Surfing in Japan can be epic, with certain rivermouths and beach breaks really shining. It can also be a real waiting game, as there’s a bit of a swell drought for much of the year on this side of the Pacific. Check this guide to see what the debut site of Olympic surfing can offer and when’s best to go…
An introduction to surfing in Japan
Four big islands and another 145,121 make up the nation of Japan. That tots up to nearly 22,000 miles of coastline; half on the Sea of Japan, the other half on the Pacific Ocean. There’s no prizes for guessing which half gets the better swells. When low-pressure systems swirl up from the Equator and rap into the Pacific Northwest, they send pulsing groundswells this way. Then there’s the annual storm season. We’ll dig into that more later, but for now we’ll just say that it’s when the surfing in Japan draws the photographers, heralding two months of glassy sandbank barrels that go off like clockwork.
Japan’s a nation divided by more than just the stunning, snow-capped Honshu Alps, though. Some here want to be a globalized superpower a la USA. Others pine for the Olde Worlde days of the Shogunate era of the 1800s. The tussle between those two opposing factors makes for a country that’s only tentatively open to foreigners; welcoming to tourists, suspicious of expats. That has an inevitable knock-on effect on the surf scene, which is growing but still nascent, and mainly made up of local crews.
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This is just one part of our ultimate guide to surfing in Asia
Surfing in Japan at a glance
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What will I find in this guide to surfing in Japan?
The top surf spots in Japan
Sendai
Sendai is one of the prime breaks in Japan. Far enough from the bigger cities in southern Honshu to remain quiet, sometimes even empty, it’s got a perfectly angled run of south-east facing beachfront that’s usually got at least an ankle slapper to surf. When the peak season rolls by, big, sculpted sets can roll into the town’s northern quarter. Around Koyo Seaside Park, by the harbor walls, they’ll become powerful wedges that remind us of Hossegor slabs.
Fukushima
Fukushima picks up where the superior breaks of Sendai leave off. You’re going closer to the sprawling megalopolis of Tokyo here and that means there’s going to be more crowds, some of which can be a bit nasty. But there’s such an abundance of breaks that there’s also scope to find somewhere all to yourself. The long beach breaks are okay. They dominate most of the coast and work best in fall storm swells with a W offshore. But it’s the rivermouths that reign supreme. They’ll fire with hollow barrels on the best low-pressure storms.
Chigasaki
A surf in the shadow of Mount Fuji? Don’t mind if I do. Chigasaki is one of the most popular places to escape from Tokyo for a day on the ocean. Facing south, it’s not really a swell magnet by any stretch, but the long jetties that punctuate the beach give some nice rights on larger days. When it’s smaller, there are also slappy little A-frames between the breakwaters that are good for beginners. There’s a surf school and rental – Killer Surf – to the eastern end of the bay.
Tokyo
The ridiculous levels of development that have gone on in Tokyo mean that it’s virtually impossible to find a spot within the city limits here any longer. Plus there’s the fact that Tokyo itself is tucked deep into Tokyo Harbor, where nary a wisp of swell can penetrate. But you can travel to beaches nearby. There’s Kamakura, some hour’s drive to the south, or Kamogawa down in Chiba Prefecture that’s a bit better but 1.5 hours’ drive away.
Shirahama
Shirahama Beach is often called the Waikiki of Asia. It’s easy to see why. The resort town – and it is very much a resort town – is fringed by horseshoe bays of pure white sand. They’re broken up by breakwaters, just like the beaches over in the home of the Duke. When there are strong typhoon systems moving through the west Pacific (usually Sept-Nov), sets will work their way in here to create cruisy logger waves that bend and bowl off the jetties. It can get busy because it’s a famous spot but it’s also a gorgeous place to surf.
Isonoura Beach
There are long, uber-mellow walls that peel into the bay at Isonoura Beach, the surfing mecca of Kansai. The closeness of the bay to Osaka means it’s rarely empty here unless you get up super early, a fact that’s made worse by the lack of swell. You really need very strong southerlies to wrap through and pulse up the channel. Happens maybe five, six times per season. There’s often a minascule wave of a foot or so that keeps the local loggers entertained. It’s surfing in Japan, easy mode.
Shikoku
The weather warms and the supply of SW swell stiffens as you head south to Shikoku Island. Some say this is very much the top region for surfing in Japan. We can’t verify that first-hand because we haven’t been (yet). What we can say is that the topography looks like it adds up. There are beaches like Shimanto and Toyo that have wide shelves and good wind shelter thanks to the coastal mountains. There are some downright epic waves to be discovered if you have the will and a car – we’re talking pumping right points that barrel like a wave pool. The typhoon season (September and October) is the only time to be in town.
Okinawa
Then there’s Okinawa. This is where Japan does its very best impression of the Aloha State. The sub-tropical chain that dashes through the Pacific some 400 miles south of the next main island. Start on Naha, where the most accessible waves can be found within easy vicinity of the US military bases. From there, you can branch out to Miyagi Island an Yoron, which have spots that channel a touch of Indo with their reef bottoms and hollow profile.
We have a complete guide to surfing in Okinawa – all the best spots and more
When to surf in Japan?
The typhoon season from September to October is the best time to surf in Japan – there’s no question about that!
Despite all that exposure to the open Pacific Ocean, there’s actually a pretty short window if you want to catch the best surfing in Japan. The issue is that true NE groundswells aren’t that common here. The dominant swell tends to move from a NW direction in the winter months, providing all that meat for SoCal up to Tofino. Then things switch to a southerly and it’s never strong enough to make it all the way to Japan.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!