Welcome back for a new post dedicated to our series "Best Surf Spots in Japan", and today I am introducing you to Kugenuma Kaigan. In this post you will find all the information you need if you want to surf in Japan and more specifically in Kugenuma Kaigan spot. Let's get into it!
How to get to Kugenuma Kaigan?
Kugenuma Kaigan is one of the most popular and nearest spot from Tokyo, which makes it a very convenient spot for many surfers here. As you can see, it is only a 45mn train ride from Shinagawa station, and probably about 1 hour or so from the station to actually being in the water surfing. The round trip by train will cost you about 2,000 JPY, which is around 12 USD.
One of the reason Kugenumai Kaigan is so popular is because it is located near Enoshima Island and is one of the nearest spot from Tokyo among all of the other surf spots on the Shonan coast. I always like to come to this spot because of the short commute, it makes it really convenient and flexible to add in your schedule, and it usually has an amazing view of Mount Fuji on clear days.
Where to rent a surf board and a wetsuit?
Coastline is in my opinion the best surf rental shop in the area, and it is right in front of Kugenuma Kaigan spot. The reason why Coastline is the best shop is probably the fact that they are the biggest one on the coast, which gives them several advantages.
First, they have TONS of surfboards to choose from. You can really go ahead and try a lot of different shape and size of surfboard, Of course they also have a lot of wetsuits, from winter to summer, and lot of sizes too. I am pretty tall (194cm), and for some small rental shop in Japan they will not have my wetsuit size, but this one never failed to provide one that suits me. Second is the price, it is probably the cheapest on the coast. For 4,000 JPY (25 USD), you get a surfboard and a wetsuit for the entire day. I have never seen such low prices elsewhere in Japan so far. And if you add 500 JPY, you get a locker and the warm shower after the session. To top it off, the staff there is really friendly even though they do not speak much English, they will provide you with everything you need. By the way, they also do run surfing lessons so if you need an instructor, they will be able to cover this as well.
What is it like to surf in Kugenuma Kaigan?
Well as you can imagine being one of the nearest spot from Tokyo, Kugenumai Kaigan comes with pros and cons. The pros are definitely the accessibility from Tokyo, with just 1 hour ride by train, the amazing Mount Fuj view you get while surfing, as well as Enoshima Island, and it has the cheapest and biggest rental shop on the coast. It is also a great spot from beginners to intermediate, with waves as small as 0.6m up to 2+ meters depending on the forecast, so it can suit most surfers pretty much all year round. And of course because of these pros, the biggest cons of the spot is that it is super crowded, especially in the summer. It can get very tricky as most of the experienced surfers will be able to catch all the waves before the beginners, and you can be almost certain that you will never have a wave for yourself as an experienced surfer.
As for the localism in this spot, it is almost non existent as this is a spot famous for welcoming all type of surfers, and lot of beginners, so local and experienced surfers usually avoid this spot. Or they will be surfing only on very early hours from 6 am to 8-9 am, so you will most likley not encounter them. Overall, Kugenuma Kaigan is definitely the best spot for beginners and for people travelling in Tokyo. You can go there and surf very early in the morning, and enjoy Enoshima Island in the afternoon for example which is a great spot to visit, while enjoying the sun setting on Mount Fuji on the beach.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post about Kugenuma Kaigan.
Stay tuned for more to come and in the meantime, feel free to check out my youtube video on this spot if you want to see it in video:
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