Commemorating the release of the movie “Bella Vita” – Essay by Jon from Kaneyo Shokudo

2015.6.9 Text Akiko Inoue Photo Masamasa Nishino

Movie “Bella Vita” * Bella Vita = Life is Beautiful in Italian

Filmmaker Jason Buffa, also known as the director of the modern surfing classic ``One California Day,'' collaborated with professional surfer, artist, and environmentalist Chris Del Morro to create this film.

Chris, who grew up in two cities, Florence, Italy, and Los Angeles, California, travels to Tuscany, Italy, a place he remembers spending summer vacations with as a child, with his surfer friends. Chris and his friends interact through surfing and art, and gradually integrate into Italy. They receive warm Italian home-style hospitality, learn about wine, food culture, and the country's deep manufacturing culture, and are impressed by its richness and depth. While traveling through his Italian roots, Chris begins to think about the true meaning of "Blla Vita"...

THEATER
Road show at Yokohama Cinemalin Human Trust Cinema Shibuya and others from June 13th (Saturday)

Watch the movie “Bella Vita”

Traditional and natural life. Artistic culture and the humanity within it.
The beauty of our historic homeland. Connections with friends and family. While traveling with friends in search of beautiful waves, you will rediscover the meaning of life.
I've never been to Italy, but it made me realize once again that there are parts of Japan that are similar to ours.
For someone like Chris who has traveled and experienced waves all over the world, I think he must have always felt the uniqueness of various countries and felt the changes in society. I think there were many opportunities for me to reflect on myself.

I'm a little different from Chris, but when I think about my roots, I remember.
I guess it coincided with when I hit adolescence and when I started surfing.
As someone who is half American, I have a special feeling about America, and I would like to visit America someday, a country with which I have blood ties. There was a time when such feelings came to me strongly. I made many trips to visit my best friend who went to California. The waves in California are so attractive that I am constantly moved by them every day. I was fascinated by the pleasant climate and beautiful sunsets, and even decided that I wanted to live here someday. Eventually, I became able to speak enough English to have a conversation and as I got to know more about America, my complex about being half-Japanese disappeared somewhere, or rather, I became more confident. I think. I grew up in Japan, my mother who gave birth to me was Japanese, and my father, a Japanese fisherman, raised me. I have an unmistakable Japanese spirit. In the end, I realized that my roots are in Japan, and I think that gave me confidence.

In my case, it may be a matter of a DNA level, but I think the trip made me realize something about my roots. By experiencing a foreign country, I feel like I reaffirmed my own culture, its beauty, and something that makes me feel safe. I then looked back on my environment and realized that there was something I needed to protect, so with the help of my friends and family, I started Kaneyo Shokudo . I had a lot of thoughts about how I could continue to carry on the family business that my mother ran at the beach and the fishing business that my father ran, but thanks to everyone's support, we are now in our 13th year. I was able to do this thanks to my many friends, family, and everyone who helped me. It connects, takes shape, and is always alive. I can't write all about it here, so I hope you can come and experience it someday.

Kaneyo Shokudo Exterior

If you ask me if my life is beautiful, the answer is, of course, Bella Vita. I am truly grateful for my life.
I can't help but call life beautiful because I am grateful for life, my family, the many friends who support me, and the new encounters that come every day.

Being able to feel that life is beautiful is truly rich and wonderful.
I feel that having a beautiful life is connected to being able to be grateful.
From small things around you to larger things.
Things that I feel grateful for make me realize who I am and where I am.

In the movie ``Bella Vita,'' I feel that the connections between friends, people's lives, traditions and culture, and the community are filled with many important things that are being lost in modern society. That's it. It's not that surfers are special, but I think they are made aware of many things by constantly interacting with nature. By feeling the beauty of waves and nature, we may be able to discern the beauty of life and its essence. I feel like there are a lot of messages in this movie.

One of my favorite words is the phrase "Life is Art."
I think life is very artistic, and life itself is like a work of art that a person creates. Bella Vita. Once again, those are wonderful words. These things are common. Through my love of surfing, I would like to experience many things firsthand, be made aware of things, and continue to paint a beautiful life.

What kind of place is “Kaneyo Shokudo”?

Once you get off at the "Isemachi" bus stop on the Keikyu bus, go down toward the coast, turn right, and walk straight until you see this sign on your left.

As you pass through the entrance, where a building made from reused corrugated iron and wood from a former hunter's cabin that was once dismantled, tropical-style plants, surfboards, and accessories create a sense of unity, you'll find yourself inside a store with a woody atmosphere, where artwork can be seen and hidden everywhere. .

This is the “Kaneyo Special Plate” from the lunchtime menu. ¥1,500 (excluding tax) You can enjoy a variety of flavors on one plate and it seems to have a good nutritional balance.

Kaneyo Restaurant
1-6-4 Hashirimizu, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture
TEL:046-841-9881
Check the website for details on business days!

(Editor's postscript)
From the small beach where Kaneyo Shokudo is located, you can faintly see the buildings of Yokohama, Kawasaki, Tokyo, and Chiba on the other side. This is one of the scenes that Jon, who grew up in this area, has continued to see since he was a child. Jon says that while admiring the scenery from here, he compared his daily life with city life and felt firsthand the contradiction between economy and nature. This also led him to upcycle the hunting lodge and beach house that belonged to his parents into the new Kaneyo Shokudo.

Jon says, ``Surfing and life are the same, and it's important to have the desire to do it, and to be prepared and put in the effort to ride a good wave when it comes.''

Kaneyo Shokudo, which has now become a popular spot that is constantly visited by customers from within and outside the prefecture, is not just a sightseeing or business opportunity, but also a place that explores how humans and nature can coexist. It's a sanctuary, a base for Jon to continue.

As mentioned in the essay, if you haven't been there yet, I highly recommend you come and visit at least once.