of the drama and the incredibly rad vehicle the guys are driving, it’s actually the dramatic Hokkaido scenery and drool-worth action sequences that really get us hooked on this 14-minute edit.

Road tripping in a Japanese kei truck

How’s that for a view?