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Scootering in the land of the rising sun

Pro rider Soggy aka Sogo Sakakibara has just launched his brand JP Scooters and his Ninja wheels. We met with him to hear more about the scootering community in Japan and his brand new wheels.

If you are into park riding, you probably know Sogo Sakakibara aka Soggy. He is not only a world-class rider but also the man responsible for bringing scootering to Japan.

Since 2015, he has been working hard to establish a scootering community in japan spreading and sharing his love for the sport. His passion for scootering got started far away from Japan when he was living in Australia back in 2011.

“I used to live in Australia, back when scootering was big, so one of my friends took me to the skate park, and I was hooked from day one and have been riding ever since”

Almost like a family

Right now, Sogo estimates that there are about 50 riders in Japan, but back in 2015, it was way different.

"Back then, I was the only one riding. I thought of quitting many times because I was riding alone. Then I went to the skate park, and people thought it was cool and started themself", Sogo says and adds.

"Today, we have a strong community both in real life and online. We are very tight, just like a family. I can see that people from Hokkaido to Okinawa are buying stuff from my webshop."

Spreading the message

Sogo points out that one of his most useful tools to spread the message of how awesome scooters can be is through Social Media.

"I post a lot on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram to promote scootering in Japan. I also really want to go on a tour in Japan to show the kids what scootering can do," he says and continues.

"If I don't post on YouTube, no one, except for the people in my local area, is going to know what scootering is all about, so I think it is a vital tool."

The new wheels from JP Scootering

Though scootering is growing in The Land Of The Rising Sun, there hasn't been a Japanese scooter brand until now.

"I wanted to create a Japanese style brand with ninjas, sushi, throwing stars, and so on - as you can see it now on the core of the wheel and the grip tape."

The result is Sogo's own JP Scooters who have just released the brand’s first JP Ninja 6-Spoke wheel.

"I wanted to make it ninja, so why not make it like a throwing star. It has a durable metal hollow core wheel. The PU is super grippy, I've tested it for a while, and I love it"

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Be sure to follow JP Scooters on Instagram for more awesome content. Want a pair of Ninja wheels? Then click right here.