• Kenji Nonaka lost his leg in a shark attack in Hawaii on Friday, November 1st
• The avid surfer was released from the hospital on Nov. 7 and is “super motivated to begin the rehab and recovery process to get back into the ocean he loves,” according to his GoFundMe campaign.
• The 61-year-old is taking a careful approach to his attack, saying the ocean is the shark’s “property” which is why humans must share with the creatures.

A 61-year-old surfer who lost his leg in a shark attack in Hawaii earlier this month said he is already determined to get back in the water.

Friday, November 1, Maui officials announced that a man was bitten on the leg while surfing at the “Sand Piles” at Waiehu Beach Park, before the leg was completely severed “just below the knee.”

Now, Kenji Nonaka reflects on his shark encounter as he talks to local shops KGMB/KHNL and KHONrevealing that he considers himself “lucky” and is looking forward to surfing again.

“I’m sitting on my surfboard, waiting for a wave, and all of a sudden, a shark bites me, then shakes me,” Nonaka told KGMB about the attack. “Maybe 20 to 30 seconds later, my leg (is) gone! type.”

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According to KHON, Nonaka said he started feeling nervous about sharks after a piece of board in the same area a few months ago. Since then, he has hit the waves with a shark band that uses magnetic energy to deter the animals.

But on November 1, while surfing with friends, a shark did bite him. Nonaka’s friend Gary Miyamoto, who was surfing with him at the time and eventually fashioned a surfboard leash around his leg like a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, described his friend’s scream as a “scream big, different”.

“Then I see him, you know, splashing,” Miyamoto told the press. “Suddenly, I see the water turn red.”

As Myamoto explained, after his friend finally caught a wave to get closer to shore, the surfboard leash was “the only thing” they had at the time.

“That’s why I’m still alive,” Nonaka said. “I’m lucky. I am so thankful that my friends helped me.”

Nonaka, who has lived in Wailuku for 34 years, lost most of her right leg from the knee down in the shark attack, according to KGMB. A GoFundMe the surfer’s page has already raised more than $100,000 for his healing journey.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, a campaign update noted that he had been released from the hospital and was “super motivated to begin his rehab and recovery process to return to the ocean he loves.”

According to KHON, Nonaka’s doctor told him he could keep his knee because his leg was clean — while his friends took him to a concrete area on the shore to avoid the sand when they applied leash

“They came to me and gave me strength and aloha and I’m happy, that’s why I’m still alive,” he said.

The surfer also said he believed someone was watching over him during the tragedy – his “hero”. Tamayo Perrywho was killed in a shark attack on Oahu’s North Shore in June 2024.

Nonaka is already back up and walking diving two weeks after the shark attack, according to KGMB. Also looking forward to next time on the surfboard.

“Tomorrow!” he said when asked by the outlet when he plans to hit the waves again. “It’s a joke. But hopefully a few more months.”

“I love surfing, I want to go back to surfing because the shark is their property (the ocean) so we have to share,” he added.