kounohama
Surf spot · Japan
Is it worth the trip?
40Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 2: 5 ft swell at 9 s, onshore wind, 14 kn (27 km/h), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Mon 2 · 61 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 400kJ
- Wind
- SW 14 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Tue 3 · 53 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 253kJ
- Wind
- NW 13 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Wed 4 · 52 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 349kJ
- Wind
- N 9 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Thu 5 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 327kJ
- Wind
- N 12 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 999kJ
- Wind
- NW 12 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Sat 7 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 ssoft
- Energy
- 89kJ
- Wind
- NW 18 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Sun 8 · 28 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 75kJ
- Wind
- NNW 10 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 10, too big
- Mon 261, good
- Tue 353, fair
- Wed 452, fair
- Thu 50, too big
- Fri 60, too big
- Sat 723, too small
- Sun 828, too small
- Mon 919, too small
- Tue 1048, fair
The spot in five facts
- Faces Etakes swell from the E
- Offshore: Wwind from the land
- Beginner +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 22 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 0, too big | 6 ft11 ssoft8 ft at break (est.) | 779kJ | wind from the north, 11 knots | 19°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 61, good | 5 ft9 ssoft6 ft at break (est.) | 400kJ | offshorewind from the south-west, 14 knots, offshore | 23°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 53, fair | 4 ft10 ssoft5 ft at break (est.) | 253kJ | wind from the north-west, 13 knots | 20°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 52, fair | 4 ft10 ssoft5 ft at break (est.) | 349kJ | wind from the north, 9 knots | 19°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 0, too big | 6 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 327kJ | wind from the north, 12 knots | 20°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft10 ssoft6 ft at break (est.) | 999kJ | wind from the north-west, 12 knots | 22°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 23, too small | 3 ft8 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 89kJ | wind from the north-west, 18 knots | 16°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 28, too small | 2 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 75kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 10 knots | 16°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 19, too small | 2 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.) | 55kJ | wind from the north-west, 13 knots | 16°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 48, fair | 4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 99kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 9 knots | 16°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 03:37 −0.8 mHigh 11:14 +0.5 mLow 16:28 +0.1 mHigh 21:15 +0.4 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 04:51 −0.7 mHigh 12:37 +0.5 mLow 18:25 +0.1 mHigh 23:05 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 06:19 −0.6 mHigh 13:43 +0.5 mLow 19:53 −0.1 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for beginners, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
kounohama on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
1 place
- Under the Sunrepo 11.6 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About kounohama
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces E (90°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (270°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 1.3 km out (1 in 127). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 16°C in February, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 28°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Shima, 3.8 km away (about 10 min by car).
Water about 22°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,310–US$2,490 each
about US$1,310–US$2,490 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to NGO, estimated from distance and season, changing at HNL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$670–US$1,390 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$107–US$174 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$208–US$348 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$234–US$442 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$87–US$141 |
| Total | about US$1,310–US$2,490 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 2 towns
7 min by car · 10 places to stay
about US$80/nightcountry average
About Shima its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Toba on Booking.com
30 min by car · 45 places to stay
About US$80 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 26h 05m
About 26h 05m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → NGO, changing at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), then 1h 20m by road
Flights ORD → NGO on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.