Kitesurf in Japan

[RobinC]

I'm moving to Japan for few years and i'm looking for kiteboarding spots close to the Kobe area, does anyone would have tips to give me ?

[Kamikuza]

Yokoso!

I don't know about the Kobe area - it's pretty industrialized around the port there ... I'm from Shiga, live about 10 minutes away from the big lake there. Good for northerlies ... for southerlies, I drive to Tsu-city in Mie, near the University.

Hopefully someone from the area will chime in with details ...

[RobinC]

Yes, i figured that the Kobe area wouldnt be good for that purpose. But i heard about the lake you're telling me about, The Biwa Lake. Is it often windy ? What part of the year can you ride there ? Anything i should be aware of to ride there ?
Thanks for your help

[Kamikuza]

We've got a 'club house' at Locus - there's a fee for parking but it gets you showers and a crapper Wind is best from the north. We ride all year round ... although Jan/Feb you probably need a dry suit
Summer is a pretty crap season for wind; spring, autumn and winter is much better.

The problem with Japan is no daylight savings time (summer time) and the sun sets early here as winter approaches makes it tough getting enough time riding in ...!

[Kaito]

Keep Okinawa in mind if your ever looking to get some subtropical island exposure!
Best seasons are fall/winter/spring..and we ride year round, with most crowds visiting in winter, to escape the colder mainland.

Feel free to PM me anytime for some local info if you'd like.
Rgds,
K.

[mr_daruman]

I have friends in Kobe who go down to Shikoku to kite. Pretty good spots apparently but its far and the highway fare is crazy. If you kite more than once a month, its a lot cheaper to come to Okinawa by plane. November/December great wind & still warm


Pretty far nearby places you have Biwa lake, Tsu in Mie prefecture, Kisogawa river in Aichi/Mie then probably the best closest spots from you are all in Shizuoka/Amamatsu area but thats a really long ride from Kobe.
Anyways EXPLORE! There most be some great places up North of you around Tottori prefecture and North of Kyoto prefecture!
Still not that many people kiting, no strict kitesurfing rules as long as your considered and beaches are almost always empty.

BTW I had one of my greatest sessions in the beautiful Amanohashidate sand bar park, the Northern winds happened to perfectly blow through the bay that day, I kindly asked the park if I could ride~No problem as long as I kept away from boats and beach goers (very few actually). Anything is possible!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanohashidate

[yaimatako]

Keep Okinawa in mind if your ever looking to get some subtropical island exposure!

This bears repeating. Especially right now...

Best seasons are fall/winter/spring..and we ride year round, with most crowds visiting in winter, to escape the colder mainland.

... after it has been forecast that this winter (2013/2014) is going to be a bit on the cold side, due to a larger (deeper?) than usual high pressure area building up over northern Asia and the Arctic. Cold is relative: it means that temperatures on the islands in Okinawa should be around 15C, lower in the north, higher in the south, and, most importantly, we'll have many days with steady northeasterly wind (wind speeds are typically 10-20m/s = 35-70km/h).

Islands to look for are - from north to south - Okinawa Island, Miyako Island, the Yaeyama Islands (airport on Ishigaki Island, suitable beaches mostly on the lagoon islands nearby: Taketomi, Kohama, Kuroshima).

Add to this weather the fact that there are more airlines flying to Okinawa than ever before and they are competing for your ticket dollars. Especially airfares to Miyako and Ishigaki have come down dramatically (with Ishigaki opening a new airport in March, more airlines are flying in, and fares are now less than half of what they were just a year ago).

Like Kaito (on Okinawa Island), yours truly (on Ishigaki Island) can also be reached by PM for more info.